A fervent apologia, vigorously written but intellectually naive,
and aimed not at "people" but secularized Jews. Prager (historian)
and Telushkin (rabbi) argue for traditional faith, ethics, and
ritual practice. They distinguish Judaism from Christianity, Islam,
Marxism, and "ethical humanism." They attack anti-Zionism and
intermarriage, urge organized support for Soviet Jewry, encourage
parents to send their children to Jewish day schools, champion
kashrut, tzedaka, and strict shabbat observance, etc. Jews trying
to get back to their religious roots may find all this helpful, but
only if they're willing to accept some rather over-simplified
thinking. In their eagerness, for example, to prove that any
morality not grounded in the supernatural is doomed, the authors
insist that "reason is amoral." Any good behavior on the part of
atheists must therefore flow from crypto-theistic sources. But even
if "ethical monotheism" were the only thing standing between us and
total barbarism (tell that to Buddhists and Hindus), Prager and
Telushkin fail to link that abstract monotheism with the highly
concrete God of the Bible. The reader, if he didn't know better,
would scarcely guess that Judaism is a historical religion - and
unintelligible when separated from its evolutionary past. Further
problems: undiscriminating piety (low Jewish murder rates are
traced to dietary laws), occasional bias (short shrift is given to
Marxism), and ethnocentricity (no understanding is evidenced of
Palestinian claims). There's much inspiration here for the (at
least) half-convinced, but skeptics will have to look elsewhere.
(Kirkus Reviews)
If you have ever wondered what being born Jewish should mean to you; if you want to find out more about the nature of Judaism, or explain it to a friend; if you are thinking about how Judaism can connect with the rest of your life -- this is the first book you should own. It poses, and thoughtfully addresses, questions like these:
Can one doubt God's existence and still be a good Jew?
Why do we need organized religion?
Why shouldn't I intermarry?
What is the reason for dietary laws?
How do I start practicing Judaism?
The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism was written for the educated, skeptical, searching Jew, and for the non-Jew who wants to understand the meaning of Judaism. It has become a classic and very widely read introduction to the oldest living religion. Concisely and engagingly, authors Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin present Judaism as the rational, moral alternative for contemporary man.
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