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To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People
A leading thinker’s witty, wide-ranging journey to understanding what it means to be a Jew today.
What does it mean to be a Jew? At a time of worldwide crisis, venerable answers to this question have become unsettled. In To Be a Jew Today, the legal scholar and columnist Noah Feldman draws on a lifelong engagement with his religion to offer a wide-ranging interpretation of Judaism in its current varieties. How do Jews today understand their relationship to God, to Israel, and to each other—and live their lives accordingly?
Writing sympathetically but incisively about diverse outlooks, Feldman clarifies what’s at stake in the choice of how to be a Jew, and discusses the shared “theology of struggle” that Jews engage in as they wrestle with who God is, what God wants, or whether God exists. He shows how the founding of Israel has transformed Judaism itself over the last century—and explores the ongoing consequences of that transformation for all Jews, who find the meaning of their Jewishness and their views about Israel intertwined, no matter what those views are. And he examines the analogies between being Jewish and belonging to a large, messy family—a family that often makes its members crazy, but a family all the same. Written with learning, empathy and clarity, To Be a Jew Today is a critical resource for readers of all faiths
Ranging from ancient rabbis and Maimonides to contemporary revisers of the faith, from messianic expectations to the old teaching that there is no such thing as a “bad Jew,” Feldman’s book offers a novel view of the rewards and dilemmas of contemporary Jewish life.
What does it mean to be a Jew? At a time of worldwide crisis, venerable answers to this question have become unsettled. In To Be a Jew Today, the legal scholar and columnist Noah Feldman draws on a lifelong engagement with his religion to offer a wide-ranging interpretation of Judaism in its current varieties. How do Jews today understand their relationship to God, to Israel, and to each other—and live their lives accordingly?
Writing sympathetically but incisively about diverse outlooks, Feldman clarifies what’s at stake in the choice of how to be a Jew, and discusses the shared “theology of struggle” that Jews engage in as they wrestle with who God is, what God wants, or whether God exists. He shows how the founding of Israel has transformed Judaism itself over the last century—and explores the ongoing consequences of that transformation for all Jews, who find the meaning of their Jewishness and their views about Israel intertwined, no matter what those views are. And he examines the analogies between being Jewish and belonging to a large, messy family—a family that often makes its members crazy, but a family all the same. Written with learning, empathy and clarity, To Be a Jew Today is a critical resource for readers of all faiths
Ranging from ancient rabbis and Maimonides to contemporary revisers of the faith, from messianic expectations to the old teaching that there is no such thing as a “bad Jew,” Feldman’s book offers a novel view of the rewards and dilemmas of contemporary Jewish life.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published March 5, 2024
244 people are currently reading
1975 people want to read
About the author
Noah Feldman
30 books206 followersNoah Feldman is an American author and professor of law at Harvard Law School.
Feldman grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the Maimonides School. He graduated from Harvard College in 1992, ranked first in the College, and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he earned a D.Phil in Islamic Thought in 1994. Upon his return from Oxford, he received his J.D., in 1997, from Yale Law School, where he was the book review editor of the Yale Law Journal. He later served as a law clerk for Associate Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2001, he joined the faculty of New York University Law School (NYU), leaving for Harvard in 2007. In 2008, he was appointed the Bemis Professor of International Law. He worked as an advisor in the early days of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of the country. He regularly contributes features and opinion pieces to The New York Times Magazine and is a senior adjunct fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Feldman grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the Maimonides School. He graduated from Harvard College in 1992, ranked first in the College, and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he earned a D.Phil in Islamic Thought in 1994. Upon his return from Oxford, he received his J.D., in 1997, from Yale Law School, where he was the book review editor of the Yale Law Journal. He later served as a law clerk for Associate Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2001, he joined the faculty of New York University Law School (NYU), leaving for Harvard in 2007. In 2008, he was appointed the Bemis Professor of International Law. He worked as an advisor in the early days of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of the country. He regularly contributes features and opinion pieces to The New York Times Magazine and is a senior adjunct fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
March 22, 2024
This exceeded all expectations and I recommend it strongly. The impartial yet personal, extremely well-researched, knowledgeable tone, insight, and gems throughout make me want to re-read this book to remember every part. Clearly a work of labor and love, I wish there were this kind of work for every religion. It answers seemingly every question that could arise and tackles it with profound insight.
January 16, 2025
This book is for a very niche audience: I cannot imagine most people (Jewish or not) enjoying this as it’s a bit dense and reads sometimes like a textbook.
That being said I personally found it to be an incredibly fascinating read on what it means to be a Jew today with a special focus on the US experience. This book blends philosophy, history and sociology to analyze what the Jewish experience is today, how Israel’s existence and development has impacted Jewish theology and spiritual life.
SO thought provoking and eye opening. It gave me words to describe much of the thoughts, observations and feelings I’ve had. I’d recommend to all my Jewish friends who consider the points above with some regularity or are interested in exploring the subject more.
That being said I personally found it to be an incredibly fascinating read on what it means to be a Jew today with a special focus on the US experience. This book blends philosophy, history and sociology to analyze what the Jewish experience is today, how Israel’s existence and development has impacted Jewish theology and spiritual life.
SO thought provoking and eye opening. It gave me words to describe much of the thoughts, observations and feelings I’ve had. I’d recommend to all my Jewish friends who consider the points above with some regularity or are interested in exploring the subject more.
March 18, 2024
This is a fascinating review of Jewish history and the various paths Judaism has taken. It discusses different ways at looking at being Jewish and different views of Israel. I felt myself fully engaged with it, even when I wasn't sure I agreed with a particular point. Definitely a good read for those of us trying to untangle how we want to go forward as Jews and for others who want to understand a bit about Jews.
May 4, 2025
This book is dense, and that’s important to consider before diving in.
It tackles a wide range of subjects, and while I won’t unpack all my personal views here, I will say it’s deeply thought-provoking. It challenged me to reflect on what Jewish identity really means, and just how many forms that identity can take.
The takeaway? Judaism is incredibly interpretive. There is no such thing as a “bad Jew,” just many different expressions of what it means to live a Jewish life.
On one end of the spectrum, there are Hasidic and Orthodox communities. On the other, there are what some call “bagels and lox” Jews. I see myself somewhere in the middle, maybe leaning a bit more toward the bagels and lox side, and I can appreciate the range of perspectives represented.
One of the most controversial and eye-opening parts of the book is the discussion around support for Israel. I was especially struck by the distinction between secular Zionists and religious Zionists, two groups that both support the state but for very different reasons. The book touches briefly on the broader Middle East conflict, but not in a way that equips you to form a comprehensive or fully informed opinion. I’d strongly encourage anyone curious about that subject to seek out additional sources and approach it with a commitment to learning and balance.
Another thought-provoking element is the role of Ashkenazi influence and how that particular group often defines the stereotypical image of what it means to be Jewish. We’re all part of the diaspora, yet Israel attempts to bring us back into one collective identity. As an American Jew, that’s something I constantly wrestle with. Strangely enough, I find myself identifying most closely with being a New York American Jew. A place that once represented a destination for immigrants has now become the “homeland” for my ancestors. That reversal is fascinating to consider.
And finally, on the topic of God , the book sums it up in a way that stuck with me. Belief will always be a struggle when there’s no clear proof, and likely never will be. That’s the very nature of faith. I’m not sure I fully subscribe to that idea, but it’s definitely worth pondering.
Beyond all that, the book touches on other core ideas: faith and practice, marriage, Jewish history, ethics, generational perspectives, and the role of education. These themes form the backbone of what Judaism is and continue to evolve as Jews reinterpret and carry the tradition forward.
Overall, 8/10, points deducted for the density. Though, par for the course.
It tackles a wide range of subjects, and while I won’t unpack all my personal views here, I will say it’s deeply thought-provoking. It challenged me to reflect on what Jewish identity really means, and just how many forms that identity can take.
The takeaway? Judaism is incredibly interpretive. There is no such thing as a “bad Jew,” just many different expressions of what it means to live a Jewish life.
On one end of the spectrum, there are Hasidic and Orthodox communities. On the other, there are what some call “bagels and lox” Jews. I see myself somewhere in the middle, maybe leaning a bit more toward the bagels and lox side, and I can appreciate the range of perspectives represented.
One of the most controversial and eye-opening parts of the book is the discussion around support for Israel. I was especially struck by the distinction between secular Zionists and religious Zionists, two groups that both support the state but for very different reasons. The book touches briefly on the broader Middle East conflict, but not in a way that equips you to form a comprehensive or fully informed opinion. I’d strongly encourage anyone curious about that subject to seek out additional sources and approach it with a commitment to learning and balance.
Another thought-provoking element is the role of Ashkenazi influence and how that particular group often defines the stereotypical image of what it means to be Jewish. We’re all part of the diaspora, yet Israel attempts to bring us back into one collective identity. As an American Jew, that’s something I constantly wrestle with. Strangely enough, I find myself identifying most closely with being a New York American Jew. A place that once represented a destination for immigrants has now become the “homeland” for my ancestors. That reversal is fascinating to consider.
And finally, on the topic of God , the book sums it up in a way that stuck with me. Belief will always be a struggle when there’s no clear proof, and likely never will be. That’s the very nature of faith. I’m not sure I fully subscribe to that idea, but it’s definitely worth pondering.
Beyond all that, the book touches on other core ideas: faith and practice, marriage, Jewish history, ethics, generational perspectives, and the role of education. These themes form the backbone of what Judaism is and continue to evolve as Jews reinterpret and carry the tradition forward.
Overall, 8/10, points deducted for the density. Though, par for the course.
November 28, 2024
I liked the way he divided the book along the three main issues - God, Israel and the People. I liked a lot of what he said. But, the initial enthusiasm cooled off towards the end of the book. He tried to be neutral, to see and respect all points of view, and while this is admirable, the result lacked passion, lacked conviction, felt neutral and disengaged.
December 16, 2025
Noah Feldman's To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People (2024) is a masterful, empathetic exploration of contemporary Jewishness, modeled after Maimonides' medieval Guide for the Perplexed. As a Harvard law professor and Modern Orthodox-raised intellectual, Feldman maps the astonishing diversity of Jewish belief and practice without judgment, framing it all within a "theology of struggle"—the idea that wrestling (with God, tradition, ethics, and each other) is the unifying essence of being Jewish, drawn from the etymology of "Israel."
Feldman categorizes modern Jews not just by denominations but by theological orientations: Traditionalists committed to unchanging law, Evolutionists adapting halakhah, Progressives emphasizing ethical growth, and Godless/secular Jews whose skepticism or cultural ties are equally valid. This inclusivity shines especially for atheists: Doubt or rejection of God isn't exclusionary but part of the ongoing "struggle," even if the personal wrestle with divinity has resolved into peaceful non-belief.
The book's sharpest insights come in linking this diversity to Israel and the Middle East conflict. Feldman, a liberal Zionist, acknowledges Palestinian displacement (the Nakba) alongside Jewish trauma (the Holocaust), while defending Israel's legitimacy. He astutely observes how Israel has "replaced" the Holocaust as the central narrative for many Jews—source of pride for some, moral crisis for others. The rightward shift in Israeli politics, away from secular-socialist roots, has fueled progressive Jewish criticism, turning pro-Palestinian advocacy into an expression of Jewish values like tikkun olam rather than betrayal.
Though the expansive "struggle" metaphor risks special pleading to encompass everyone, Feldman's transparency and balance make the book profoundly illuminating. It elucidates not only the complexity of Jewish identity—from atheist cultural ties to fierce Zionism—but the intractable pain of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where competing traumas and justices collide. In a post-October 7 world of deepening schisms, this is an essential, humane guide—provocative yet unifying. Highly recommended for anyone grappling with these questions.
Feldman categorizes modern Jews not just by denominations but by theological orientations: Traditionalists committed to unchanging law, Evolutionists adapting halakhah, Progressives emphasizing ethical growth, and Godless/secular Jews whose skepticism or cultural ties are equally valid. This inclusivity shines especially for atheists: Doubt or rejection of God isn't exclusionary but part of the ongoing "struggle," even if the personal wrestle with divinity has resolved into peaceful non-belief.
The book's sharpest insights come in linking this diversity to Israel and the Middle East conflict. Feldman, a liberal Zionist, acknowledges Palestinian displacement (the Nakba) alongside Jewish trauma (the Holocaust), while defending Israel's legitimacy. He astutely observes how Israel has "replaced" the Holocaust as the central narrative for many Jews—source of pride for some, moral crisis for others. The rightward shift in Israeli politics, away from secular-socialist roots, has fueled progressive Jewish criticism, turning pro-Palestinian advocacy into an expression of Jewish values like tikkun olam rather than betrayal.
Though the expansive "struggle" metaphor risks special pleading to encompass everyone, Feldman's transparency and balance make the book profoundly illuminating. It elucidates not only the complexity of Jewish identity—from atheist cultural ties to fierce Zionism—but the intractable pain of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where competing traumas and justices collide. In a post-October 7 world of deepening schisms, this is an essential, humane guide—provocative yet unifying. Highly recommended for anyone grappling with these questions.
June 11, 2025
An insider baseball game for affiliated Jews (and, maybe Feldman argues, non-affiliated ones) to reconsider who Jews are and what and how we believe in the modern day.
Feldman has some bonafides; a modern Orthodox upbringing, a distinguished law career (good for cultural pride and also ties into the vicissitudes of Jewish study,) and an interfaith marriage that changed his relationship to his community. From that vantage point, maybe he wanted to “think outside the box” and create new categories for Jews rather than the old, tired ones like “religious” or “secular.” It’s just that “Traditional” (those study and adhere to Jewish texts on their own terms,) “Progressives” (those who arguably see adherence to post-Enlightenment ideas as the moral standard in which Jewish precepts have to be adapted or excised), and “Evolutionists” (somewhere in between) can start to feel restrictive. Too much verbiage in this dense book, perhaps.
And Feldman has a lot to cover. Broadly, he addresses Judaism first by various relationships to God, then by various relationships to the modern State of Israel, and the idea of peoplehood. In that last one, I’ve often gravitated to the metaphor put out by the founder of the sect (Reconstructionist) I grew up in: Judaism as civilization. That doesn’t work for Feldman. “There are Jews whose communities are fully civilizational, encompassing intense relationships and home-based religious practices that infuse everyday life outside the synagogue,” he writes. “What is almost impossible is for the entire community to embrace the notion of God as metaphor while maintaining the communal energy necessary to make a civilization. The recurrent question for any intentional community, including any religious community is, ‘Why are we doing this?’” I think Feldman is being too absolutist here, if he thinks only obedience to a literal God can keep the Jewish connection to our complex history and evolving culture (my loose interpretation of “civilization”) from falling like a house of cards.
Still, his favored word for Jewish peoplehood is “family.” “The family conception is a definition of Jewish people that meets our needs, spiritual and intellectual and practical. It can accommodate fellow feeling as well as division. It acknowledges that it is appropriate for Jews to experience a special pain at the death and suffering of fellow Jews…and special pleasure when Jews do something good. It recognizes the familial nature of Jewishness while remembering that families are not defined by genetics alone but by connections that exist in our minds.” I’ll give Feldman this; “family” denotes more intimacy than does “civilization.” I think he really wanted to carve out a space for our passionate arguments. :P
On another level, I think he wants us to step back from our arguments and consider our own viewpoints more objectively. So much of Jewish expression, including “traditionalist” Jewish expression, is rooted in specific times and places. Back to my civilization metaphor: we have grown and reacted to stimuli throughout the ages. The most prominent and tangible one right now may be the State of Israel. Arguably the most modern iteration of our civilization, even if it is tied in some ways to much older spirituality and theology. The state is central, to Zionists (of which there are several strands), anti-Zionists, and maybe even non-Zionists alike. This is another one of Feldman’s arguments: however you do, or don’t, feel connected to the larger Jewish community, if you’re struggling with these questions, then you’re engaging in Judaism.
Maybe he’s being a little dismissive or mocking of some of us. :P I can’t help but feel defensive when he brings up the “anguished books justifying their positions with titles like FAULT LINES: EXPLORING THE COMPLICATED PLACE OF PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN JEWISH ZIONISM.” Ouch! I had an essay published in there. :P And I’m not even Gen X, though as a geriatric millennial, I suppose I’m closer to this group of liberal Zionists (love me some J-Street and New Israel Fund) than I am to shifting anti-Zionist tides of Gen Z (some of whom come out of the evolving Reconstructionist, now “Reconstructing” movement.) Well, I’m being a little hypersensitive. As Feldman says, it’s personal. It’s family.
There’s a whole lot in this book I haven’t touched on—scriptural analysis, namedrops from ancients to Maimonides to moderns and have I mentioned Maimonides? :P My Israel book club at shul met to talk about this book once, and we might have to schedule a second time. This could probably be taught as an entire university course.
But in closing, I think where I diverge from Feldman the most is arguably his most controversial quote. Feldman says, “we should hope to preserve Jewishness only if doing so reflects our deepest values and beliefs.” I’ve never grappled with anything quite like this; I’m grateful and unnerved.
It reminds me, slightly, of Feldman’s earlier argument about how most of American Jewish establishment would shun a leader for questioning if Israel should exist, vs almost any other controversial stance. (Gay marriage? For most of us, fine! Except, perhaps, if the partner isn’t Jewish. :P) It feels like a false narrative, where it should be natural to upend the lived existence of over half of an ethno-religious group. When applied in practice, this is ethnic cleansing. This is the difference between criticizing an administration (like the Israeli government, which is committing war crimes against non-combatant Palestinians) and the general population of the country.
To return to the question of preserving Judaism more broadly, I don’t agree it is something we can just throw away. Which brings me back to the family vs civilization metaphor. People leave their toxic families all the time. Jews by Choice…choose to enter our family, and I want to make space for them at the table. But the core of Judaism for me isn’t about “our deepest values and beliefs,” at least not in a post-Enlightenment sense. It’s about the long road of history, the complex tapestry of cultural expression. A legacy. A civilization.
Feldman has some bonafides; a modern Orthodox upbringing, a distinguished law career (good for cultural pride and also ties into the vicissitudes of Jewish study,) and an interfaith marriage that changed his relationship to his community. From that vantage point, maybe he wanted to “think outside the box” and create new categories for Jews rather than the old, tired ones like “religious” or “secular.” It’s just that “Traditional” (those study and adhere to Jewish texts on their own terms,) “Progressives” (those who arguably see adherence to post-Enlightenment ideas as the moral standard in which Jewish precepts have to be adapted or excised), and “Evolutionists” (somewhere in between) can start to feel restrictive. Too much verbiage in this dense book, perhaps.
And Feldman has a lot to cover. Broadly, he addresses Judaism first by various relationships to God, then by various relationships to the modern State of Israel, and the idea of peoplehood. In that last one, I’ve often gravitated to the metaphor put out by the founder of the sect (Reconstructionist) I grew up in: Judaism as civilization. That doesn’t work for Feldman. “There are Jews whose communities are fully civilizational, encompassing intense relationships and home-based religious practices that infuse everyday life outside the synagogue,” he writes. “What is almost impossible is for the entire community to embrace the notion of God as metaphor while maintaining the communal energy necessary to make a civilization. The recurrent question for any intentional community, including any religious community is, ‘Why are we doing this?’” I think Feldman is being too absolutist here, if he thinks only obedience to a literal God can keep the Jewish connection to our complex history and evolving culture (my loose interpretation of “civilization”) from falling like a house of cards.
Still, his favored word for Jewish peoplehood is “family.” “The family conception is a definition of Jewish people that meets our needs, spiritual and intellectual and practical. It can accommodate fellow feeling as well as division. It acknowledges that it is appropriate for Jews to experience a special pain at the death and suffering of fellow Jews…and special pleasure when Jews do something good. It recognizes the familial nature of Jewishness while remembering that families are not defined by genetics alone but by connections that exist in our minds.” I’ll give Feldman this; “family” denotes more intimacy than does “civilization.” I think he really wanted to carve out a space for our passionate arguments. :P
On another level, I think he wants us to step back from our arguments and consider our own viewpoints more objectively. So much of Jewish expression, including “traditionalist” Jewish expression, is rooted in specific times and places. Back to my civilization metaphor: we have grown and reacted to stimuli throughout the ages. The most prominent and tangible one right now may be the State of Israel. Arguably the most modern iteration of our civilization, even if it is tied in some ways to much older spirituality and theology. The state is central, to Zionists (of which there are several strands), anti-Zionists, and maybe even non-Zionists alike. This is another one of Feldman’s arguments: however you do, or don’t, feel connected to the larger Jewish community, if you’re struggling with these questions, then you’re engaging in Judaism.
Maybe he’s being a little dismissive or mocking of some of us. :P I can’t help but feel defensive when he brings up the “anguished books justifying their positions with titles like FAULT LINES: EXPLORING THE COMPLICATED PLACE OF PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN JEWISH ZIONISM.” Ouch! I had an essay published in there. :P And I’m not even Gen X, though as a geriatric millennial, I suppose I’m closer to this group of liberal Zionists (love me some J-Street and New Israel Fund) than I am to shifting anti-Zionist tides of Gen Z (some of whom come out of the evolving Reconstructionist, now “Reconstructing” movement.) Well, I’m being a little hypersensitive. As Feldman says, it’s personal. It’s family.
There’s a whole lot in this book I haven’t touched on—scriptural analysis, namedrops from ancients to Maimonides to moderns and have I mentioned Maimonides? :P My Israel book club at shul met to talk about this book once, and we might have to schedule a second time. This could probably be taught as an entire university course.
But in closing, I think where I diverge from Feldman the most is arguably his most controversial quote. Feldman says, “we should hope to preserve Jewishness only if doing so reflects our deepest values and beliefs.” I’ve never grappled with anything quite like this; I’m grateful and unnerved.
It reminds me, slightly, of Feldman’s earlier argument about how most of American Jewish establishment would shun a leader for questioning if Israel should exist, vs almost any other controversial stance. (Gay marriage? For most of us, fine! Except, perhaps, if the partner isn’t Jewish. :P) It feels like a false narrative, where it should be natural to upend the lived existence of over half of an ethno-religious group. When applied in practice, this is ethnic cleansing. This is the difference between criticizing an administration (like the Israeli government, which is committing war crimes against non-combatant Palestinians) and the general population of the country.
To return to the question of preserving Judaism more broadly, I don’t agree it is something we can just throw away. Which brings me back to the family vs civilization metaphor. People leave their toxic families all the time. Jews by Choice…choose to enter our family, and I want to make space for them at the table. But the core of Judaism for me isn’t about “our deepest values and beliefs,” at least not in a post-Enlightenment sense. It’s about the long road of history, the complex tapestry of cultural expression. A legacy. A civilization.
February 14, 2024
Some really great insights and thought points - covers a variety of challenges in today's world, and how Judiasm is at the same time fluid and structured. A great read and one you will return to.
June 17, 2025
Feldman is someone I've admired a lot for a long time, so when I heard that he had written a book about theology, I was excited to give it a try – even if the book wasn't about my native Catholicism. I'm very glad to report that Feldman didn't disappoint.
Firstly, the book is incredibly expansive in its coverage, divided into three sections: one on God, one on Israel, and one on the Jewish people. In the section on God (Part I), I found Feldman's categories of Jewish belief – Traditionalists (those who believe that "every aspect of human life is to be integrated into a single Torah worldview," i.e., that you can know God's desires through the teachings of rabbis and should follow God's will), Progressives (those who believe that, in order to live by moral truth—which a loving God would wish – some aspects of the tradition must at times be reformed or abandoned), and Evolutionists (Jews who "seek to accommodate strongly held moral beliefs in equality and freedom with their faith commitments," and who live with the tensions inevitably created by holding both) – to be rigorously thought out and comprehensive. (Though, what would I know about whether it's truly comprehensive or not – I’m not a Jew.)
Feldman's coverage of Israel – why and how it came to exist (with discussions of secular and religious Zionism, and religious Zionism’s gradual domination of American Modern Orthodox Judaism), how it affects the lives of Jews and non-Jews today (if I recall correctly, Feldman argues that it holds a central place in the lives of all Jews), and how each of the three groups mentioned above relates to the state of Israel – felt free of any judgment or bias, or at least none that I could detect.
But the most beautiful section of this book, to me, is the third, which explores Jewish peoplehood through questions like “What are the Jews?” and covers topics such as antisemitism, why Jews have made disproportionate contributions to fields ranging from science to revolution and capitalism, Jewish marriage, the merits of tribalism, and a broader exploration of love (which was one of the most well-written and moving sections of the book). Feldman's answer is that Jews are defined by their struggle-embrace with God – a concept he illustrates not only through present manifestations of Jewish culture but also through stories from the Bible.
Highly, highly recommend to both Jews and Gentiles alike.
Note to self: two notable stories, one about Elisha ben Abuyah/Rabbi Meir and the other about Jacob rejoining his brother Esau
Firstly, the book is incredibly expansive in its coverage, divided into three sections: one on God, one on Israel, and one on the Jewish people. In the section on God (Part I), I found Feldman's categories of Jewish belief – Traditionalists (those who believe that "every aspect of human life is to be integrated into a single Torah worldview," i.e., that you can know God's desires through the teachings of rabbis and should follow God's will), Progressives (those who believe that, in order to live by moral truth—which a loving God would wish – some aspects of the tradition must at times be reformed or abandoned), and Evolutionists (Jews who "seek to accommodate strongly held moral beliefs in equality and freedom with their faith commitments," and who live with the tensions inevitably created by holding both) – to be rigorously thought out and comprehensive. (Though, what would I know about whether it's truly comprehensive or not – I’m not a Jew.)
Feldman's coverage of Israel – why and how it came to exist (with discussions of secular and religious Zionism, and religious Zionism’s gradual domination of American Modern Orthodox Judaism), how it affects the lives of Jews and non-Jews today (if I recall correctly, Feldman argues that it holds a central place in the lives of all Jews), and how each of the three groups mentioned above relates to the state of Israel – felt free of any judgment or bias, or at least none that I could detect.
But the most beautiful section of this book, to me, is the third, which explores Jewish peoplehood through questions like “What are the Jews?” and covers topics such as antisemitism, why Jews have made disproportionate contributions to fields ranging from science to revolution and capitalism, Jewish marriage, the merits of tribalism, and a broader exploration of love (which was one of the most well-written and moving sections of the book). Feldman's answer is that Jews are defined by their struggle-embrace with God – a concept he illustrates not only through present manifestations of Jewish culture but also through stories from the Bible.
Highly, highly recommend to both Jews and Gentiles alike.
Note to self: two notable stories, one about Elisha ben Abuyah/Rabbi Meir and the other about Jacob rejoining his brother Esau
July 24, 2024
A superlative book. Important. To be a Jew is also to struggle with G*d together. If worthy, we may be able. These are elements that every Jew, everyone who thinks they are, can and should be a Jew, should simmer in. Written with grace, Feldman tries to bring if himself when as a political pundit and Harvard law professor, his polished style and intellect cover off his orthodox upbringing while wanting to see Israel and Judaism as vital and visceral.
July 1, 2024
Exploration into the religion, nation, and community of the Jewish people, with all reasonable respect given to all identified strains in each of those perspectives. I don't know enough to say if anything was left out or mischaracterized, but Feldman is clear and consistent in his analysis of what is included here. I learned a lot that I find important, which I can't say from most books.
December 15, 2024
I gotta be honest, I thought I would end up dragging myself through this book, like a kid forced to eat broccoli "because it's good for you." Not only did I learn a TON, but with very few exceptions it was super interesting. An extremely well-researched and -written way for Jews and non-Jews alike to explore Judaism, Israel, belief, politics, etc. etc.
August 17, 2024
I was really excited for this book and very interested in the topics he talked about, but I was also bored to tears the entire time.
February 5, 2025
Sweeping and erudite.
May 16, 2024
Feldman covers so, so very much in this book. I feel like it may be a 5-star, but I will need to get a copy of my own and read it again (this one is due back to the library) before I can deem it such. This book covers philosophy, theology, politics, and so much more. Just like any good Judaica book, it poses more questions than it answers, but it enriches the reader by doing so.
November 22, 2024
Analysis of the main streams of Jewish thought and identity today, how they've developed, and where they might be headed. Further, in the manner of a liberal Harvard professor going for objectivity, what the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges of each approach are. It's well written and a dense read at the same time, incisive though on a few points I'd suspect his personal vantage point leads him a bit astray (though who among us...).
Feldman doesn't want to strictly identify these streams with denominational lines as seen in America but essentially they line up: Traditionalist (Orthodox), Evolutionist (Modern Orthodox), Progressive (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist). How these uniquely address faith and practice make up the first part. How they uniquely view and incorporate the modern nation of Israel into their Judaism makes up the second (and it has come to lie in the center of all of our Judaism, even for those who struggle against it, he accurately notes; "turning one's back on Israel in favor of a Jewish life focused exclusively on the Diaspora is not theologically viable, much as some might wish it"). The coming together of Modern Orthodoxy in America and its Evolutionist cousin Religious Zionism in Israel as they answer questions of meta-halakha ("why do we live this way instead of another") was a particularly interesting discussion. Part three addresses how they uniquely think of Jewish peoplehood and the very question of being a Jew.
"To be a Jew is ultimately not, or not only, something one does alone. To be a Jew is to struggle with God together, as a family... The struggle can sometimes be painful. Yet together with the loving embrace, it can, and should, also be joyful, productive, beautiful, transcendent. Struggle with God in this way is a gift: God's gift to Israel, and Israel's unique gift to God."
Feldman doesn't want to strictly identify these streams with denominational lines as seen in America but essentially they line up: Traditionalist (Orthodox), Evolutionist (Modern Orthodox), Progressive (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist). How these uniquely address faith and practice make up the first part. How they uniquely view and incorporate the modern nation of Israel into their Judaism makes up the second (and it has come to lie in the center of all of our Judaism, even for those who struggle against it, he accurately notes; "turning one's back on Israel in favor of a Jewish life focused exclusively on the Diaspora is not theologically viable, much as some might wish it"). The coming together of Modern Orthodoxy in America and its Evolutionist cousin Religious Zionism in Israel as they answer questions of meta-halakha ("why do we live this way instead of another") was a particularly interesting discussion. Part three addresses how they uniquely think of Jewish peoplehood and the very question of being a Jew.
"To be a Jew is ultimately not, or not only, something one does alone. To be a Jew is to struggle with God together, as a family... The struggle can sometimes be painful. Yet together with the loving embrace, it can, and should, also be joyful, productive, beautiful, transcendent. Struggle with God in this way is a gift: God's gift to Israel, and Israel's unique gift to God."
November 16, 2025
Lots of things I liked about this book. To state the obvious, it's not for everyone. It's a book about contemporary Judaism, about various beliefs that undergird the array of Jewish religious affiliations, and about the monumental impact of Israel and religious zionism on all of those forms of Jewish identity. I appreciated that Feldman's tone seemed measured but vulnerable: he talked about his upbringing in a modern orthodox tradition and the depth/breadth of this book makes clear that he is a learned Jewish scholar. But even so, Feldman often remarked in the book about his personal struggle with his faith, both following October 7th and the genocide in Gaza, and because his ex-wife is not Jewish. That's one major thing I enjoyed here: Feldman's candidness, the unlikely way he managed to feel relatable. And honestly, I was just surprised that he wrote this book because of how much space it gives Progressive Judaism.
On a similar note, I enjoyed part 2 of this book the most, where Feldman discussed early origins of zionism, the Holocaust, Israel, and the way these developments have changed Jewish communities and ways of thinking about values. In particular, I learned from his discussion of Israeli Jews vs. American Jews (the two largest populations of Jewish people), and I found his comments to be insightful.
Anyway, I think I'll need to come back to this book and think about it some more before I have any bigger thoughts. So here are some passages that stood out to me on the topic of Jewish identity after the Holocaust, and a few other things:
"What was more, for American Jews in that era, Progressive Jews especially, it would have felt strangely self-denying to view Israel as the only place of true safety for Jews, as many zionists continued to insist through the 1990s. After all, American Jews had achieved full citizenship as well as sociocultural and economic influence in the United States. For American Jews, the United States really had become their Zion. Jews were safer, better off, and more secure in the United States than they had been in any other country at any moment in world history, including Israel, where Jews remained subject to the threat of Arab invasion... At roughly the same time that the Holocaust came to function as one theological pillar of Progressive Jewish thought, Israel came to function as a similarly fundamental pillar. The process was complicated, perhaps more so than the theologizing of the Holocaust... Without American Jewish support, Israel could not then rely on the American alliance, because it was not at all certain that Israel was objectively the best regional ally for the United States to choose. The energy crisis of the 1970s showed the vast importance of Saudi and other Arab oil supplies to the U.S. economy. It followed that Israel needed to engage American Jews more fully, as a practical matter, and treat them as partners in protecting Israel's national security. That was a far cry from the view that many Israeli zionists took of Diaspora Jews before 1973, roughly that they were weak, second-class Jews who should send donations but should remain silent if they disagreed with Israel's policies. For their part, American Jews also observed after 1973 that Israel needed them, at least insofar as it needed the United States... From this it follows that for sincere, committed Progressive Jews, it would be a self-contradictory betrayal of their Jewish commitments to remain zionists if Israel does not match the ideals of liberal democracy. Israeli zionists who are shocked by this development have forgotten that Progressive Judaism was long skeptical of zionism because Progressives saw Jewishness as a set of moral teachings, not as a national identity. Israeli zionists often assume that Progressives are irreligious (in Hebrew, hiloni), as secular Israelis typically describes themselves to be. That is a mistaken projection, one encouraged by the outdated zionist belief that Jewish religion could not survive the Diaspora. Today's Israeli zionists sometimes think and act as though American Jewish Progressives owe Israel a duty of loyalty. For Jewish Progressives, however, the higher duty of loyalty lies to divine principles of love and justice, not to the state of Israel...What I am noticing is that in many of the contemporary Jewish theological responses to Israel I have described, the classically Jewish move of self-questioning in search of sin has taken a back seat to self-confident assertions of correctness. I am urging Jews to be more Jewish in their thinking about Israel: to explore the dynamic of sin, of pride, and of punishment, no matter where it originates and with whom. To repeat, there is nothing un-Jewish about looking for collective sin and trying to do better. What is un-Jewish, in theological terms, is to imagine we as Jews are beyond sin. This brings me back to the theology of struggle, sketched earlier in the book. In that picture, the Jewish way of experiencing the world entails struggling with God, with who God is, with what God wants, with whether God exists. Self-evaluation in search of sin and repair is a manifestation of exactly this Jewish struggle... Finally, for all Jews, Godless or believing, who are skeptical that the nation-state is the highest expression of Jewishness, the struggle of the present is to ascertain what other collective forms of being might provide meaning and richness to make Jewish life worthwhile."
On a similar note, I enjoyed part 2 of this book the most, where Feldman discussed early origins of zionism, the Holocaust, Israel, and the way these developments have changed Jewish communities and ways of thinking about values. In particular, I learned from his discussion of Israeli Jews vs. American Jews (the two largest populations of Jewish people), and I found his comments to be insightful.
Anyway, I think I'll need to come back to this book and think about it some more before I have any bigger thoughts. So here are some passages that stood out to me on the topic of Jewish identity after the Holocaust, and a few other things:
"What was more, for American Jews in that era, Progressive Jews especially, it would have felt strangely self-denying to view Israel as the only place of true safety for Jews, as many zionists continued to insist through the 1990s. After all, American Jews had achieved full citizenship as well as sociocultural and economic influence in the United States. For American Jews, the United States really had become their Zion. Jews were safer, better off, and more secure in the United States than they had been in any other country at any moment in world history, including Israel, where Jews remained subject to the threat of Arab invasion... At roughly the same time that the Holocaust came to function as one theological pillar of Progressive Jewish thought, Israel came to function as a similarly fundamental pillar. The process was complicated, perhaps more so than the theologizing of the Holocaust... Without American Jewish support, Israel could not then rely on the American alliance, because it was not at all certain that Israel was objectively the best regional ally for the United States to choose. The energy crisis of the 1970s showed the vast importance of Saudi and other Arab oil supplies to the U.S. economy. It followed that Israel needed to engage American Jews more fully, as a practical matter, and treat them as partners in protecting Israel's national security. That was a far cry from the view that many Israeli zionists took of Diaspora Jews before 1973, roughly that they were weak, second-class Jews who should send donations but should remain silent if they disagreed with Israel's policies. For their part, American Jews also observed after 1973 that Israel needed them, at least insofar as it needed the United States... From this it follows that for sincere, committed Progressive Jews, it would be a self-contradictory betrayal of their Jewish commitments to remain zionists if Israel does not match the ideals of liberal democracy. Israeli zionists who are shocked by this development have forgotten that Progressive Judaism was long skeptical of zionism because Progressives saw Jewishness as a set of moral teachings, not as a national identity. Israeli zionists often assume that Progressives are irreligious (in Hebrew, hiloni), as secular Israelis typically describes themselves to be. That is a mistaken projection, one encouraged by the outdated zionist belief that Jewish religion could not survive the Diaspora. Today's Israeli zionists sometimes think and act as though American Jewish Progressives owe Israel a duty of loyalty. For Jewish Progressives, however, the higher duty of loyalty lies to divine principles of love and justice, not to the state of Israel...What I am noticing is that in many of the contemporary Jewish theological responses to Israel I have described, the classically Jewish move of self-questioning in search of sin has taken a back seat to self-confident assertions of correctness. I am urging Jews to be more Jewish in their thinking about Israel: to explore the dynamic of sin, of pride, and of punishment, no matter where it originates and with whom. To repeat, there is nothing un-Jewish about looking for collective sin and trying to do better. What is un-Jewish, in theological terms, is to imagine we as Jews are beyond sin. This brings me back to the theology of struggle, sketched earlier in the book. In that picture, the Jewish way of experiencing the world entails struggling with God, with who God is, with what God wants, with whether God exists. Self-evaluation in search of sin and repair is a manifestation of exactly this Jewish struggle... Finally, for all Jews, Godless or believing, who are skeptical that the nation-state is the highest expression of Jewishness, the struggle of the present is to ascertain what other collective forms of being might provide meaning and richness to make Jewish life worthwhile."
August 23, 2024
Noah Feldman is Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard, author of numerous books and articles on history, Israel and the Middle East, and widely regarded as a leading public intellectual. He was raised in a "semi-progressive," non-doctrinaire Modern Orthodox family, an ideal background for this book in which he addresses many of the issues and challenges facing American and
Israeli Jewry. His presentation is rigorous though humble in tone, and refreshingly tolerant of the broad spectrum of beliefs and practices of Jews today including non-religious Jews and peripheral identifiers. To Be a Jew Today covers a mountain of topics. I take up just a few of them.
An overriding objective is to create a map of contemporary Jewish lives and ideas that “can be used as a field guide” and to help readers chart their own journey. It is NOT, as Feldman firmly insists from the outset, to distinguish good Jews from bad Jews. He studiously avoids such value judgments, instead adopting a thoroughly inclusive perspective. Near the end of the book, he offers a template (a theology?) to justify the continuation of Jewishness applicable to all segments of the population: In his discerning view, it is the "struggle-embrace" with God that (1) permeates Jewish history and (2) can explain, engage, and guide the ongoing encounter between God, Israel, and the Jewish people.
Feldman maps the Jewish world in a typology based on beliefs which transcends the standard denominational categories. His classification consists of Traditionalists--who adhere to essentially unchanging Jewish law and practices; Evolutionists--who believe that Jewish law is binding but subject to reinterpretation; Progressives--motivated by "tikun olam" (social justice, literally to repair the world); and the Godless—who identity as Jewish but agnostic or atheist. The author uses this typology to structure the topics taken up, which in this case is superior to using denominations.
A prominent theme of the book focuses on Israel: In the past several decades, "the idea of Israel" has transfused and transformed all strands of Jewish belief from the ultra-Orthodox to those regarding themselves as (merely) cultural Jews. This represents a major departure from traditional, non-religious Zionism in Israel's early years, before Israel became associated with Holocaust redemption. Israel was no longer a “normal” country from the moment it came to be associated with the Holocaust. Instead it became a “an arguably unique type of morally compensatory nation-state.” For those seeking to comprehend the current situation in Israel, the section on the origins and evolution of religious Zionism will be especially informative in illuminating declining worldwide support for Israel, especially among progressives.
In an analysis I found fascinating, Feldman also presents an assessment of often heard negative and positive stereotypes of Jews. Regarding the latter, he acknowledges that Jews in 19th/20th century Europe and 20th century U.S. were indeed prominently over-represented in many esteemed fields such as science, medicine, law, the arts and humanities, entrepreneurship and finance. However, his highly original analysis views this surfeit of accomplishment as temporary and contingent on the distinctive skills and motivations of a formerly economically repressed group following emancipation combined with the specific needs of the time. It is not, according to Feldman, the result of intrinsic, timeless talents or character traits associated with Jewishness. He provides evidence that this disproportionate level of achievement has begun to decline and will continue to decline because the specific conditions from which it emanated no longer pertain. Those who take great pride in the outsize accomplishments of Jews might find this hard to accept.
Requiring at least basic familiarity with Jewish history and philosophy, the Hebrew Bible, and Israel, parts of To Be a Jew Today will be difficult for some readers to follow, as it was for me. The book might have been easier if Feldman hadn't tried to cover so much material--ambitiousness can have drawbacks--or if it had been more clearly organized and labeled. (The chapter sequencing and titling didn't always make sense to me.) Those are relatively minor complaints. Readers willing to make the effort will be rewarded with a deeper and often novel understanding of the critical challenges facing Jews and Jewish institutions in the U.S. and in Israel.
Israeli Jewry. His presentation is rigorous though humble in tone, and refreshingly tolerant of the broad spectrum of beliefs and practices of Jews today including non-religious Jews and peripheral identifiers. To Be a Jew Today covers a mountain of topics. I take up just a few of them.
An overriding objective is to create a map of contemporary Jewish lives and ideas that “can be used as a field guide” and to help readers chart their own journey. It is NOT, as Feldman firmly insists from the outset, to distinguish good Jews from bad Jews. He studiously avoids such value judgments, instead adopting a thoroughly inclusive perspective. Near the end of the book, he offers a template (a theology?) to justify the continuation of Jewishness applicable to all segments of the population: In his discerning view, it is the "struggle-embrace" with God that (1) permeates Jewish history and (2) can explain, engage, and guide the ongoing encounter between God, Israel, and the Jewish people.
Feldman maps the Jewish world in a typology based on beliefs which transcends the standard denominational categories. His classification consists of Traditionalists--who adhere to essentially unchanging Jewish law and practices; Evolutionists--who believe that Jewish law is binding but subject to reinterpretation; Progressives--motivated by "tikun olam" (social justice, literally to repair the world); and the Godless—who identity as Jewish but agnostic or atheist. The author uses this typology to structure the topics taken up, which in this case is superior to using denominations.
A prominent theme of the book focuses on Israel: In the past several decades, "the idea of Israel" has transfused and transformed all strands of Jewish belief from the ultra-Orthodox to those regarding themselves as (merely) cultural Jews. This represents a major departure from traditional, non-religious Zionism in Israel's early years, before Israel became associated with Holocaust redemption. Israel was no longer a “normal” country from the moment it came to be associated with the Holocaust. Instead it became a “an arguably unique type of morally compensatory nation-state.” For those seeking to comprehend the current situation in Israel, the section on the origins and evolution of religious Zionism will be especially informative in illuminating declining worldwide support for Israel, especially among progressives.
In an analysis I found fascinating, Feldman also presents an assessment of often heard negative and positive stereotypes of Jews. Regarding the latter, he acknowledges that Jews in 19th/20th century Europe and 20th century U.S. were indeed prominently over-represented in many esteemed fields such as science, medicine, law, the arts and humanities, entrepreneurship and finance. However, his highly original analysis views this surfeit of accomplishment as temporary and contingent on the distinctive skills and motivations of a formerly economically repressed group following emancipation combined with the specific needs of the time. It is not, according to Feldman, the result of intrinsic, timeless talents or character traits associated with Jewishness. He provides evidence that this disproportionate level of achievement has begun to decline and will continue to decline because the specific conditions from which it emanated no longer pertain. Those who take great pride in the outsize accomplishments of Jews might find this hard to accept.
Requiring at least basic familiarity with Jewish history and philosophy, the Hebrew Bible, and Israel, parts of To Be a Jew Today will be difficult for some readers to follow, as it was for me. The book might have been easier if Feldman hadn't tried to cover so much material--ambitiousness can have drawbacks--or if it had been more clearly organized and labeled. (The chapter sequencing and titling didn't always make sense to me.) Those are relatively minor complaints. Readers willing to make the effort will be rewarded with a deeper and often novel understanding of the critical challenges facing Jews and Jewish institutions in the U.S. and in Israel.
April 4, 2025
I listened to the unabridged 14-hour audio version of this title (read by the author, Recorded Books, 2024).
At first, the phrase “Guide to God” in the subtitle put me off. What does a guide to God even mean? It turns out that the author, a Harvard law professor raised in an Orthodox household by Harvard faculty parents, means a review of Jews’ relationship with God. In this respect, Jews can be divided roughly into four groups: From traditionalists (sometimes called Orthodox Jews) at one end to atheists (bagel-and-lox Jews) at the other, with Zionists and Reconstructionists falling in between the two extremes. What unifies these diverse groups of Jews and gives them a common theological identity is the ideal of social justice, to embrace the prophetic ideal of pursuing the right and the good.
Intolerance exists among Jews, much like among other groups of individuals. "It makes me sad when, often, in a rueful, gentle, self-mockery, Jewish friends of mine say to themselves, 'I'm a bad Jew.' They aren't. You aren't. There are so many ways to be Jewish." In a PBS interview, Feldman stated why he doesn’t like the notion of a bad Jew. “You could be a bad person for doing bad things, but you can't really be a bad Jew, per se.”
As the book’s title implies, Feldman looks at Jewishness as it involves Judaism (the religion), Israel (the Jewish state), and Jews (a people). Among Feldman’s many observations is his diagnosis of the state of progressive Jewish theology and the dilemma it faces in a time of challenge to Israel and to the relationship of American Jewish identity and Israeli identity. As Feldman sees it, progressive Jews have adopted two new pillars of contemporary theology since the second half of the last century: Israel and the Holocaust. “To Progressives, the word of God as passed to Moses and the elders and the rabbis is in need of editing and renewal in the light of morality as we are given to realize and apprehend it over time.”
Following early indifference or opposition to Zionism, the progressives devoted themselves to the cause after the wars of 1967 and 1973. The first war exhibited Jewish rebirth and recovery from the annihilation of European Jewry; the second revived fears of the potential annihilation of Jews in their Middle Eastern refuge. These fears brought the Israeli flag to synagogues. Israel isn’t alone as a religion-based state. A similar solution was implemented by the British in 1947 to give Muslim-majority regions within the Indian subcontinent their own Islamic state of Pakistan.
The Holocaust’s centrality was embraced to make some partial sense out of the deaths of six million European Jews by depicting Israel as the redemptive solution to the problem of genocidal antisemitism. Hence, the proliferation of Holocaust memorials and museums around the globe.
Feldman describes how Jews today use the instructions for living contained in Hebrew scripture. The one constant he finds in the great variety of Jewish religious experience is the notion of Jews struggling with God. Jacob’s punishing night of wrestling with God (or, depending on the interpretation, with an angel) is a conversion experience that establishes a people determined to embrace and wrestle with God for eternity. The struggle may entail observing dietary laws, studying Torah, or fighting for social justice. To be a Jew is a complicated matter for sure.
At first, the phrase “Guide to God” in the subtitle put me off. What does a guide to God even mean? It turns out that the author, a Harvard law professor raised in an Orthodox household by Harvard faculty parents, means a review of Jews’ relationship with God. In this respect, Jews can be divided roughly into four groups: From traditionalists (sometimes called Orthodox Jews) at one end to atheists (bagel-and-lox Jews) at the other, with Zionists and Reconstructionists falling in between the two extremes. What unifies these diverse groups of Jews and gives them a common theological identity is the ideal of social justice, to embrace the prophetic ideal of pursuing the right and the good.
Intolerance exists among Jews, much like among other groups of individuals. "It makes me sad when, often, in a rueful, gentle, self-mockery, Jewish friends of mine say to themselves, 'I'm a bad Jew.' They aren't. You aren't. There are so many ways to be Jewish." In a PBS interview, Feldman stated why he doesn’t like the notion of a bad Jew. “You could be a bad person for doing bad things, but you can't really be a bad Jew, per se.”
As the book’s title implies, Feldman looks at Jewishness as it involves Judaism (the religion), Israel (the Jewish state), and Jews (a people). Among Feldman’s many observations is his diagnosis of the state of progressive Jewish theology and the dilemma it faces in a time of challenge to Israel and to the relationship of American Jewish identity and Israeli identity. As Feldman sees it, progressive Jews have adopted two new pillars of contemporary theology since the second half of the last century: Israel and the Holocaust. “To Progressives, the word of God as passed to Moses and the elders and the rabbis is in need of editing and renewal in the light of morality as we are given to realize and apprehend it over time.”
Following early indifference or opposition to Zionism, the progressives devoted themselves to the cause after the wars of 1967 and 1973. The first war exhibited Jewish rebirth and recovery from the annihilation of European Jewry; the second revived fears of the potential annihilation of Jews in their Middle Eastern refuge. These fears brought the Israeli flag to synagogues. Israel isn’t alone as a religion-based state. A similar solution was implemented by the British in 1947 to give Muslim-majority regions within the Indian subcontinent their own Islamic state of Pakistan.
The Holocaust’s centrality was embraced to make some partial sense out of the deaths of six million European Jews by depicting Israel as the redemptive solution to the problem of genocidal antisemitism. Hence, the proliferation of Holocaust memorials and museums around the globe.
Feldman describes how Jews today use the instructions for living contained in Hebrew scripture. The one constant he finds in the great variety of Jewish religious experience is the notion of Jews struggling with God. Jacob’s punishing night of wrestling with God (or, depending on the interpretation, with an angel) is a conversion experience that establishes a people determined to embrace and wrestle with God for eternity. The struggle may entail observing dietary laws, studying Torah, or fighting for social justice. To be a Jew is a complicated matter for sure.
June 1, 2024
I knew most of the material about the different branches of Judaism though the more recent developments in Modern Orthodoxy were new to me, and they are quite important to understanding the current issues with Israel. The key here, at least for me, was the development of Evolutionist thinking among the Modern Orthodox - where traditional Rabbinic interpretations of Torah, and sometimes the plain words of text, make it hard to live in the world of today or go against the conclusions that we reach through science or the moral consensus of our community, shouldn't there be a way to evolve biblical interpretation so that it comports with the world around us? That kind of thinking has allowed a part of the Modern Orthodox to get beyond fundamentalism to a more contemporary world view though it still has hit the wall in dealing with the ordination of women and gay marriage. But whatever limits Evolutionist thinking may have in permitting Modern Orthodox people to embrace more progressive social and moral thinking, the perhaps more important problem that Mr. Feldman points out is that Evolutionism is a two-edged sword -- the same kind of theological reasoning that can allow the development of religious doctrine in progressive directions can allow it to develop in directions that make progressive thinkers cringe, specifically, in the direction of Religious Zionism and religious justification for acts of oppression and violence that are anathema to most Jews, but that have had growing support in both Israel and the United States and that have a strong voice in the current government of Israel. Mr. Feldman correctly points to the long tradition in Judaism of intellectual struggle and the flourishing of different schools of thought, but surely there has to be a way to draw the line somewhere.
The other theme of this book that I found interesting is an issue that goes beyond Judaism. What's the purpose and long term viability of any spiritual community if its members cease to believe and strictly follow traditions and commandments, holding together mainly as a social group with common traditions and ancestry and connected to religion mainly through major holidays and life events? The same issue comes up for Christians and Muslims that both have large groups of contemporary adherents who have drifted away from traditional observance and regular attendance at services. If we value the good things that our religion brings to us, then do we need to choose a more orthodox practice in our own observance to preserve it? That's not just a cynical Pascal's wager sort of thinking because, as William James explains in The Will to Believe, sincere belief arises from ongoing practice based on an idea that starts as at least a live proposition and a willingness to pursue it. If you just can't see yourself as an orthodox practitioner, but still consider the tradition worth preserving, how can that happen? Would you do it by nurturing and supporting the more orthodox as keepers of the flame? Maybe, but how can that work if they start going off the rails as many moderate Jews feel has happened with Religious Zionists in Israel? Mr. Feldman says in the beginning of the book that he wants to pose questions more than to give answers. He certainly manages to do that.
The other theme of this book that I found interesting is an issue that goes beyond Judaism. What's the purpose and long term viability of any spiritual community if its members cease to believe and strictly follow traditions and commandments, holding together mainly as a social group with common traditions and ancestry and connected to religion mainly through major holidays and life events? The same issue comes up for Christians and Muslims that both have large groups of contemporary adherents who have drifted away from traditional observance and regular attendance at services. If we value the good things that our religion brings to us, then do we need to choose a more orthodox practice in our own observance to preserve it? That's not just a cynical Pascal's wager sort of thinking because, as William James explains in The Will to Believe, sincere belief arises from ongoing practice based on an idea that starts as at least a live proposition and a willingness to pursue it. If you just can't see yourself as an orthodox practitioner, but still consider the tradition worth preserving, how can that happen? Would you do it by nurturing and supporting the more orthodox as keepers of the flame? Maybe, but how can that work if they start going off the rails as many moderate Jews feel has happened with Religious Zionists in Israel? Mr. Feldman says in the beginning of the book that he wants to pose questions more than to give answers. He certainly manages to do that.
August 20, 2024
Let's start with a simple fact: Noah Feldman is far smarter than you. According to Wikipedia, he graduated first in his class at Harvard, he was a Rhodes Scholar, has a Doctorate of Philosophy in Oriental Studies, he is fluent in English, Hebrew, Arabic and French and conversational in Korean. He can read six other languages. He clerked for a Supreme Court judge and his written 10 books. On top of all that, when he writes, he writes like he is speaking naturally to his less smart friends and neighbors, reducing complicated concepts to lay-person understanding.
In this book, Professor Feldman analyzes the modern state of Judaism in America (and somewhat in Israel). He surveys the "flavors" of Judaism from traditional Orthodox to cultural-only atheism. He discusses, without judgment, the logical and theological flaws of each variety. He then shows how the Holocaust and Israel have moved to center of American Jewish thought and how each of these issues evolved and changed the thinking of different types of Jews. He discussed what "choseness" means, what intermarriage means and what redemption means for all these different types of Judaism.
This work feels like it is very personal for Professor Feldman. While he does not discuss in detail his own faith journey, he does discuss his Modern-Orthodox upbringing and education. I had the definite feeling that this book felt like Professor Feldman clarifying his own thoughts about American Judaism and Israel. He personally knows many of the figures he discusses in the book. Normally, I would not like this personal element, but the discussion in this book reflects my own questioning and struggle, although presented in a much more organized fashion.
I am Jewish. I am married to a non-Jewish wife, but we have raised our children as Jews (in our eyes). I am not sure how non-Jews will react to this book. However, Professor Feldman has laid out contemporary thinking about Jewish fragmentation and unity in a really clear and incisive way.
In this book, Professor Feldman analyzes the modern state of Judaism in America (and somewhat in Israel). He surveys the "flavors" of Judaism from traditional Orthodox to cultural-only atheism. He discusses, without judgment, the logical and theological flaws of each variety. He then shows how the Holocaust and Israel have moved to center of American Jewish thought and how each of these issues evolved and changed the thinking of different types of Jews. He discussed what "choseness" means, what intermarriage means and what redemption means for all these different types of Judaism.
This work feels like it is very personal for Professor Feldman. While he does not discuss in detail his own faith journey, he does discuss his Modern-Orthodox upbringing and education. I had the definite feeling that this book felt like Professor Feldman clarifying his own thoughts about American Judaism and Israel. He personally knows many of the figures he discusses in the book. Normally, I would not like this personal element, but the discussion in this book reflects my own questioning and struggle, although presented in a much more organized fashion.
I am Jewish. I am married to a non-Jewish wife, but we have raised our children as Jews (in our eyes). I am not sure how non-Jews will react to this book. However, Professor Feldman has laid out contemporary thinking about Jewish fragmentation and unity in a really clear and incisive way.
November 26, 2024
Feldman, raised in one of the four helpful categories which structure his analysis, Evolutionist, comes from a liberal, Modern Orthodox upbringing. While these descriptions may appear contradictory, if you read his arguments carefully, they can overlap. So can Traditionalist, Progressive, and Godless.
This taxonomy better reflects Judaism today, at least in the West, as Reform, Conservative, and the Reconstructionist denominations increasing blur. Meanwhile, the Orthodox split between haredim and Feldman's youthful identification with less restrictive, more accommodating forms of observance. The "lox and bagel" brigade (neither food invented by the Ashkenazi!) grapple with how far a denial of a deity can sustain a community rather than individuals, and a secularism which eventually assimilates.
I found his structure of Israel, Torah, and "tribalism" as key factors motivating and nourishing Jewish
continuity largely convincing. However, some of his assertions such as children of intermarriage raised as Jews have a better track record in passing along in turn their identification to the next generation, are made as to "some studies" show, but lack any documentation. For a lawyer, I expected footnotes. Similarly, he doesn't credit which translations of the Torah, Talmud, New Testament, the Guide for the Perplexed, or Nichomachean Ethics, for example, he cites. Another odd omission...
Although he offers endnotes, no bibliography is provided. This makes it harder to narrow down the first mention of his sources. And again, he doesn't consistently back up all his claims with references.
In sum, Feldman writes clearly, attentive to his audience, which seems the "social justice" and highly educated, professional, coastal or college town (he was born and raised in a Cambridge, Mass. milieu) mentalty. Nothing wrong with that, but the content feels hermetic, talking to his fellow Americans. His past books focus on U.S. legal history, so this focus may be inherent in who he assumes is reading.
This taxonomy better reflects Judaism today, at least in the West, as Reform, Conservative, and the Reconstructionist denominations increasing blur. Meanwhile, the Orthodox split between haredim and Feldman's youthful identification with less restrictive, more accommodating forms of observance. The "lox and bagel" brigade (neither food invented by the Ashkenazi!) grapple with how far a denial of a deity can sustain a community rather than individuals, and a secularism which eventually assimilates.
I found his structure of Israel, Torah, and "tribalism" as key factors motivating and nourishing Jewish
continuity largely convincing. However, some of his assertions such as children of intermarriage raised as Jews have a better track record in passing along in turn their identification to the next generation, are made as to "some studies" show, but lack any documentation. For a lawyer, I expected footnotes. Similarly, he doesn't credit which translations of the Torah, Talmud, New Testament, the Guide for the Perplexed, or Nichomachean Ethics, for example, he cites. Another odd omission...
Although he offers endnotes, no bibliography is provided. This makes it harder to narrow down the first mention of his sources. And again, he doesn't consistently back up all his claims with references.
In sum, Feldman writes clearly, attentive to his audience, which seems the "social justice" and highly educated, professional, coastal or college town (he was born and raised in a Cambridge, Mass. milieu) mentalty. Nothing wrong with that, but the content feels hermetic, talking to his fellow Americans. His past books focus on U.S. legal history, so this focus may be inherent in who he assumes is reading.
March 6, 2025
The book starts with the question “What’s the point of being a Jew?” The book is not really an attempt to answer that specifically; instead it focuses more on trying to make sense of being a Jew; especially today. In particular, as the first line of the last chapter asks, “Is there a way to be Jewish today that brings together God, Israel, and Jewish peoplehood and that is available to Jews with very different conceptions of all three?” It’s an intriguing question and Feldman doesn’t really offer a straightforward answer – and is unapologetic about that. There isn’t and really couldn’t be a straightforward answer here.
In the end, the answer is more or less that part of the essence of being Jewish involves struggle (as is rooted in the biblical renaming of Jacob to Israel). The struggles are multivariant: struggle with God, with one’s self, with other Jews, with non-Jews, etc. Being Jewish is being part of a family-kin group that debates, conflicts, struggles, redefines, and challenges itself (and God, and Torah, and its sense of self and place in the world).
As a whole the book is really interesting. Feldman casts a wide sociological net to explore the ways Jews understand themselves, and does so under three main headings: the relationship and understanding (and sometimes rejection) of God; the relationship and understanding (and sometimes rejection) of Israel, and the sense of what it is to be the Jewish People. Part of Feldman’s argument, as I understood it, is that there is no single vision or conception in any of these areas that all Jews hold – but there is connection running through all these that in part links together Jews as Jews.
I didn’t always agree with Feldman’s takes (which of course fits with the book’s theme) and though he takes a wide view, it did feel like Mizrahi and Sephardi Jewish traditions were somewhat secondary: not absent or denigrated, but not every really in focus. Nevertheless, I think it is interesting read and worthwhile to get a good sense of what Jewish life today is.
In the end, the answer is more or less that part of the essence of being Jewish involves struggle (as is rooted in the biblical renaming of Jacob to Israel). The struggles are multivariant: struggle with God, with one’s self, with other Jews, with non-Jews, etc. Being Jewish is being part of a family-kin group that debates, conflicts, struggles, redefines, and challenges itself (and God, and Torah, and its sense of self and place in the world).
As a whole the book is really interesting. Feldman casts a wide sociological net to explore the ways Jews understand themselves, and does so under three main headings: the relationship and understanding (and sometimes rejection) of God; the relationship and understanding (and sometimes rejection) of Israel, and the sense of what it is to be the Jewish People. Part of Feldman’s argument, as I understood it, is that there is no single vision or conception in any of these areas that all Jews hold – but there is connection running through all these that in part links together Jews as Jews.
I didn’t always agree with Feldman’s takes (which of course fits with the book’s theme) and though he takes a wide view, it did feel like Mizrahi and Sephardi Jewish traditions were somewhat secondary: not absent or denigrated, but not every really in focus. Nevertheless, I think it is interesting read and worthwhile to get a good sense of what Jewish life today is.
May 23, 2025
The Jewish identity
Author Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor with Orthodox Jewish identity offers the ways Jews relate to faith, community, and the state of Israel in the 21st century. He examines four categories of Jews: traditionalists, progressives, evolutionists, and Godless Jews, and concludes that secular or non-believing Jews are engaged in a form of spiritual struggle, and still makes them Jewish. In one section he evaluates Israel’s identity as a Jewish state and its struggle with Arabs and Palestinian population. The focus is mainly on American Jewish experiences and doesn’t address Mizrahi, Sephardic, or African Jewish perspectives. He also doesn’t examine the widespread antisemitism and anti-Israel activities on American college campuses. Antisemitism in Western Europe and North America is due to an increase in Islamist ideology, and left-wing anti-Zionism.
In one section of the book, he states that “The thing I can say with confidence is that, having immersed myself in Jewish tradition and thought, and having occupied the position of bad Jew to some observers and commentators some of the time, I have come to learn that the tradition, in all its multifarious guises and unexpected manifestations, will never abandon me. That's something.” Does the author mean that other traditions/faiths, like Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianism also does not abandon its followers for being different? So, what is unique about Jewish traditions?
Harvard University’s January 2024 “Antisemitism on Campus” report underscores a significant rise in both witnessed and experienced antisemitic acts on campus. It is abundant in statistics as well as anecdotes, and offers more than three hundred pages of dismal reading. Except for Alan Dershowitz, no other faculty members including this author have ever criticized or condemned the school for its divisive role. So, how can we take his analysis seriously?
Author Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor with Orthodox Jewish identity offers the ways Jews relate to faith, community, and the state of Israel in the 21st century. He examines four categories of Jews: traditionalists, progressives, evolutionists, and Godless Jews, and concludes that secular or non-believing Jews are engaged in a form of spiritual struggle, and still makes them Jewish. In one section he evaluates Israel’s identity as a Jewish state and its struggle with Arabs and Palestinian population. The focus is mainly on American Jewish experiences and doesn’t address Mizrahi, Sephardic, or African Jewish perspectives. He also doesn’t examine the widespread antisemitism and anti-Israel activities on American college campuses. Antisemitism in Western Europe and North America is due to an increase in Islamist ideology, and left-wing anti-Zionism.
In one section of the book, he states that “The thing I can say with confidence is that, having immersed myself in Jewish tradition and thought, and having occupied the position of bad Jew to some observers and commentators some of the time, I have come to learn that the tradition, in all its multifarious guises and unexpected manifestations, will never abandon me. That's something.” Does the author mean that other traditions/faiths, like Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianism also does not abandon its followers for being different? So, what is unique about Jewish traditions?
Harvard University’s January 2024 “Antisemitism on Campus” report underscores a significant rise in both witnessed and experienced antisemitic acts on campus. It is abundant in statistics as well as anecdotes, and offers more than three hundred pages of dismal reading. Except for Alan Dershowitz, no other faculty members including this author have ever criticized or condemned the school for its divisive role. So, how can we take his analysis seriously?
May 23, 2024
"To Be a Jew Today" by Noah Feldman is a wonderful audiobook narrated by the author! I became aware of the author during the impeachment of a former POTUS. I was therefore intrigued to read this very personal book on Jewish faith, culture, and life.
I am not of Jewish faith. I welcomed the information provided by the author introducing the Jewish faith and different branches within the Jewish community. Especially timely today and informative was the discussion on the history of Zionism and its development from a secular to a religious movement. Similarly, the thoughts on the "choseness of the Jewish people" was very insightful and interesting. In the heated discussion on the war in Gaza, the term "antisemite" is used often. The author provides a good definition of this term that each of us can use to assess our individual motivations and perspectives. The backdrop of the holocaust is therefore discussed in great detail.
Most importantly, I felt that the book was written by a human for humans on the same journey through life, namely how to make sense of ourself, our family, friends, and other contemporary humans on the planet. The picture of the Jewish people as a family (i.e., in comparison of a nation, ethnicity, faith, or tribe) was very powerful to me.
At the end I learned that being a Jew today is not much different than at any other time in history. Ones struggles with God, the rules, and oneself. That is in essence what we all do whatever "life philosophy" we prescribe to to help us with our existential concerns and most importantly our quests for meaning.
Will the issue of the Israel/Palestinian conflict be solved in this book? How could it be solved by any single person? However, the book provides another perspective and background.
Highly recommended to anybody interested in the topic!
I am not of Jewish faith. I welcomed the information provided by the author introducing the Jewish faith and different branches within the Jewish community. Especially timely today and informative was the discussion on the history of Zionism and its development from a secular to a religious movement. Similarly, the thoughts on the "choseness of the Jewish people" was very insightful and interesting. In the heated discussion on the war in Gaza, the term "antisemite" is used often. The author provides a good definition of this term that each of us can use to assess our individual motivations and perspectives. The backdrop of the holocaust is therefore discussed in great detail.
Most importantly, I felt that the book was written by a human for humans on the same journey through life, namely how to make sense of ourself, our family, friends, and other contemporary humans on the planet. The picture of the Jewish people as a family (i.e., in comparison of a nation, ethnicity, faith, or tribe) was very powerful to me.
At the end I learned that being a Jew today is not much different than at any other time in history. Ones struggles with God, the rules, and oneself. That is in essence what we all do whatever "life philosophy" we prescribe to to help us with our existential concerns and most importantly our quests for meaning.
Will the issue of the Israel/Palestinian conflict be solved in this book? How could it be solved by any single person? However, the book provides another perspective and background.
Highly recommended to anybody interested in the topic!
May 22, 2025
Feldman offers an incredibly well-articulated and nuanced discussion of what it means to be a Jewish person today. He distinguishes, among other things, three distinct expressions of Judaism: (1) traditionalist; (2) progressives; and (3) evolutionists. Of the three, the author identifies with the third which he describes as holding on to the Jewish tradition of (1) while being open to to the modern world. He says that this is the most difficult of the three to maintain as it requires the most effort due to its openness while maintaining roots in Jewish tradition. Basically, he describes this third position as "interpretation all the way down" with a majority of rabbinical interpreters taking precedent over faithfulness to or even the need to hear God's voice through the Torah. As he puts in (paraphrasing), with the majority of rabbis, we don't need to hear God's voice anymore.
In addition to this, he discusses the central role the land of Israel plays in Jewish identity, discussion such factions as secular Zionists, religious Zionists, and traditionalists that are not Zionist but still support Israel, as well as other options besides these. Also, he discussions the question of intermarriage between Jewish and non-Jewish persons, stating that even though evolutionists do not see this a valid marriage now, given there affirmation of gay marriages (between Jewish persons) it is just a matter of time before this will have to change. He also walks the reader through how the chosen status of the Jewish people is understood.
In summary, Feldman gives the reader a clear and helpful glimpse at Jewish identity for an outsider as well as some challenging thoughts to consider for any insider.
In addition to this, he discusses the central role the land of Israel plays in Jewish identity, discussion such factions as secular Zionists, religious Zionists, and traditionalists that are not Zionist but still support Israel, as well as other options besides these. Also, he discussions the question of intermarriage between Jewish and non-Jewish persons, stating that even though evolutionists do not see this a valid marriage now, given there affirmation of gay marriages (between Jewish persons) it is just a matter of time before this will have to change. He also walks the reader through how the chosen status of the Jewish people is understood.
In summary, Feldman gives the reader a clear and helpful glimpse at Jewish identity for an outsider as well as some challenging thoughts to consider for any insider.
June 11, 2025
I was really excited to read this book, but found myself profoundly disappointed in the book's failure to actualize it's own clearly stated aims, and ended up putting it down.
I am a young Jew living in a coastal liberal milieu trying to make sense of my Jewishness and how I want to express that today. Feldman is openly writing for people like me (with his own children as an example), and claimed that the aim of the book was to give people like me a sort of survey or menu of different Jewish ways-of-being and contextualize them. Feldman fails to deliver that, and instead showcases a variety of Jewish ways of being and then discusses them from a liberal perspective (in the sense of "classical liberalism" rather than "Democract"). Illiberal Jewish ways of being or illiberal aspects of Judaism get liberal apologetics, rather than an exploration of the virtues of those ways and/or aspects that might be hard for a liberal to understand.
As someone rapidly losing liberal subjectivity in favor of something more communitarian, I found myself annoyed that those virtues weren't being celebrated in the text when they're so obviously present in Judaism.
For what it's worth, Feldman's insufferable liberal takes on intermarriage actually had a hole in them that woke me up to the fact that I needed to ask my non-Jewish partner to convert or leave her. So I guess this book's issues were themselves a kind of instruction for me.
I am a young Jew living in a coastal liberal milieu trying to make sense of my Jewishness and how I want to express that today. Feldman is openly writing for people like me (with his own children as an example), and claimed that the aim of the book was to give people like me a sort of survey or menu of different Jewish ways-of-being and contextualize them. Feldman fails to deliver that, and instead showcases a variety of Jewish ways of being and then discusses them from a liberal perspective (in the sense of "classical liberalism" rather than "Democract"). Illiberal Jewish ways of being or illiberal aspects of Judaism get liberal apologetics, rather than an exploration of the virtues of those ways and/or aspects that might be hard for a liberal to understand.
As someone rapidly losing liberal subjectivity in favor of something more communitarian, I found myself annoyed that those virtues weren't being celebrated in the text when they're so obviously present in Judaism.
For what it's worth, Feldman's insufferable liberal takes on intermarriage actually had a hole in them that woke me up to the fact that I needed to ask my non-Jewish partner to convert or leave her. So I guess this book's issues were themselves a kind of instruction for me.
October 20, 2024
The title of this book is what it's about -- "to explore an appreciate the many different ways Jews can be and think and experience." I learned a lot about the history and current application of my tradition, although the introduction of a new framework for "modes" of the religion (e.g., "Traditionalist" instead of Orthodox) felt like a partial trend throughout the book to use lots of extra words to explain known topics. Yet there was deep insight in parts. A few examples:
- "To use a Jewish formulation from the Ethics of the Fathers, sin begets sin. A Jewish people unable to imagine the possibility of its own even occasional sinfulness will go forth and sin more." (25o)
- "Put bluntly, the Zionists' aspiration for the Jews to be a nation like other nations failed, if measured by the way the rest of the world thinks about Israel." (272)
- "... there are some types of people who could find it meaningful to struggle with God and embrace God; the struggle with one anther and embrace one another in that same struggle-embrace. We have a name for those people: those people are Jews." (351)
- "God's love is a metaphoric representation of the kind of love we humans experience, love hat incorporates struggle alongside embrace." (352)
- "To use a Jewish formulation from the Ethics of the Fathers, sin begets sin. A Jewish people unable to imagine the possibility of its own even occasional sinfulness will go forth and sin more." (25o)
- "Put bluntly, the Zionists' aspiration for the Jews to be a nation like other nations failed, if measured by the way the rest of the world thinks about Israel." (272)
- "... there are some types of people who could find it meaningful to struggle with God and embrace God; the struggle with one anther and embrace one another in that same struggle-embrace. We have a name for those people: those people are Jews." (351)
- "God's love is a metaphoric representation of the kind of love we humans experience, love hat incorporates struggle alongside embrace." (352)
July 18, 2024
***.5
There is much insightful analysis of the current state of the Jewish people, which in the wake of October 7 provide some useful context and observations to help the reader understand what underlies some of the divisions and responses by various factions.
Alas, the book reads very much like a lecture by a Harvard Law professor (remember Obama?). He starts off by redefining the conventional sets of Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Haredi, etc. into his own groupings of Traditionalists, Progressives, Evolutionists, which is somewhat interesting but of marginal utility and makes the discussion seem ponderous and academic.
He touches on many thorny issues that divide secular from observant, American and Israeli, Ashkenazi vs. Sephardi, etc., and while it's of course unfair to expect that he'd be able to solve anything in a single book, I found his overly pedantic legalistic approach to be frustratingly unfulfilling.
There is much insightful analysis of the current state of the Jewish people, which in the wake of October 7 provide some useful context and observations to help the reader understand what underlies some of the divisions and responses by various factions.
Alas, the book reads very much like a lecture by a Harvard Law professor (remember Obama?). He starts off by redefining the conventional sets of Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Haredi, etc. into his own groupings of Traditionalists, Progressives, Evolutionists, which is somewhat interesting but of marginal utility and makes the discussion seem ponderous and academic.
He touches on many thorny issues that divide secular from observant, American and Israeli, Ashkenazi vs. Sephardi, etc., and while it's of course unfair to expect that he'd be able to solve anything in a single book, I found his overly pedantic legalistic approach to be frustratingly unfulfilling.
October 8, 2024
This is an intellectual investigation into what it means to be Jewish, how the Jewish people wrestle with God, what Israel means to the Jewish people and to the world, and some of the big challenges facing the Jewish people. I read about half of the first section about God, and then skipped ahead to the Israel section, where the discourse moved faster for me. After reading straight through the book from there, I went back to the God section just after Rosh Hashanah, and found it easier to manage. The analysis was esoteric at times, but I felt like the author did a good job of finding the nuances of Jewish thought and practice, and putting a vast history of a complicated religion into a relatively short book. The section on Israel felt relevant and accurate to me, so I would recommend it for those looking to deepen their understanding of the current political situation in Israel, and how it relates to the Jewish people.
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