What Every Christian Needs to Know about Judaism: Exploring the Ever-Connected World of Christians & Jews

by Evan Moffic

Explore the wisdom and traditions of the Jewish faith and examine what they mean for Christians.

"Rabbi Moffic is an engaging teacher who excels at communicating ancient truths for modern audiences. His insights into Hebrew scriptures and the Jewish heritage of the Christian faith will be a blessing to all who want to learn."
--Steve Gillen, Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church

When Christians learn about Jewish tradition and history, they see the Bible and the life of Jesus with a new and enriched perspective. Knowing more about Judaism brings them closer to Jesus because Jesus lived and died as a Jew and consistently quoted the Jewish scripture and stories.

In this book Evan Moffic, popular rabbi, author, and guide to Jewish wisdom for people of all faiths, continues the What Every Christian Needs to Know About series with an exploration of the wisdom and traditions of Judaism. Rabbi Moffic provides answers to hundreds of questions he receives about Judaism to provide a deeper understanding of the roots shared by Christians and Jews.

Through this book's explorations, readers will learn insights of the great Jewish sages to live a richer and more meaningful life, soak up the wisdom and traditions of Judaism, and a develop closer relationship with God.

"My hope is that these teachings can serve as a way of fostering bonds focused not on the past and the troubled history between Jews and Christians, but rather one looking forward to a future in which we share wisdom with one another."

- Rabbi Evan Moffic

Product Features:

A popular rabbi explores Jewish wisdom and traditions for Christian readers. Topics explored include: Jewish texts, spiritual life, holidays and events, and others. Highlights intersections of the Jewish and Christian faith that give deeper meaning to reading the Bible.

Genres: Judaism, Religion, Nonfiction, Jewish, Christian, Faith

224 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2020

Reviews

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabbi Evan Moffic does an excellent job explaining the basic tenets of Judaism to those (not just Christians) who may be unfamiliar with them. Topics he covers include holidays, prayers, weddings, and funerals. His writing style is friendly, engaging, and easy to understand; it's evident that he is accustomed to speaking with people from different religious backgrounds. Recommended for all public libraries. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I think the title itself is self explanatory, I will attempt to share what I love about What Every Christian Needs to Know About Judaism - Exploring the Ever-Connected World of Christians & Jews by Rabbi Evan Moffic. First of all, it is written by someone who has had training and experience to really be able to explain Judaism.

Second is that Rabbi Moffic's mission is to really build bridges between people so that we can come together united in faith. I love that!!!

Another reason to read this informative text is that it is an easy read...and an interesting one too. Am I the only one who has imagined the voice of God to sound like James Earl Jones? Apparently I am not, as Rabbi Moffic mentions that exact idea of God's voice in the beginning of Chapter one. Love it, made me want to fall out of my chair while reading because it felt like this gentle Rabbi read my mind! Each chapter unveils more of Judaism and the explanation/origin of beliefs that may or may not be similar to the reader's belief system. I love that the overall tone is sharing information rather than conversion.

This is a book I really do recommend. It caught my eye the moment I saw the title and does not disappoint. From learning about God's name, the different classes of Judaism, I do not think the audience is limited to Christians...I think the audience is anyone interested in learning about Judaism. I am ready to order my own copy to keep!

Table of Contents:
Chapter One: God
Chapter Two: Texts
Chapter Three: Election or God's Jedi Masters
Chapter Four: Israel
Chapter 5: The Calendar: Autumn Holidays
Chapter 6: The Calendar: Winter and Spring Holidays
Chapter 7: Prayer: Experiencing Oneness
Chapter 8: Everyday Holiness: Homes, Food, Blessings
Chapter 9: Life- Cycle Events
Chapter 10: The Eternal Questions
Notes

Thank you to NetGalley, author Rabbi Evan Moffic, and Abingdon Press for this temporary, digital advance review copy for me to read and enjoy! As Always my opinions are my own.


#WhatEveryChristianNeedstoKnowAboutJudaism #NetGalley

[Conrade Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christians generally recognize the link between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus ministered among Jews. Many religious rituals came from Jewish culture. The twelve disciples were all Jews. The Bible contains many references to Jewish practices. There were feasts and rituals that are familiar to the Jew. However, from these, not much else is known to the layperson. In this book, author Rabbi Evan Moffic's primary purpose is to unpack Jewish teachings for Christians, to establish a deeper appreciation of Judaism and Jewish culture. In this manner, he hopes that Christians will learn to grow closer to Jesus by understanding the times, the contexts, and the uniqueness of Judaism. In doing so, he aims to build bridges between Jews and Christians to share the common heritage. Throughout the book, Rabbi Moffic shares the common elements. First, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is the same as the God of the Bible. He addresses common questions surrounding the nature of God; His Revelation; topic of suffering, etc. On suffering, he helpfully points out the three different approaches to suffering: Job approach; Jeremiah approach; and the Maimonides approach; Lurianic approach; and the Kaplan approach. These are definitely eye-opening approaches that Christians would benefit from learning.
Second, Old Testament comprises texts from the Hebrew Scriptures. After pointing out the Hebrew equivalent names, the author also shows us the value of commentaries, just like our modern Bible commentaries. Just like our Calvinist brethren use the acronym TULIP to describe Calvinism, the Jewish have PARDES (minus the vowels) to guide the various learning perspectives.

- Peshat: understanding from sages;
- Remez: hints surrounding the passage;
- Drash: What teachers tell us;
- Sod: secret things and hidden meaning.

Third, there is the doctrine of election. This is something Christians often struggle with, especially on the topic of calling. Rabbi Moffic shows us how Judaism nuances calling, choosing, and chosenness. When dealing with the question of whether God had called Jews to suffer, he answers brilliantly that the primary thing is to shine our chosenness, even in the midst of suffering. While this is something some Jews do not accept or understand, both Jews and Christians ought to consider this manner of witnessing for God in spite of suffering. Fourth, the chapter on Israel gives us a fresh perspective of what land means to the nation. It is neither capitalistic nor communist. Instead, land in Israel is a blend of equality and interdependency with high degree of political and social equality. Chapters five and six offer us a glimpse of the significant events in the Jewish calendar. In Autumn, there is the Rosh Hashanah; the Yom Kippur; Sukkot; and the Simchat Torah. In Winter/Spring, there is the Chanukah; Purim; Passover; Omer &Shavuot; Yom Hazikarron & Yom Haatzmaut; and the Tisha B'av. Other important emphases in Judaism is prayer, everyday holiness, and life-cycle events. The latter chapter should give us a deeper insight into the significant days of a person's life. Rabbi Moffic ends the book with eight popular questions people ask about Judaism.

My Thoughts
First, this is a richly informative book about what Judaism is, explained by an insider. It is not simply an explanation of popular practices. It is taught by a learned sage. Rabbi Moffic takes care to maintain faithfulness to the Jewish names instead of over-simplifying them for the modern audience. It's like trying to decide whether to say something in Hebrew or to use the English equivalent. For the most part, the author uses both so that he could point us to the same thing. For example, many Jewish rabbis writes "G-d" leaving out the vowel. In this book, the author chooses to follow the normal modern convention. In that way, non-Jewish readers would follow along the explanation without being distracted by semantics. I appreciate the background provided for the Jewish practices. Often, we find only pockets of information gleaned from commentaries and reviews. In this one book, we have a primer on Judaism and how it relates to Christianity.

Second, Christians ought to read this book because Jewish culture and beliefs form the context of the ancient biblical literature. We will gain not only a historical understanding but also cultural and political reasons why certain things are being done. It is also hoped that Christians would read with more compassionate eyes to see how much Jews had suffered over the years. If there is any one group that deals most passionately with the topic of suffering, it is the Jews. They have suffered in a way that no other groups had suffered. I appreciate the depth of insight with regard to Jewish reflections and teachings about the meaning of God and suffering. It also gives us fresh insight into one of the most popular books written on human suffering, authored by Harold Kushner: "When bad things happen to good people."

Third, this book is an invaluable resource for Bible teachers and preachers to use in their teaching. One of the things in teaching ancient biblical texts is the reason why people do what they do. It is often a challenge to help modern readers understand ancient contexts. Like telling the story of a song before listening to it, we immediately connects with the writer's background and motivation, rendering a better and deeper appreciation of the music. We can learn and incorporate a lot of background from this book into our study of the Bible. Granted, there are many differences with regard to Judaism and Christianity, the chief being how we view Jesus. It is impossible to be completely in agreement in terms of doctrines. Nevertheless, we are enriched with greater understanding not only of our differences but also our similarities. This book does highlights the latter more.

Thank you, Rabbi Moffic!

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Abingdon Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

[Rya Fenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I've frequently wondered how I managed to grow up in New York, where many of my classmates, neighbours, and co-workers were Jewish, without knowing much about the religion. I decided a long time ago that learning about Judaism was difficult because, unlike Christians and Muslims, Jews tend to keep to themselves and not seek out conversions. So, as the Jewish people aren't likely to start knocking at my door or preaching on a street corner any time soon, I decided I should make some effort and read a book. I'm so glad I did.

This book is not just for Christians. It's for anyone that is a little unsure about what Jews believe, their history, and how they worship and live. It puts the holidays and rules we've all heard about in context and explains where each comes from and why some denominations do things differently than others. While some knowledge of the Bible would be helpful, I think you can go into this book with no background in scripture.

I'm very excited and inspired to learn more about Judaism and thank the author of this book for providing a fantastic introduction.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the book needed a better copyeditor, its content is interesting and enlightening. It's sparked a few insights for me regarding my Christian faith, and grown my appreciation of Judaism. I'm especially struck by how tactile and "earthy" different Jewish traditions are, which makes me curious about how Christian liturgies and the Christian calendar evolved from those same ancient roots. Highly recommend, especially to anyone who needs to debunk the idea that the Old Testament God is angry and judgmental. He was gracious and kind from the beginning, and this book attests to that.

[Sherry Deatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very helpful to me. I have Jewish friends and have never quite understood all the traditions and ways that they worship. After reading this, I feel that I can carry on more intelligent conversations with them. As a Christian I understand now how our religions blend and how they are different. I see things and understand things in the book differently than the Jews do but at least now I can see their reasoning.
I recommend this book highly.
I received a complimentary copy through Net Galley but the opinions are entirely my own.

[Nderitu Pius · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only main problem was in the first chapter and a few chapters within. However I loved the book. I documented it while reading not to forget what I felt about the book and also about the beautiful points of the book. GOD BE GLORIFIED!!

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up in in a sparsely-populated western state – one not known for having any kind of a Jewish presence. So, as a child, the only thing I knew about Jews or Judaism was that Jesus was a Jew. As an older child I remember when I first learned that in very recent history Hitler and the Nazis killed an estimated 6 million Jews. That was when I realized that Jews must not be some ancient and long-gone tribe of people, but, more-probably, that they were a large group of people who currently inhabit the same world I do.

Over the years as I have studied WWII and the Holocaust, I have become more and more curious about the religion and history of the Jewish people. Reading this book enlightened me in many ways on the subject of their religion and its connections to Christianity. A very worthwhile read.

[Victoria Baldin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What every Christian Needs to Know about Judaism: Exploring the Ever-Connected World of Christians & Jews by Rabbi Evan Moffic

I thought this book was very interesting and informative.

Rabbi Evan Moffic explains the most difficult topics in simple everyday English that makes everything clear and easy to understand.

As I read it, I learned so much more about the Jewish faith.

I would like to thank Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good in some ways. As a hardcore Jew and Christian at the same time I liked it and learned from it. I just felt like the stuff about Israel needed more nuance. I am trying to say that even if though obviously it is wicked complicated maybe put in a plug for Palestinian people suffering because of Christian Zionism and shit like that

otherwise my man, good job ! thanks Evan

[Camden Garrett]

Learned a lot about Judaism! The Talmud is a critical text in their religion, right under the authority of the Hebrew Bible. The chapters on the Jewish calendar and festivals/holidays were enlightening. Rabbi Moffic desires that all are respectful of others' religious beliefs and can benefit from learning about them. I'm curious as to his beliefs on pluralism.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really good. The author gives different takes on the various approaches and beliefs Jews hold and sometimes, why. The Rabbi is a gifted writer, and explains things clearly and in interesting ways. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

[Dannie Lynn Fountain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a TON! Shoutout to Debbie Ballard for recommending this book to me as I learn more about Judaism, Rabbi Evan Moffic seems like a great resource. This was a super approachable book, even at my typical 2.5x audiobook speed.

[Matt Hession · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good foundational understanding of Judaism. Anyone interested in studying historical Christian characters should have a decent understanding of Judaism, and this book provides just that.

[Kari McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, thought-provoking read! Highly recommend to anyone.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at Judaism, not just for Christians

I enjoyed this book. It provided a concise summary of Judaism from the point of view of a liberal rabbi. I found the book well-written and concise and never felt that Rabbi Moffic was being preachy. This is not a compare/contrast of Judaism vs Christianity and most of the information is on Judaism. Thus the information is broad enough to be of interest to anyone interested in religion, using the better-known Christianity as a reference point.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.