The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person

by Harold S. Kushner

Part of the Jewish Encounter series

From one of our most trusted spiritual advisers, a thoughtful, illuminating guide to that most fascinating of biblical texts, the book of Job, and what it can teach us about living in a troubled world.
 
The story of Job is one of unjust things happening to a good man. Yet after losing everything, Job—though confused, angry, and questioning God—refuses to reject his faith, although he challenges some central aspects of it. Rabbi Harold S. Kushner examines the questions raised by Job’s experience, questions that have challenged wisdom seekers and worshippers for centuries. What kind of God permits such bad things to happen to good people? Why does God test loyal followers? Can a truly good God be all-powerful?
 
Rooted in the text, the critical tradition that surrounds it, and the author’s own profoundly moral thinking, Kushner’s study gives us the book of Job as a touchstone for our time. Taking lessons from historical and personal tragedy, Kushner teaches us about what can and cannot be controlled, about the power of faith when all seems dark, and about our ability to find God.
 
Rigorous and insightful yet deeply affecting, The Book of Job is balm for a distressed age—and Rabbi Kushner’s most important book since When Bad Things Happen to Good People.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Judaism, Theology, Jewish, Audiobook

202 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2012

About the author

Harold S. Kushner is rabbi laureate of Temple Israel in the Boston suburb of Natick, Massachusetts. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he is the author of more than a dozen books on coping with life’s challenges, including, most recently, the best-selling Conquering Fear and Overcoming Life’s Disappointments.

Reviews

[Tom LA · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Rabbi H. Kushner offers an analysis of the Book of Job, one of the thorniest and most complex books of the Bible.

While listening to Kushner's own voice narrating the audiobook, I discovered many interesting facts. For example, that the Book of Job is in fact in all likelihood a patchwork of at least 2 or 3 different works, written by different people in different times.

Kushner doesn’t take the time to go verse by verse and explain what is being said – and I think that is a good thing, because a lot of the content of the Book of Job is just obscure, no one having any proof of what interpretation is the correct one or the best one. It's detective work without conclusive proof, like most biblical eisegesis. He aims at grasping the larger ideas – the main thoughts exchanged between Job and his friends, the purpose of God’s interruption, what conclusion are readers supposed to arrive at after finishing the book (in Kushner's opinion).

Reflecting the most popular modern scholarly theory about the origin of the Book of Job, Kushner explains that the first two and the last chapter of Job are an ancient fable, while the "poem of Job" was added in the middle section by later scribes, and it is in this poem where the real depth of the book can be found. So, the earlier fable portion is comprising chapters 1, 2, and 42, and the longer middle, poetry chapters 3-41 came later as a more articulated commentary on the same topic of the presence of evil in the world.

To add to the messiness of the Book of Job, I also learned that there's evidence of scribal editing to remove criticism of God. There are lacunae, and places where the Hebrew just doesn't make sense. There are a number of other places where the Hebrew words are clear but are very ambiguous. Even Job's very last (and critical) line is open to a wide variety of interpretation. So you really do have to know something about the assumptions of the translator before you can make any judgment at all of the version you're reading.

I found this very interesting. This actually applies to most of the Bible's books: they are all so ancient and patched up, that they look like a very old house made of different parts built in different times, although still beautiful in its chaos.

The value of Kushner's book is that he identifies various interpretations and explains why he favors or modifies the ones he does.

One important consequence of the "two or more writers" view (very widely held), is that while Job sometimes seems to be viewed as the "baddie" of the story, because he doubted God and questioned God's work, in reality Job should be interpreted as a positive character, almost as a "hero", because he speaks out his heart honestly and respectfully, and in the end he is transformed by his encounter with God.

The first time I read the Book of Job I was underwhelmed. Most of all, I found the final and most important part (the dialogue between God and Job in chapters 40 and 41) so confusing that it was impossible to relate to. In my first-read interpretation, it sounded like God spoke from the whirlwind to "bully" Job into submission, reminding him of His immense power, and telling him:

"Erm... bitch, are you God? 'Cause last time I checked, I was God. So, shut up!".

Kushner, on the other hand, believes that chapter 40 and 41 contain a very meaningful response to Job. I found his perspective on these chapters enlightening and fairly persuasive (no one really knows at the end of the day).

He points out how God talks about Behemoth and Leviathan, saying how hard they are to handle, subdue and control, implying that even God struggles somewhat with what He has made. Kushner thinks these two mythological monsters could represent things like human passions and the randomness of nature/life.

How can God be omnipotent and still struggle with these things?

The theological angle that Kushner takes is this: he no longer thinks God is by nature limited in power (like he did at the time of his first writings 30 years ago), but rather that He decided to be self-limited in order to allow our world as it is to exist. So when natural disasters happen, it's not the doings of God, God isn't in the wind, the floods and the fire, instead He is in the gentle voice that helps us be resilient, respond, minister and help the needy.

Here is a quote from the book's conclusion (God is speaking) : "I chose instead to make a world of challenge and response, a world in which humans would eat the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and have to make a hundred decisions every day as to what was the right thing to do, learning from their mistakes when they got something wrong. It would be a world with no shortage of problems, but a world blessed with great minds and great souls to solve those problems, to invent things, to discover cures, to create great works of art that can only be born out of great pain. And most important, I did not abandon this world when I finished making it. I was always here, comforting, inspiring, strengthening. Where do you think people would get the strength to overcome sorrow, to fight injustice, to heal the wounds of the body and soul if I were not there to infuse some of My spirit into them?"

Another quote: "The difference between theology and religion is that theology is like reading a menu, religion is eating the dinner". This is not his, but a great one.

And this one: "That is what you do with tragedy: you don't understand it or explain it, your survive it".

Maybe a little slow with technicalities towards the middle, but the final part is truly excellent, and worth future re-reads.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Kushner

[Jazalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. It was nice to listen to a breakdown of the book of Job. Particularly from a Hebrew scholar. I'd be interested in more books like this for different books in the Bible. I don't totally agree with some of his analysis or conclusions, but it was interesting to think about it, and I have more thinking to do after finishing.

[Brian Whited · Rating 2 out of 5]

I come to this book as a conservative orthodox Christian. Rabbi Kushner is obviously not. I do appreciate several insights he provides from the Jewish perspective. Being that the book was written by a Jewish author, there are several gems Kushner offers that many other authors might miss. In particular, his discussion of Job's appeal to Jewish law, which in essence ushers God in during the final chapters of Job was interesting. Kushner also has several practical and wise applications for those who are enduring suffering. His encouragement for people to freely express their anger at seeming injustice is often better than some of the cliche responses I've heard in church.

Kushner's theology, however, is way off. Kushner desires a God that is not all powerful and sovereign. This enables God to be off the hook when discussing evil. I do not fully understand and I don't think we are fully meant to understand how God permits sin. I can confidently say God is not the author of evil, but he does permit it. I confess that there is mystery and difficulty with this doctrine. But what I can say and what Kushner cannot say is that one day because God is sovereign and all powerful will have the power and ability to destroy evil once and for all. Kushner's God limits himself from this ability and that is something I cannot grasp. Kushner also runs from evil found in man. He asserts that man is good. While I agree that all men bear the image of God, so to all men struggle against evil. Job was no different. Kushner runs away from the redeemer that Job himself cried out for. While he may charge that Christians read our theology into the text, the reality is that Christ, the Messiah is found throughout the Israelite canon. The book of Job is no different.

[Bob Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a winter book or a book to read when time is a gift to savor. Go slowly, be patient, and think over every new thing that drops off the pages. Nothing creates a Wow moment, but all together the impact builds and builds. I never bend the tips of pages over in a book, and here I've done it fifty times. And each one is worth revisiting and rereading. Rabbi Kushner goes after the very question that every believer has to confront: why do bad things happen to a good person? Kushner goes further, highlighting that in the Book of Job, three statements are deemed to be equally true: God is all-powerful, God is completely good, and Job is a good person. How can these statements be reconciled in light of what happens to poor Job? As the rabbi leads us to the answer he sees, he deals head-on with conventional wisdom of that time and this and surprises us with a response that is both comprehensible and clever. Whether you believe the answer is up to you, of course, but it's one I never thought of, and it's caused me to keep thinking about it. The other aspect I liked about the book very much was that Kushner approached his subject entirely from the perspective of a Jewish scholar of Old Testament text. This is scholarship to applaud. Now back to a few more of those bent pages!

[David Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kushner has some interesting insights about the story of Job. One of his biggest stances is that the text is very much a mirror to the reader; theology determines interpretation.

The argument of this book about the source of evil boils down in the end to God setting aside two things outside of his absolute power: the laws of nature and the ability of man to choose. The Behemoth and the Leviathan. He specifically argues that the world would not at all be what God intended if it didn't have ambition and randomness. God's work is not in the hurricane, but in the people who join together to recover.

He describes Job's friends as being pious in such a way as to believe in a God that is defined by his eagerness to punish for even the smallest or most inadvertent infractions.

One of the more surprising arguments is that Job was perfectly justified in his anger at God. He says that any God worth worshiping should prefer honest anger to hypocritical praise. Anger at God is the distinction of a truly religious person, not someone who pretends with empty words.

But when it comes down to Job being humbled in the end, Job's doubts are erased not by the content of God's message, but the contact with god itself. It's the difference between reading about God and actually experiencing God.

[Frank R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars are not enough.

Inspiring, moving, and erudite. I don't want to summarize how the author interprets the Book of Job, as that would deny the reader the essential experience of encountering the text of Job for themselves. Suffice it to say that Kushner's interpretation and commentary are the most intellectually and emotionally satisfying responses that I have encountered in regards to this most challenging and vital of Biblical texts. The Book of Job is all about the problem of suffering and evil, and relates directly to the very nature of our relationship with God. This book transcends theology--talking about God, and moves into the realm of religion--encountering God.

Highly recommended.

[Edie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrated by the author. Fascinating look at the book of Job from a Jewish perspective. Kushner is best known for writing When Bad Things Happen to Good People. He is covering familiar ground here, writing about the problem of theodicy (if God is all-powerful and all-good, why do bad things happen). He combines those insights with a scholarly look at the text to provide an interesting reading of the book of Job. I don't agree with all of his conclusions but it was well worth my time to read this book. Lots of food for thought.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the final book I read this summer/fall in my venture to gain a deeper understanding of the Book of Job in the Old Testament. I loved this book every bit as much as When Bad Things Happen to Good People by this author, which I read several years ago. Rabbi Kushner analyzes the entire Book of Job, searching through various sources, and his own interpretations, to convey what he believes to be the deeper messages behind the text.

[Frederic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodicy for the layman...well argued if ultimately unconvincing...

[Ben Denison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. The author, Kushner, had gone through profound loss as a father of a child with a terrible illness that ended his child's life early, so he can relate to the Job's plight of an unmerited/painful/unjust loss while trying to ask God why?

Some interesting discussion over the whole, "Does God work everything out for Good?" what "good" is the loss of life, the hardship endured, merely to sharpen and/or prove one's faith. Hard questions, and frank discussion.

Not sure I agreed with the author on all of it, but he did have a different life experience and perspective that seemed more immediate than my own. A very thought provoking book.

[Sarah Simm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, I learned a lot. I wasn’t sure the author would give me a conclusion to their title that I was happy with but in the end their perspective and reasoning as to why bad things happen satisfied me. Would recommend!

[Ashish Vyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

very intesting and nuance discussion of the complex philosophical topic, and nice and unbiased dig in to the complex theoplogical underatanding.

[Ryan Mauldin · Rating 5 out of 5]

imo one of the most challenging theological dialogues ever compiled, commented on in a way I very much connect with.

[Fraser Kinnear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kushner works through the Book of Job, explaining the historic and theological context for the story

Here's a few interesting examples:
- There's a theory that Isaac was a child of severe developmental issues ("born to elderly parents, often a strangely passive person, and he's the only man in the entire Bible whose parents have to arrange a marriage for him")
- In the Jewish tradition, Satan is often seen as god's spy, and is often powerless to do anything without god's approval
- There were several parts of Job that were clearly victim to poor scribing, either due to language choice, characters with inconsistent motives or opinions, and even a long incoherent passage

I was excited when Kushner discussed the impact of J.B. on his interpretation of the book. J.B. was a play written in the '50's by Archibald MacLeish, and was my first introduction to the Book of Job when I read it in high school.

The play seems to conclude that Job, not god, is the hero of this story. That god was an insecure (almost Hellenistic) creator who insecurely needed man's love. Apparantly, in a sermon MacLeish gives some time after the play, he explains that we need "to forgive god for the miseries of the world to show how much we love him."

Kushner keeps some of MacLeish's thesis - that god needs our love - bur rejects the flawed character. Instead, Kushner argues that god, has decided to put aside some of his omnipotence to allow for chaos and our creative / destructive free will, which results in a more interesting world, albeit one encumbered with suffering. He cites god's final remarks on the leviathan and behemoth as support, because those monsters are meant to represent that chaos of the world and the selfish impulses of people.

As I have now come to understand it, the Book of Job celebrates god's awesome power but recognizes self-imposed limits on that power to avoid compromising god's primary quality: his goodness. I hear god saying to Job 'Behemoth and Leviathan, the life force and the element of chaos, often mess up my world, but I need them. I could have created a perfect world, a clockwork world in which nothing regrettable would ever happen... but it lacked goodness, it lacked change, it lacked surprise...

There are so many ways to respond to suffering and interpret their causes. While there is no interpretation in Job (or anywhere else in the Bible for that matter) which appeals to me, it's interesting nevertheless to discover how others respond to suffering, if only that I may be able to better empathize with them.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Rabbi Kushner's big bestseller thirty years ago, and I remember being a little disappointed. It is usually described as theodicy, a description which Kushner rejects: he says that would be Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. He was much more interested in trying to encourage and justify the most humane reactions to bad events, rather than trying to explain away how a good God could allow them to happen in the first place. I thought at the time his was an optimistic and encouraging view, but mostly because he's a big-hearted, optimistic, charitable man, not because he had particularly convincing arguments. This is a much meatier book--focusing in detail on the Book of Job, analyzing it chapter by chapter with many references to the history of its interpretation. He explains in detail aspects of interpretation with which he agrees and those with which he doesn't, and he comes down very much in the same place that he did in his earlier book. But this time he gives somebody like me many more reasons to agree with him. This is a valuable book in a lot of ways, but it would be valuable to me even if its only contribution to my understanding was that large chunks of Job are very nearly unintelligible in the Hebrew. Translation and interpretation, even more than in most works, are everything.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book I wanted to read. It was sent to me by my good book friend, Carolyn Formsma, as she watched me struggle with the teachings of Job. "Uurrrrgh!" I thought, "Heavy going, not at all my thing."

Except, as it turned out, it was. Rabbi Kushner pulled me in slowly. He has the creds to talk about personal tragedy, losing a son to bone cancer at an early age. He pulled me through Job, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, discussing the problems with translation, how the book actually turns to mush and gibberish in the late chapters, where you can't figure out who is really saying what - or why - and brings it all together in the end.

It isn't all neat. There remain things to ponder. We don't always get it right when we contemplate the Great Creator and the Almighty God, and Rabbi Kushner has clearly done a lot of the pondering for us. He has some great illuminations of the text, and a lovely way of looking at the nature of God.

Thank you, Carolyn. :-)

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and thoroughly persuasive.

I struggle with a world with such arbitrary cruelty, where innocent people are so unjustly punished.

Kushner tries (and, to my mind right now, succeeds) to explain the impossible triad of: God is good; God is all powerful; and evil exists. He uses various and wonderful translations and different traditions.

I loved this book and am relieved to finally have the words to say it.

Em'as v'nihamti al afar v'efer.

[David Potter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doubtful

I guess a Rabbi would have a particular interest in the book of Job with its assumed focus on suffering. I thought he would also have a respect for it as divinely inspired. While the first is evident in Kushner's book the second is not. In fact, although the book reaches an inspiring end it rests on a foundation of sand. The author is so focused on suffering that he seems to me to miss the point of the book of Job altogether.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very interesting for my situation. I found myself looking more into my Bible and highlighting points. However, as the book wend on, I began to feel lost. I personally felt more lost at the end of the text and needed clarification from some other spiritual works. Again, VERY interesting, just did not quite hit the mark for me.

[Jim O'rourke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much work- after interesting introduction this book quickly is reduced to simply retelling of biblical stories.

[Sean Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem of a book. You need to read it slowly, a few pages at a time, and think about what Rabbi Kushner is saying to you. This book was wisdom from a wise man. Highly recommended.

[Peter Story · Rating 1 out of 5]

The guy appears to be trying to show off his knowledge, and takes an incredible amount of time to get to the point promised on the cover.

[Benjamin Sendrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best, most lucid commentary on the biblical Book of Job that I have ever read. If you have an interest in Bible, I would call this a must read book.

[Samcwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book once a year. It’s one of my favorite books on how a just and loving God can permit human suffering.

[Phillip Kang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jewish and Christian believers through the ages have invariably turned to the Book of Job to look for answers to the age-old perplexing question: Why do bad things happen to good people?

It's this question that rabbinic scholar and author Harold S. Kushner grapples with in The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person. He writes as one who had experienced suffering first-hand. When his son, then fourteen, died from a rare aging disease, he spent some years trying to make some sense out of this tragedy. His personal experience and his erudite scholarship of Jewish theology and tradition has equipped him to answer how we can live in a world where God blesses the good and the bad indiscriminately.

Kushner begins with some claims about the Book of Job. It isn't a single work, as assumed by many, he tells us. In fact there are two of them. The first is what he calls the Fable of Job, an old and simple folktale of faith maintained and rewarded, found in chapters 1, 2 and 42 of the book. The other is the Poem of Job, a more complicated work of religious poetry added later, sandwiched between chapters 2 and 42. This is the core of the book, which contains arguments and counter-arguments between Job and his friends, who had come to comfort him in the wake of the loss of his children and property, about God’s sense of goodness and justice.

Kushner’s fable claim is debatable. If true it would mean that Job is not a historical figure and the events in the story are merely fiction. Many Christian scholars have rejected this claim.

The core of Kushner’s book is a chapter by chapter commentary of the book with highlights of key verses and explaining what their poetry means to the average reader. He points out some of the textual difficulties encountered, many of which he attributes to scribal errors.

He then draws on the wisdom of certain authorities of the past to show how they had tried to make sense out of Job’s suffering, the consolation of his friends and God’s answer.

Finally, Kushner offers his own understanding to the problem of human suffering by framing it in terms of what God chooses to do with His awesome power. It may be provocative to some but comforting and satisfying to others, depending on one’s doctrinal beliefs. In the end, readers must form their own responses.

In terms of genre, Kushner’s book might be somewhat difficult to classify. I would say that it’s a blend of a Bible commentary and an inspirational work. Some patience and perseverance will be needed to get through it completely but it will be worth the effort.

[Robert Federline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent exegesis on the book of Job from the Old Testament.

This book is by the same author of the wildly popular book from the 1980's "When Bad Things Happen to Good People, " and several other works, all devoted to helping people cope with the challenges in life. This book is not a sequel to the book from the '80's, but it still is, in some ways.
This is a theology book that is well-researched, well-considered, and well-written.

The difference between four and five stars here is not the fault of the author. It is myself as the audience. I came looking for more than could reasonably be given. The Book of Job is a very difficult book of the Bible. It can be very confusing and presents very hard topics, and does not give clear answers. My hope, of course, was that with his sharp mind, and life devoted to the scriptures, that Rabbi Kushner would be able to open the book to me and explain it in clear and simple terms that I would understand. The fact that he could not do so is not his fault.

The book is difficult, being comprised of two distinct sections, with the first wrapped around the second, as the Rabbi explains. The answers are not clear, but the explanations and discussion presented in this book do help to open it much wider than it was before. He even does us the courtesy of presenting and discussing the interpretations of other wise minds as they considered this Book.

The answers aren't easy, because they were not meant to be easy. Even in the New Testament Jesus, after reciting some parables, has to explain to His apostles that not everyone can understand what He preaches. "Let them who have ears, hear." The apostles even asked Jesus to explain some of His parables to them, even though they were His daily companions.

This book of the Bible tests us in many ways, just as Job was tested many by God. The purpose of the test is not clearly set forth. so there is no cheating. God is all powerful. God is completely good. Evil is real. These are difficult concepts with which to wrestle, and still understand how a good man, Job, could be treated the way he was.

We will each face many issues in our lives. Many things which happen to us do not seem fair. They may be perfectly natural, however, because nature can be cruel. They may still not be fair, much less seem fair. How we react to this "unfairness" is a serious test of who we are, and what is our relationship with God.

[Geoff Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is Jewish, and thinks Job is written in two parts, the fable, chapters 1,2, and 41, and the poem. The author thinks that there are two different authors or even more for the book of Job because of the changes in style; and suggests transcribers of the scrolls substitute words or phrases or other intentional edits to make the poem more palatable to orthodox views of God. Additional textual criticism mentioned-similar stories are found in other ancient cultures therefore the story is not original. The story of Abraham offering Isaac is written to correct the notion of God actually killing Job’s children - is just one example of assertions mentioned without much argument other than speculation and Freudian physiological analyses of verses.

-Job friends challenge the notion that Job is innocent of any wrong doing worthy of the things happening to him, in the first round of debates, per Kushner, the arguments can be summarized as-Job you are a good person and in the end, God will reward you for your goodness despite what is happening now- a view that goodness is directly related to favor from God. Kushner says Job is challenging this line of thinking, and Job is alluding to God causing the evil in his life, and Job’s morality is better than God’s.

-The author says the book has been mistranslated because the scribes were uncomfortable with the implications, and says that final round of debates in the poem have to be mistranslated because the message is inconsistent.

-Funny how the author will bash the practice of ‘reading your bias into the text’ on interpretations of passages that support ideas like Original Sin and then brings his own Freudian preconceptions like equating the Behemoth to the ID.

-Because Job invokes the proper meth from the Torah and declares before God his innocence, God appears.
-The Leviathan represents Chaos, the Behemoth represents Eros or the ID.

-Interesting conclusion the author comes too, but not quite all there in my opinion, and since the author is very much a textual critic, wonder why he would come to any conclusion at all if he does not believe that the same author wrote all the book, and that it is inspired by God. Three stars because it made me think, and written pretty well.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pastorally sensitive and insightful reflection on Job, from one who suffered the loss of his son at a young age to a rare disease. Kushner's own life experiences make him a perceptive critic of many unsatisfying ways of interpreting Job. Although I would disagree with his interpretation on a number of points (such as his reading of Behemoth as human ambition/life-force/Id and Leviathan as world-chaos which God has left unfinished, and his assertion that "the first thing you need to know about the book of Job is that there are two of them...the Fable of Job...[and] the Poem of Job") the book had a number of strengths.

Kushner draws on Talmudic interpreters and a rich history of reflection on Job, and reflects on Job by connecting it to other scriptural passages like Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac. His discussion of Job's dialogues with his three friends and their perspectives was insightful and well-written, and his exploration of different figures in the history of Jewish thought that have sought to give an answer to the questions posed by Job - Maimonides, Spinoza, Luria, Buber, and Heschel - was something I had not encountered before.

One piece of the writing that bothered me was the prevalence of quotations or references that had no bibliographic information. Kushner often quotes some "interpreter" directly and neither names the source of the quotation nor gives a reference for it. I can understand that this is meant to be a popular book, not an academic one, and could excuse the occasional instance, but it was pervasive and ended up being frustrating, particularly when a certain quotation would catch my eye and I would have no idea where it came from. Aside from that, though, I found the book to be engaging, genuine, and informative.

[Joel Kleehammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is the third book I've read by Rabbi Kushner and the fourth book I've read from the Jewish Encounters collection. I first read Rabbi Kushner's book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Like him, my son passed away, and I was having difficulty dealing with the loss. I had trouble reconciling the idea of a God who controls everything with the idea of a God who is merciful. Had it really been the will and intent of God that my son should die?

It is understandable that many readers did not enjoy this book. It asks difficult questions and poses challenging responses. For many readers (non Jews especially), there is a difference of philosophy, and they would disagree with his conclusions, if not also his premises. The book does not always lean the direction the reader wishes to go. Even for Jewish readers, it is not so cut and dry. There are many different thoughts on the nature of God, His omnipotence, His mercy, His control (or lack thereof) of nature, and His willingness to step in and interfere with a human's free will.

When something happens in the world, is it because God wills it, because He doesn't intercede and stop it, or is it just the way life is? Maybe it is some mixture of these. In any case, don't read this book to find a convenient answer in the end. As Rabbi Kushner says, "In the end, every one of us reads his own book of Job, colored by our own faith and personal history."