Rating: 
Summary: Well-written, but violates candidates' privacy and dignity
Review: I agree with all the other readers who have posted comments here that the book is well-written and very engrossing.But no one else seems to be bothered by the fact that Mr. Fried commits the unconscionable and inexcusable sin of using the real names of the unsuccessful rabbinic candidates. They had every reason to expect that their interviews would be confidential. The Acknowledgments section makes it clear that not all the candidates gave permission for their names to used, or that Mr. Fried even thought it necessary to ask them. A footnote tells us that the name of a millionaire trouble-maker has been changed. But what does it tell us about the author that he felt no such need to conceal the names of rabbis who have now been embarrassed in print and in public? The book would have lost none of its force if those names had been changed. Shame on the author!
Rating: 
Summary: Accurate documentary of the rabbi search process.
Review: I became interested in reading Steven Fried's book after I heard him interviewed on National Public Radio. Having just participated in the "new rabbi search" at my own synagogue in the Western suburbs of Chicago, I was curious to see if the experiences documented by Mr. Fried mirrored my own experience. Although Har Zion, the synagogue followed in Mr. Fried's book is much larger and more influential than my own, I have to report that the rabbi search process seems to have some universal themes common to the process. We too "fell in love" with a candidate who ultimately "rejected" us...leaving the committee feeling like a jilted suitor at the altar. Our committee also harbored deep suspicions that the Rabbinic Movement was somehow keeping all the really qualified candidates from applying for our opening. And, of course, there was the usual political manipulating and jockeying for position to be appointed to the search committee and to be on the inside track for information on the candidates. Mr. Fried documents this process with sensitivity and wit. I also identified with Mr. Fried's search for new meaning and connection with Judaism after the death of his father. His discussion of his emotional and intellectual growth made a perfect counterpoint to the new rabbi saga, never overwhelming the main story line. Although I knew the outcome of the Har Zion search process from Mr. Fried's NPR interview, knowing the ultimate outcome of the search was not an impediment to enjoying the book. Mr. Fried's writing style never bogged down in tedious detail and the delineated the major players in the story while avoiding confusing the reader. While the book documents an actual rabbi search, Mr. Fried's pacing keeps the story moving like a novel. I found myself rooting for Har Zion and am curious to know if their new rabbi has lived up to expectations. I've been recommending this book to everyone who participated in my synagogue's rabbi search. It's good to know that it wasn't just us.
Rating: 
Summary: a guilty pleasure
Review: I did find this book compulsively readable, although I'm not sure I can say why. The book has more human drama than intellectual enlightenment, and by the time I was done I wondered whether it was an efficient use of my time. But there were a few ideas that did grab me, though I suppose most of them were just common sense- being a pulpit rabbi involves a wide variey of tasks (including not just sermonizing and hospital visits, but also fundraising), an educated congregation gets more out of teaching Torah than of general sermonizing, etc. I'm moving to Philadelphia soon, and the book did give me a better feel for the city (even though I won't be living near the book that is the subject of the shul, I will live 2 blocks from the author's "home shul" in Center City- and I'm happy to say that he makes it lot a lot more attractive than the shul that is the subject of most of his book). (P.S. As of 12-02, the "new" rabbi is now the ex-rabbi).
Rating:
Summary: a guilty pleasure
Review: I did find this book compulsively readable, although I'm not sure I can say why. The book has more human drama than intellectual enlightenment, and by the time I was done I wondered whether it was an efficient use of my time. But there were a few ideas that did grab me, though I suppose most of them were just common sense- being a pulpit rabbi involves a wide variey of tasks (including not just sermonizing and hospital visits, but also fundraising), an educated congregation gets more out of teaching Torah than of general sermonizing, etc. I'm moving to Philadelphia soon, and the book did give me a better feel for the city (even though I won't be living near the book that is the subject of the shul, I will live 2 blocks from the author's "home shul" in Center City- and I'm happy to say that he makes it lot a lot more attractive than the shul that is the subject of most of his book). (P.S. As of 12-02, the "new" rabbi is now the ex-rabbi).
Rating:
Summary: We want the rest of the story
Review: I got a copy of this the day it came out. Our Synagogue was going through a looking for a rabbi crises at the time and the title caught me. It really helped me to see that we were not alone in our angst. It was an interesting and revealing read and I hope some people see themselves in the people in the book. I met someone earlier this year from the congregation and when I mentioned the book - it was OY VEY! No, no, no. Apparently there is more story there and I hope the author revisits and writes the rest of the story.
Rating:
Summary: The New Rabbi - A congregation searches
Review: I loved the book. It reads like a mystery, so that you can't wait to find out what happens next, as the decision making process takes unexpected twists and turns with every chapter.
As a Catholic accustomed to pastoral appointments, I finished the book with a sense of awe at the responsibility and spirituality within the process.
Rating:
Summary: The New Rabbi - A congregation searches
Review: I loved the book. It reads like a mystery, so that you can't wait to find out what happens next, as the decision making process takes unexpected twists and turns with every chapter.
As a Catholic accustomed to pastoral appointments, I finished the book with a sense of awe at the responsibility and spirituality within the process.
Rating:
Summary: Insight into sociology of religion
Review: I picked up this book primarily because I am fascinated by the way people choose different occupations, manage their careers and get selected for positions over their lifetime. Along the way, I gained a unique perspective on contemporary religion. Fried is a masterful, professional journalist -- fanatical about accuracy, novelistic in style. He does not serve up composite people: everyone is real and only a few names are disguised. His gift is to keep the pages turning as we wonder, "How will this dilemma get resolved?" His writing offers entertainment, particularly through his use of fresh metaphors and analogies. Repeatedly he refers to the retail level of religion -- a particularly apt metaphor, because the world Fried describes is unabashedly a business. As other reviewers have noted, the process resembles choosing a new corporate leader or (I would add) a university dean. Image matters: the committee dismisses one rabbi because he lacks a sense of style in the way he wears his head covering! And the congregation, which includes a healthy share of Philadelphia lawyers, does not believe any governing body can deny them the rabbi they want. Anything is negotiable!
to differentiate Anthropology teaches us to differentiate between dogma religions (such as Catholicism and most Protestant sects) and tribal religions. In the latter, religious customs are developed and maintained to unify the participants and mark them as different from others. Without this understanding, much of what Fried describes would have been baffling. Fried presents a membership that resembles a community not of believers but of heritage. People know each other. They went to camp together. They're more than friends. And we learn a lot by what Fried doesn't say. As an outsider, I found myself wondering, "Where are the women? the single people? the non-traditional lifestyles?" Women can serve on committees but the real power remains with the men. Single people are mentioned only briefly in the context of "mixers." No one in Fried's world seems to believe that someone might choose to live alone, or with a same-sex partner, or without children. And no one moves, loses a job, faces financial disaster, or even lives with the aftermath of divorce. Membership is described by numbers of "families." No loners here! Fried describes a group of people who have education and wealth and know how to maximize their resources. They contribute money to charities but their own troubles cause only embarrassment. Health problems are tragic but these people do not stand in line at HMO's. The only names not revealed are those of "Landis" family, whose child uses a religious ceremony to insult her mother. The matter is treated like a gaffe at the Junior League, not a reason to delve deeper into the mission of the organization that produced the dysfunctional family. Fried writes an insider as well as a journalist, and the book has qualities of a memoir. While we gain some insights to his own psyche, we lose the context of the bigger picture: why is this important? Insiders don't ask -- but not all readers are insiders. Fried devotes less than two pages to examples of friends who turned to religion as adults -- and these were anecdotal, random stories. We get a sense of an institution run by middle-aged, wealth white males, mostly for the purpose of maintaining a tradition. Fried does a good job of explaining the dynamics of the synagogue and its search for a new rabbi, but I would have liked to see him place the question in the context of American -- and even global -- society today.
Rating:
Summary: Insight into sociology of religion
Review: I picked up this book primarily because I am fascinated by the way people choose different occupations, manage their careers and get selected for positions over their lifetime. Along the way, I gained a unique perspective on contemporary religion. Fried is a masterful, professional journalist -- fanatical about accuracy, novelistic in style. He does not serve up composite people: everyone is real and only a few names are disguised. His gift is to keep the pages turning as we wonder, "How will this dilemma get resolved?" His writing offers entertainment, particularly through his use of fresh metaphors and analogies. Repeatedly he refers to the retail level of religion -- a particularly apt metaphor, because the world Fried describes is unabashedly a business. As other reviewers have noted, the process resembles choosing a new corporate leader or (I would add) a university dean. Image matters: the committee dismisses one rabbi because he lacks a sense of style in the way he wears his head covering! And the congregation, which includes a healthy share of Philadelphia lawyers, does not believe any governing body can deny them the rabbi they want. Anything is negotiable!
to differentiate Anthropology teaches us to differentiate between dogma religions (such as Catholicism and most Protestant sects) and tribal religions. In the latter, religious customs are developed and maintained to unify the participants and mark them as different from others. Without this understanding, much of what Fried describes would have been baffling. Fried presents a membership that resembles a community not of believers but of heritage. People know each other. They went to camp together. They're more than friends. And we learn a lot by what Fried doesn't say. As an outsider, I found myself wondering, "Where are the women? the single people? the non-traditional lifestyles?" Women can serve on committees but the real power remains with the men. Single people are mentioned only briefly in the context of "mixers." No one in Fried's world seems to believe that someone might choose to live alone, or with a same-sex partner, or without children. And no one moves, loses a job, faces financial disaster, or even lives with the aftermath of divorce. Membership is described by numbers of "families." No loners here! Fried describes a group of people who have education and wealth and know how to maximize their resources. They contribute money to charities but their own troubles cause only embarrassment. Health problems are tragic but these people do not stand in line at HMO's. The only names not revealed are those of "Landis" family, whose child uses a religious ceremony to insult her mother. The matter is treated like a gaffe at the Junior League, not a reason to delve deeper into the mission of the organization that produced the dysfunctional family. Fried writes an insider as well as a journalist, and the book has qualities of a memoir. While we gain some insights to his own psyche, we lose the context of the bigger picture: why is this important? Insiders don't ask -- but not all readers are insiders. Fried devotes less than two pages to examples of friends who turned to religion as adults -- and these were anecdotal, random stories. We get a sense of an institution run by middle-aged, wealth white males, mostly for the purpose of maintaining a tradition. Fried does a good job of explaining the dynamics of the synagogue and its search for a new rabbi, but I would have liked to see him place the question in the context of American -- and even global -- society today.
Rating:
Summary: great!
Review: I really enjoyed this book == enlightening, entertaining, and educational. Definitely worth reading!
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