Written for observant and non-observant Jews and anyone interested in religion; this remarkable book by the distinguished scholar David Gelernter seeks to answer the deceptively simple question: What is Judaism really about? Gelernter views Judaism as one of humanity’s most profound and sublimely beautiful achievements. But because Judaism is a way of life rather than a formal system of thought; it has been difficult for anyone but a practicing Jew to understand its unique intellectual and spiritual structure. Gelernter explores compelling questions; such as:•How does Judaism’s obsession with life on earth versus the world-to-come separate it fundamentally from Christianity and Islam? •Why do Jews believe in God; and how can they after the Holocaust? •What makes Classical Judaism the most important intellectual development in Western history? •Why does Judaism teach that; in the course of the Jewish people’s coming-of-age; God moved out of history and into the human mind; abandoning all power but the capacity to talk to each person from inside and thereby to influence events only indirectly?In discussing these and other questions; Gelernter seeks to lay out Jewish beliefs on four basic topics—the sanctity of everyday life; man and God; the meaning of sexuality and family; good; evil; and the nature of God’s justice in a cruel world—and to convey a profound and stirring sense of what it means to be Jewish.
#4355011 in Books 2011-04-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x .87 x 6.12l; 1.05 #File Name: 0300152701336 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Insightful but Anthropologically AcademicBy TMegThis book seeks to explore the reasons why the people in a particular region in rural present-day Mali turned from a largely pagan background in 1880 (before the colonial period) to becoming largely Muslim by 1960 (the end of the colonial period). It is based on (somewhat limited) French colonial reports and the author's visits to this region; interviewing residents and obtaining oral histories. The author provides strong support for his thesis; that the primary driver of islamization was young men returning from more cosmopolitan areas after the displacements from the wars of Samori in the 1880s; and after trips to the coastal colonies as slaves or later as soldiers or itinerant workers for peanut production. People returning to their villages brought Muslim prayer. In this sense its a story of globalization.Peterson's research is unique; and as such provides interesting insights into the process of Islamization; not only in Mali; but in other parts of Africa; as well as in parts of the Muslim world (India; Indonesia) where the rural villages turned to Muslim prayer too long ago for oral history. Appreciating his one of a kind contribution; as a non-anthropologist; I found this book to be a slow read. Peterson works within the paradigms and verbage of academic anthropology; which I find somewhat offputting. However; for those whose interest in his question and thesis provides the perseverance required (I am one); I would recommend his book.
