To Life!: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking

Rating:
Summary: fascinating, enlightening
Review: I picked this book up by chance when I fell in love with a Jewish man. I wanted to better understand the tradition that had so shaped his life. Rabbi Kushner's book achieved that impeccably, and also gave me much to think about regarding my own sense of spirituality. He treats Judaism as the joyful, holy system of living that it is, rather than as an outdated set of rules. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about the shared Judeo-Christian heritage of the western world, and to anyone exploring what it is to be human.

Rating:
Summary: A blessing for all...
Review: In this book, Rabbi Harold Kushner (perhaps best known as the author of 'When Bad Things Happen to Good People') explores the traditions and practices of Judaism with wit and wisdom. 'To Life!' is his celebration of his heritage, and the heritage of his entire community.

'"To Life!" conveys a sense of exuberance, a readiness to enjoy the pleasures of this world. It removes from wine, and from other pleasures, the taint of sin and self-indulgence, and invited us to look at all that God has created and find it good.' Judaism has a long history, longer than most continuing religious traditions in the world today. It is a testament to the foresight in Judaic teaching and wisdom that, despite its ancient origin, much of that wisdom is still relevant today. This may also have to do with the slow nature of change in the basic human nature, as well as the fact that timeless truths and problems are, well, timeless!

This book is a very personal book for Kushner. He states in the first chapter his Rule One about how to answer the question What does Judaism say about...? -- ''The only correct answer will always begin: "Some Jews believe as follows, and other Jews believe something different." The reason fo this is not just that we are a highly individualistic, independent-minded people. The main reason is that we have never found it necessary to spell out exactly what we are supposed to believe.'

A key difference between Judaism and many religions, including Christianity, is that it is an ethnically-based religion, not only in practice but in approach. The Jews were a people before they had a religion. With most every other religion, the converse is true. When Mordecai Kaplan asked Kushner and his rabbinical school fellow students to write down the ten greatest Jews of the twentieth century (the list included Einstein, Freud, Herzl, etc.) and then asked them to write down the synagogue each attended each week, the point was made clearly -- they were not Jews by virtue of religious observance, but through membership in a community.

Kushner proceeds in a classic Jewish style -- to tell stories. The community is built up largely of the stories carried forward from generation to generation, about the community and its collective responsibility to God and to each other, with neither aspect able to be separated from the other. Story-telling is something that the Christian community has learned and taken to heart from this practice, and indeed, in carrying the Hebrew scriptures into the canon of Christian scriptures, tells many of the same stories.

Kushner discusses sacredness and holiness -- he quotes Martin Buber who, in distinction from the thought of much of the world who believe there is the holy and the profane (unholy), believed the proper division exists between the holy and the not-yet-holy. Everything has a potential for holiness, as part of God's creation. 'Everything we do can be transformed into a Sinai experience, an encounter with the sacred. The goal of Judaism is not to teach us how to escape from the profane world to the cleansing presence of God, but to teach us how to bring God into the world, how to take the ordinary and make it holy.'

Throughout the book, in his discussion of the calendar -- from which he discusses holidays and rituals of importance-- to the ways of prayer, the diversity of Jewish belief about God and humanity, and the ideas of the state of Israel and historical and continuing anti-semitism, Kushner approaches each subject with clarity, compassion, wit, and the love only a life-long devotion to Judaism can bring. His final chapter, 'Why You Need to be a Jew', is aimed largely at the assimilationists, those who would forego much of Jewish life in favour of the greater culture. In this chapter, one can find reasons for a reaffirmation of one's own religion, whatever it may be, and find arguments for taking it seriously.

Kushner's book is a blessing to all who read it, of any tradition.

Shalom.

Rating:
Summary: For a certain audience ...Great
Review: This book is written for "the person who grew up Jewish but never learned what it was about, and for the person who never grew up with a Jewish identity but now has a serious interest in Judaism". So, with that it mind and that the Rabbi's sect is conservative, this book is an excellent encapsulation of Jewish being and thought. Its like a mini intro-to-judaism class! However, its Jewish-Christian dialogue is a bit too offensive - a major drawback to the book.

Why does one group have to be so defensive and deny the other groups beliefs in... whatever? The Rabbi's remarks in this book are very UNjewish! Shouldn't Judaism be able to stand up on its own without the "putdowns" of the "other" religion (ie Christianity)? It almost seems that the Rabbi is afraid that he needs these comparisons to keep Jews away from an apostate faith. There are wonderful things about Judaism that does not need a constant Christian comparison to bring out. By the way, Jews think Christians can go to heaven too, so why not just bring up the Noahide Laws instead or emphasize the lack of a jewish concept of an eternal Hell? Deconstructing Christianity isn't necessary. Also, considering since both the Jewish and Christian sects are morally based, and if I am truly considering conversion, aren't I not just a "Christian without Christ"? Both religions really need to stress their common beliefs than their differences for true Peace on Earth. The author's perspective on this is suprising since his first book was so inclusive. Again this is my only negative comment on his book.

Rating:
Summary: Stellar
Review: This is an outstanding work of devotion, wisdom and compassion. A must read for anyone interested in Judaism, especially Jewish people interested in their own faith and practices. As an entry level primer for people with no knowledge of the Jewish religion or for Jewish people looking for insight into their pasts and present, this is a great place to start. Enlightening and insightful, this is one of the few books on this subject not written by a Rabbi or the Reform movement. Thus it is more traditional and certainly more educational for those serious about grasping the essence of Judaism. There are a few pages where the text is more or less placating the non-Jewish world, but not to the point it is belabored and it undeniably does not detract from the beauty and compassion espoused by the author. If you want to lean about the Jewish faith and perception of life, this is where to start your journey. If you are Jewish and struggling with the forces that pull you away from the practice of your religion, read this book. If you are not Jewish and want insight into the world of Judaism, read this book. It's a winner. Included is a brief historical account of the Jews, traditions and customs and a good deal of solid Jewish philosophy.