Open Judaism
A Guide for Believers, Atheists, and Agnostics
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Open Judaism offers a big-tent welcome to all Jews and Judaism. It is at once an invitation to the spiritually seeking Jew, a clarion call for a deeply pluralistic and inclusive Judaism, and a dynamic exploration of the remarkable array of thought within Judaism today.
In honest, engaging language Barry L. Schwartz, a practicing rabbi and writer, presents traditional, secular-humanistic, and liberal Jewish views on nine major topics—God, soul, Torah, halakhah, Jewish identity, inclusion, Israel, ethics, and prayer. Teachings from many of Judaism’s greatest thinkers organically reveal and embellish foundational ideas of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Humanistic Judaism. The conclusion sets forth core statements of belief in Judaism for believers, atheists, and agnostics, thereby summarizing the full spectrum of thought and enabling readers to make and act on their own choices.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rabbi Schwartz (Path of the Prophets) makes a convincing case for "open Judaism," a big-tent philosophy that embraces Jewish believers, atheists, and agnostics. He contends that there's no one brand of "authentic" Judaism, and that the religion's pluralism and capacity to "evolve over time... in radical ways" is precisely what has allowed it to survive. An open tent isn't a "borderless" one, however, and Schwartz distinguishes between anti-Zionist Judaism, which has "a history as old as modern Zionism itself," and messianic Judaism, whose adherents' belief in Jesus as savior renders them, many in the Jewish community believe, essentially "gentiles in need of conversion should they want to reenter the Jewish faith." Throughout, Schwartz elucidates the agnostic, atheist, and believer's perspectives on theological issues. In a particularly illuminating section, he examines how prayer can serve as an obligation for the believer, a "primal human expression" of gratitude for the atheist, and a means of drawing closer to one's community for the agnostic. Schwartz isn't afraid to tackle hot-button issues—including abortion, euthanasia, and the climbing rate of intermarriage—and never forgoes nuance while doing so, adeptly balancing references to ancient Jewish thought with awareness of current sociocultural contexts. This is a valuable complement to Rabbi Michael Strassfeld's Judaism Disrupted.
