Kaplan takes the major formulation of his theological approach, "God as the power that makes for salvation," and demonstrates how it can be used to invigorate the Jewish religion in a changing world.

In this book, Kaplan enlarges on his notion of functional reinterpretation and then actually applies it to the entire ritual cycle of the Jewish year-a rarity in modern Jewish thought. This work continues to function as a central text for the Reconstructionist movement, whose influence continues to grow in American Jewry.