Overview

A highly original interpretation of Judaism as a way of life, the fundamentals of Jewish belief—and the Judaism nobody knows 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.

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9780300168150

Table of Contents

Reviews

'The Jewish experience, as Gelernter shows, echoes profoundly across the wider experience of humanity. Judaism itself is a wide-ranging book about the beliefs, practices and philosophy of the world's first monotheistic religion - a book that Jews and non-Jews alike will find well worth reading.' (Jay Lefkowitz, Wall Street Journal) 'In this brief but intellectually packed book, Gelernter attempts to present Judaism as a total structure... that can lead to understanding the pressing questions of human existence... Challenging, often exhilarating, richly learned, intensely personal, and tough-minded, Judaism offers a passionate picture of Judaism.' (Maron L. Waxman, Jewish Book World)

"""'The Jewish experience, as Gelernter shows, echoes profoundly across the wider experience of humanity. Judaism itself is a wide-ranging book about the beliefs, practices and philosophy of the world's first monotheistic religion - a book that Jews and non-Jews alike will find well worth reading.' (Jay Lefkowitz, Wall Street Journal) 'In this brief but intellectually packed book, Gelernter attempts to present Judaism as a total structure... that can lead to understanding the pressing questions of human existence... Challenging, often exhilarating, richly learned, intensely personal, and tough-minded, Judaism offers a passionate picture of Judaism.' (Maron L. Waxman, Jewish Book World)"""

Author Information

David Gelernter is professor of computer science at Yale University and contributing editor at the Weekly Standard. He is the author of several books, including Mirror Worlds, The Muse and the Machine, and the novel 1939. His writings on Judaism have appeared in Commentary and elsewhere. He lives in Woodbridge, CT.

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