An Intelligent Person's Guide To Judaism

by Shmuley Boteach

A synopsis of the Jewish faith by the author of Kosher Sex builds on the writer's belief that Judaism possesses a core of wisdom that appeals to everyone, arguing against teachings that promote abstract expressions of faith, the rationalization of injustice, or an acceptance of the holocaust as a punishment for assimilation, in a provocative account that urges Judaism be regarded as a faith of spirituality rather than suffering.

Genres: Judaism, Judaica, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, named by Talkers Magazine as one of the 100 most important radio hosts in America, is a nationally syndicated talk show host, the international best-selling author of 15 books, and an acclaimed syndicated columnist.

A winner of the London Times highly prestigious "Preacher of the Year" award, Rabbi Shmuley has lectured and appeared in print, radio, and TV all over the globe. His radio show, "Rabbi Shmuley's Passion," airs daily on Bonneville Broadcasting in afternoon drive-time.

He is the author of a number of books, including "Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy," "Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments," "Why Can't I Fall in Love," "Judaism for Everyone: Renewing your Life through the Vibrant Lessons of the Jewish Faith," and most recently, "Hating Women: America's Hostile Campaign Against the Fairer Sex." A winner of the annual "preacher of the year" contest sponsored by the Times of London, he was formerly rabbi of Oxford University.


Shmuley—he is known universally by his first name, has marketed himself as a rabbi to the stars and an expert on Jewish attitudes toward relationships and marriage. ("Dr. Ruth with a yarmulke," the Washington Post called him.)

Reviews

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book. So this guy went on a debate with Muhammad Hijab in 2024 during the palestine Genocide trying to defend Israel and as you will see a lot of his quotes from this book written about 25 years ago are very dissimilar to how Israel is operating today. Here are the best bits:

Indeed, in an even greater irony of history, it seems that only anti-Semites are excited enough by Judaism to give it its due. In 1899, H.S. Chamberlain published Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, a highly anti-Semitic work which was extremely well-re-ceived by intellectuals of the day. The London Times Literary Supplement called it, 'unquestionably one of the books that really matter.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that dark storm clouds are piling up over us and that we should fear the future. The world at large - the macrocosm - is doing quite well today. Certainly it could be better. But it is almost unimaginable that a global conflict, like a third world war, could break out today. There is a sense of peace around us and about our time, in spite of the many regional conflicts. Wealthy countries operate highly developed foreign-aid programmes for the benefit of poorer ones, and among world leaders there seems a genuine desire to police international tension and create stability.

Judaism's optimism and strength spring from one core idea, the trumph of feminine passive over masculine-aggressive values. Though often mistaken for a male-oriented religion, Judaism believes man's sensitivity to the reality around him cannot come about until he harnesses his inner feminine energy. Only the reduction of aggression and competitiveness - all of which produce a noise and hindrance preventing man from noticing the truth - can redeem man from his own self-centredness and focus him fully on God and his happiness.
Ultimately, the most respected person in Judaism is the facilita-tor, the supreme exponent of the feminine-passive, someone who selflessly puts the welfare of others before him or herself.

Well before Karl Marx dismissed religion
as the opiate of the masses, writers attacked religious individuals as people who are in need of a crutch. As H.L. Mencken wrote, 'God is the immemorial refuge of the incompetent, the helpless, the miserable. They find not only sanctuary in His arms, but also a kind of superiority, soothing to their lacerated egos: He will set them above their betters. Similarly, Francis Picabia wrote, Men have always need of god! A god to defend them against other men.'
There is some truth in these criticisms. Religion is a source of strength to the helpless, a source of life to those verging on death, a source of hope to those in despair, and a source of inspiration to the fatigued and disillusioned. The saying goes that there are no atheists in the bomb-shelter.

And it is specifically by tapping into our human competitiveness, a desire to outperform our fellow man, that we are able to generate enough income to build hospitals and orphanages. And it is specifically the scientist who yearns to win a Nobel prize who will one day find a cure for AIDS. One cannot have the blessing of children without the trials of raising them.

In Judaism the purpose is to lose one's faith. No man, woman, or child who roams the earth should ever have to resort to faith in God. Instead, we should be able to see, with our very eyes, the materialisation of
God's presence on earth and all of the Almighty's blessings.

Approaching the conception of God and man from a philosophical point of view, the ancient Jewish mystics said that with creation the Almighty contracted His infinite presence in what is known as tzim-tzum, condensation. This contraction yields a makum panui, or empty space. This space is not empty in a literal sense, since God is omnipresent. Rather, it is like a condensation in which God's essence is present but concealed, affording man the illusion of freedom. The world is brought into existence within this 'empty space' thereby hiding the immediacy of God's presence and allowing man the real opportunity for freedom of choice.

No wonder that in this frosty atmosphere where God remains such a stranger religion has died such a horrible death. The great and tortured novelist Franz Kafka penned his father a letter, which the latter never read due to his sudden death. It said, It would have been thinkable that we might both have found each other in Judaism or that we might have begun from there in harmony. But what sort of Judaism was it that I got from you? ... It was impossible to make a child, over-acutely observant from sheer nervousness, understand that the few flimsy gestures you performed in the name of Judaism, and with an indifference in keeping with their flimsi-ness, could have any higher meaning. For you they had meaning as little souvenirs of earlier times, and that is why you wanted to pass them on to me. But since they no longer had any intrinsic value, even for you, you could do this only through persuasion or threat.? These lines could be written by almost any child growing up in a Jewish or Christian home for whom religion has become a burden, a dead carcass to bear, rather than a fountain of living waters.

The basis of every relationship between two parties is the willingness to accommodate one another's needs. The very act of entering into a relationship is an undeclared yet tacit acceptance of the simple fact that no desire of one's beloved is trivial or irrelevant. But those whose marriages last understand there can be nothing more romantic, and no better way to make someone feel cherished, than to respect, anticipate and respond to their (seemingly irrational) needs and desires.


But in Judaism the reverse is true. It is time that sanctifies space. Judaism is obsessed with holy and special moments, in the same way that the bridge or field where a couple enjoyed their first kiss will always be special to them. It is the supernatural events which have come to pass in a certain place that lend that location its solemnity. Mount Moriah, the domain where the Temple was built in Jerusalem, was sacred because, according to tradition, it was there that God took clay from the earth, fashioned it into the guise of a man, breathed life into it, and called that being Adam. On the same site, many centuries later, Abraham was commanded to bring his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. The site (space) became holy because of the great event (time) that happened there.
Taking this one step further, in Judaism the most exquisite beauty is found in the towering imagination that supports the Sabbath and the Jewish festivals. These cathedrals in time are the equivalents of the opulent exuberance of shrines found in other religions. Because man, according to the Bible, is conditioned to embrace time, he must make space for its enjoyment rather than time for the creation of religious spaces. Instead of erecting altars, the Jew works in order to save up money and celebrate sacred and precious moments with family, friends, and community. Instead of spending time' in the acquisition of space', Judaism argues that we must do the opposite. A loving parent will spend the large sum necessary to fly his daughter back from University so that they can celebrate festive moments together. Space, or property, must be used to acquire time.

It is for this reason that, according to Judaism, we must rest on the Sabbath from any kind of creative labour. Eor orthodox Jews, there are many thousands of tributary forms of work which are prohibited under the thirty-nine archetypal categories of work. Some of the more common prohibitions on the Sabbath include: ploughing, sowing, reaping, baking, bleaching, dyeing, spinning, weaving, tying a knot, tearing, trapping or hunting, building, de-molishing, kindling a fire, writing, erasing, sewing, grinding, cooking, sifting, and putting the finishing touch to a newly manufactured article. In addition, carrying from a private to a public domain is prohibited and the observant Jew therefore does not walk into the street on the Sabbath with anything in his pockets.

In what has become a famous statement, the Talmud declares that a man's character can be tested in three ways: bekiso, be'koso, uve kaaso, by his pocket - is he a miser or a spendthrift and on what does he spend his money; by his cup - how does he respond to the temptation of alcohol and what secrets emerge when he is intoxicated; and by his temper - can he control himself in the presence of provocation? There is a fourth test according to some: af be'sehoko, by his play - how does he use his leisure time? One man who understood this exceptionally well was Victor Frankl, the wise Holocaust survivor who founded the therapeutic school of Logotherapy. In his brilliant Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl wrote that there is a kind of depression which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest. Not a few cases of suicide can be traced back to this existential vacuum.

Indeed, the disciples of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav used to set aside an hour a day known as the Dead Hour, in which all business would cease and nothing structured was permitted, allowing the repressed soul to come to the fore and be free.

How can they be both? Indeed, some Jews have, throughout the ages, tried to escape the torment of this dual identity by assimilating among Gentiles. Concerning such Jews, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav gave a brilliant parable how a Jew cannot ever lose his Jewish identity. A king once had a son who thought he was a turkey. Ashamed, his father sought every wise man to cure the young prince, but to no avail. Stark naked and on all fours, the crown prince continued to roam the palace saying 'Gobble, gobble'. One day a rabbi came and claimed to be able to cure the prince. He removed his clothing and joined the prince, who was curious at the sight. Who are you?', asked the prince. Why me? I'm a bird? "That's amazing', said the prince. Why, I'm a bird too. I am so happy to have company?

God established two separate covenants between Himself and the Jewish people, something which is often overlooked.
God established a Sinaitie covenant, which was formulated at Mount Sinai, and a patriarchal covenant which He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob well before they had offspring.

Man must show severity when the occasion calls for it, and a parent that cannot discipline their child does not truly love them. The art of leading a fulfilling life is finding the fine balance between creativity and actualisation, between love and discipline, between indulgence and restraint. This is why God commanded that on the very reproductive organ itself - man's greatest symbol of his creative energy and his infinite capacity for Godly emulation - there must be a sign of God to teach man discipline.

The rabbis of the Talmud also taught Do not despise any man? (Avos 4:3). Likewise they declared, Even a Gentile who studies God's law is equal to a High Priest. These rabbis saw God's salvation freely available to all men. Contrast this with the terrible sentence proclaimed in the name of Jesus (John 15:6) He who does not abide in me is thrown away like a withered branch. Such withered branches are gathered together, cast into the fire and burned. This intolerant statement was later used by the Catholic Church to justity their practice of burning non-believers at the stake. Many people have asked why it is that Judaism consists of 613 commandments, while the law given to the rest of mankind, the Noachide covenant - consisting of only seven commandments, Indeed, King David proclaims in the book of Psalms, God is good to all, and His love extends over all His works.' Indeed, two thousand years ago the ancient rabbis legislated that a Jew is obligated to assist a needy Gentile as much as any Jew: We are obliged to feed the Gentile poor in exactly the same manner as we feed the Jewish poor'

The answer lies in Judaism's approach to history. According to secular history every event is brought about by a preceding cause and history develops mechanically. Origins determine events and the present is merely one of a number of possible precipitations of the past. Hence, the future has many causes. Jewish history is different. Ultimately, it is not pushed by antecedent causes, for all of history converges on the righteous future heralded by the Mes-siah. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik put this most succinctly in Man of Faith in the Modern World: While universal [non-Jewish history is governed by causality, by what preceded, covenantal [Jewish] history is shaped by destiny, by a goal set in the future! What determines Jewish historical experience, therefore, is not the point of departure of events, but their destination. The engine of history is tomorrow's promise rather than yesterday's events.

Until the righteous redeemer finally arrives, it is, therefore, of immense importance that all of us nurture the Messiah in our hearts. Each of us is born with the deep-seated conviction that we are special. Social anthropologists note common fantasies which many children have. One of the most recurrent is a belief that the whole world was made for them and revolves around them. Every American child believes that he or she can grow up to be Presi-dent. The same must be true for the Messiah. Every Jewish child should grow up believing that perhaps it is him or her. Maybe, just maybe, he himself is the ancient Jewish redeemer that has been promised by God and awaited by the Jews for so many thousands of years.

The rule in Judaism is simple: by giving to charity constantly, we become charitable. Thus, it dictates that rather than a man giving, say, a thousand pounds to charity once a year, he should distribute three pounds daily for all three hundred and sixty five days of the year. It makes no difference to the poor. The same amount is given regardless! But it does make a difference to the man who gives. For when he gives regularly and repeatedly, he will change himself. It is for this reason that Judaism thinks that organised religion - with its regular demands and routines - in particular has the capacity to change the inner soul of man. Repetition which is the norm in Jewish religious life is not an encumbrance but a pro-gramme of change.

Man must strive to make himself into a miniature Temple in which God can reside. It is for this reason that motivation, intention, and the right incentive remain highly significant in Jewish thought, albeit always of secondary importance. Even though the wrong reason will not negatively taint the good deeds we do, we have an obligation to improve first the macrocosm, the world at large, and then the microcosm, the world of man.

Men are obliged to keep all the commandments of the Torah while women are absolved from any commandment - such as wearing a prayer shawl and reciting the three daily prayers
- which are time dependent.

When I grew up, true to these stereotypical roles, my father was the one who always saw that my siblings and I were undisciplined and needed training. My mother was always the one who protected us and told him that we were fine and just needed room to grow. Both were right. And both parental roles are absolutely necessary. The masculine side of creation feels the need to fight demons.

The purpose of the Jewish social revolution is to make the entire world, especially men, more feminine. It is to teach man that success at home with family is more important than success in the marketplace.

Theodore Herzl, the father of modern-day secular Zionism, approached the Kaiser of the German Empire in a private audience at the turn of the century, with his idea of building a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. The Kaiser laughed and said, In order for that to happen, you would need three world empires to fall' One by one, they all fell (the Ottoman Empire, which controlled Palestine prior to World War I; the German Empire, guaranteeing Palestine for the Lutheran Church; and Czarist Russia, guaranteeing Jerusalem for the Eastern Orthodox Church). Seventeen years later all of those empires had disintegrated. If even secular Jews like Herzl never gave up hope, how dare a rabbi teach his congregation to do SO!

The real question which should be posed to God upon witnessing a child with leukaemia, or a collective Holocaust, is not, Please God, explain to us why this happens and how it fits into Your overall plan for creation', but rather, Master of the Universe, how could You allow this to happen? Was it not You-who taught us in Your magnificent Torah that life is sacred and must be preserved at all costs? Where is that life now? Was is not You who promised that the good deserve goodness and not pain? Where is Your promise now? By everything which is sacred to You, I demand that this cease, and that the person recover immediately?

CAMUS wrote somewhere that to protest against the universe of unhappiness you had to create happiness.

Less than three out of every thousand people in the world are Jewish and out of that number only about half hour in someway observant. We have survived this long but increasingly young Jews find little reason to identify and affiliate.

Voltaire, father of the Enlightenment, could not overcome their hatred of the Jews. Voltaire despised the Jews with an intensity that is almost impossible to comprehend. He called Jews, the most abominable people in the world' , and assessed them in the following way: 'In short, they are a totally ignorant nation who, for many years, have combined contemptible miserliness and the most revolting superstition with a violent hatred of all those nations that have tolerated them. Nevertheless, they should not be burned at the stake? Asked how Jewish influence could be curbed, the Kan-tian philosopher Johan Fichte wrote in 1793, I see no other way of doing this except to cut off all their heads one night and substitute other heads without a single Jewish thought in them. How shall we defend ourselves against them?'

The Ghost theory that nobody likes a ghost of people that should have died out when they were expelled from their land or the theory that the Jews have been used to scapegoats by totalitarian rulers. For the lingering hatred of Jews among people have all social classes and religious persuasions for thousands of years.

why so few non-Jews know anything about Judaism. OK, there aren't that many Jews in the world. But equally, there aren't that many Tibetans, and yet everyone seems to be familiar with the Dalai Lamah, Why did Judaism, with its strong mystical tradition and celebration of everyday life, never become the Buddhism of the Western world, its spirituality embraced by millions of people the world over, even though they are not Jews?

Why have the Jews been so? singularly unsuccessful in conveying the beauty of their own tradi-tion? The main reason is Jewish insularity, and the cause of Jewish insularity is a basic, if unwitting, contempt for the outside world. The Jews have not affected the world because they have not wanted to, because after centuries of persecution, they have largely ceased to care about the world. Jews are not racists, but while they do not look down on non-Jews, they look down on non-Jewish living and non-Jewish society. That is why we have always insulated ourselves from it.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was attracted to this book after flipping through it in a bookstore and landing on a passage where Boteach says, without apology, that "Jewish culture stinks." By this he means that if Jews locate their identity completely in culture-- in Klezmer music, bagel and lox, and the novels of I.B. Singer-- we are in big trouble. Why? Because frankly Western Christian culture has given us much better art, music, and, with some exceptions, secular literature. I was tickled that a proudly Jewish writer would come right out and say this.

What Judaism has given us, argues Boteach, is not "culture" (not to mention that there are Indian Jews, Persian Jews, Chinese Jews, Sephardic Jews, and every other type of Jew, each with its own characteristic & very different culture). Rather, a civilization-changing list of principles: all humans are created equal. We have free will. Aggression and war are undesirable. We are responsible for the suffering of the weak and unfortunate. The created world is a good world.

I'm not much of a synagogue-goer. I'm a lifelong agnostic. But I responded to Boteach's argument that Jewish identity is religious and not cultural at the core. I was seduced by Boteach's view of Judaism as a religion that celebrates life in all its manifestations and sees the miraculous in the everyday. A religion that is neither unworldly nor consumed by the material.

Boteach is an Orthodox Jew, which means that his logic is quite rigorous and his practice, for many of us, is unworkable. The section on women is the least convincing in the book (according to him, they are innately more spiritual, so they don't need pesky honors like reading from the Torah or becoming rabbis). This book was written a few years before 9-11, and its view of our world as one in which war is gradually becoming obsolete and anti-Semitism is an eminently controllable force seems anachronistically rosy.

Still, I've never read a book on Judaism quite like this. It's not about the holidays or Jewish history or Jewish thinkers. It's about the big picture: how does Judaism view human beings? How does it view human suffering? What differentiates it, existentially, from any other religion or philosophy that survives today?