To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life

Rating:
Summary: Difficult, but very worthwhile (includes excerpt)
Review: When I was first interested in learning about Judaism I really didn't know much. This book was recommended to me, so I got it. I kind of liked the first part and found some good information, but I got very bogged down just over half way through when it started to get into the ritual a bit more. I didn't really understand what I was reading so I put it down.

After some years and learning from other sources I picked this up again. I was amazed at how my perspective had changed. It suddenly had meaning and I find myself going back to it again and again for guidance and understanding in many areas.

If you are new to Judaism, you might have a hard time with this book, like I did (I found "To Pray as a Jew" even harder), but if you know a bit from other sources and you are really interested in really understanding and remembering the details this is a very good source.

Here is an excerpt to demonstrate how difficult it can be to understand, but how there are gems therein:

A Jewish definition of holiness may be put in these terms: Holiness does not lie in the ascetic, saintly withdrawal from life, or in excessive denial to oneself of all human pleasures, of in the repression of all human drives. It consists, rather, of full participation in the stream of human community life, sharing the joyous as well as the sorrowful experiences which life has to offer, denying to oneself no legitimate pleasures; but at the same time so developing one's sense of discernment as to be able to distinguish and choose the right from the wrong, the true from the false, the good from the bad, the sacred from the profane, the pure from the impure, and the clean from the unclean. The greater the sense of ethical-moral-religious discrimination, the greater the holiness of the individual.

The common denominator between the Jewish concept of holiness and that of the other faiths is indeed expressed in the crucial concept of being removed. ...removed from what? To others it meant being removed from life. To the Jew, it has meant being removed from idolatry; being removed from secularism; being removed from the vulgar and the profane.

If you have trouble with this book I would recommend you skip the parts that are difficult for you or just put it aside for a while, but keep it nearby because it is very useful later. Many think of it as a classic. I don't think you'll find a compilation of information like this anywhere else. There is no book I'd recommend in its place.


Rating:
Summary: The Best No-Frills Book on Judaism
Review: Without a doubt, this is the best and first book one would want to read to familiarize onesself with the basic tenets of Judaism. It is readable to Jew and non-Jew alike (note the review by the Kuwaiti Muslim), and should stand (well-worn) on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the the Five Great Religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism).

As for revisions, what is there to revise? I've seen printings of this book going back to the 1970s, and they are definitive. Although written from an Orthodox perspective, Donin's writings are as useful to any of the many new Jewish movements beyond the well-known Conservative and Reform groups (please note--it is Reform Judaism, not "Reformed"--empahsising the intentions of the founders to reformation within Jewish practice, akin to the Protestant reformaton).

For the Holocaust scholar or amateur historian--be thankful that this book was not available to Eichmann--who did study Judaism. This knowledge was used against Jews. Somehow, his teacher (a rabbi) was not able to get across the beauty of the traditions, but then again, his student had already made up his mind and was not malleable. Some non-Jews reading this book will look for more...Donin's companion book on Jewish prayer would be a good place to start.

Highly recommended to Jew, non-Jew, scholar or educated lay readers.