I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl [Hardcover]

Judea Pearl (Author), Ruth Pearl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

WINNER OF THE 2004 NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR ANTHOLOGIES!

Being Jewish. What does it mean—today—and for the future? Listen in as Jews of all backgrounds reflect, argue, and imagine.

When Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was brutally murdered in Pakistan, many Jews were particularly touched by his last words affirming his Jewish identity. Many were moved to reflect on or analyze their feelings toward their lives as Jews.

The saying "two Jews, three opinions" well reflects the Jewish community’s broad range of views on any topic. I Am Jewish captures this richness of interpretation and inspires Jewish people of all backgrounds to reflect upon and take pride in their identity. Contributions, ranging from major essays to a paragraph or a sentence, come from adults as well as young people in the form of personal feelings, statements of theology, life stories, and historical reflections. Despite the diversity, common denominators shine through clearly and distinctly.

This inspiring collection presents answers from Jewish people around the world—artists, entertainers, government leaders, authors, media personalities, scientists, community organizers, scholars, rabbis, and others—covering the religious, professional, and political spectrum. They explore:

• Identity—Our relationship to ourselves, how we define who we are in the most fundamental way.
• Heritage—Our relationship to family, community, culture, tradition, and our collective history.
• Covenant, Chosenness, and Faith—Our relationship to God, our understanding of the relationship between God and the Jewish people, and our understanding of Judaism as a religion.
• Humanity and Ethnicity—Our relationship to others who are not part of the Jewish people. How does a sense of particularism relate to the universal themes and teachings of Judaism?
• Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) and Justice—Our relationship to the larger world, and what "I am Jewish" means for what we do with our lives as we address our responsibilities in the world.

In this critical time in our history, I Am Jewish will motivate people throughout the Jewish community to think about their lives as Jews, and have a profound effect on the way younger Jews shape their identity in years to come. It will help people of all faiths and backgrounds to better understand Jewish people and Judaism.

Contributors include:

Ehud Barak
Sylvia Boorstein
Edgar M. Bronfman
Alan Colmes
Alan Dershowitz
Kirk Douglas
Richard Dreyfuss
Kitty Dukakis
Dianne Feinstein
Tovah Feldshuh
Debbie Friedman
Milton Friedman
Thomas L. Friedman
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Nadine Gordimer
David Hartman
Moshe Katsav
Larry King
Francine Klagsbrun
Harold Kushner
Lawrence Kushner
Shia LaBeouf
Norman Lamm
Norman Lear
Julius Lester
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard Lewis
Daniel Libeskind
Joe Lieberman
Deborah E. Lipstadt
Joshua Malina
Michael Medved
Ruth W. Messinger
Amos Oz
Cynthia Ozick
Shimon Peres
Martin Peretz
Dennis Prager
Anne Roiphe
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Vidal Sassoon
Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi
Daniel Schorr
Harold M. Schulweis
Lynn Schusterman
Natan Sharansky
Gary Shteyngart
Sarah Silverman
Michael H. Steinhardt
Kerri Strug
Lawrence H. Summers
Mike Wallace
Elie Wiesel
Leon Wieseltier
Sherwin T. Wine
Ruth R. Wisse
Peter Yarrow
A. B. Yehoshua
Eric H. Yoffie

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In February 2002, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was brutally murdered by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan. Just before he died, he said, "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish." His parents decided to honor his memory by asking several hundred Jews to record their reactions to his words-statements that form the core of this book. Most of the 146 contributors are well-known authors, educators, rabbis, reporters, entertainers and political figures, including Joseph Lieberman, Michael Medved, Dennis Prager, Elie Wiesel, Dianne Feinstein, Kerri Strug, Richard Dreyfuss and Wendy Wasserstein. The length of their statements varies from a sentence or two to essays that cover several pages. Their thoughts are organized around the five basic themes of identity; heritage; covenant, chosenness and faith; humanity; and tikkun ha'olam (repairing the world). The respondents provide anecdotes, theological formulations, personal reactions, biblical references and historical reflections, ranging widely from the superficial to the profound. Among the few Israeli contributors is Avrum Burg, an outspoken critic of the Sharon government and its policies. He argues eloquently that being a Jew places on him a special obligation to work for peace. Others place different constructions on what it means to be Jewish. Lack of consensus highlights the extreme variations in Jewish views, indicating that one value of this collection is its demonstration that a healthy diversity of opinion continues to characterize the Jewish community.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Judea and Ruth Pearl are the parents of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002, and whose final words were, "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish." The book contains statements by 146 contributors expressing what being Jewish means to them. They range from major essays to a paragraph or a sentence from scholars, entertainers, authors, rabbis, and others, covering the religious, professional, and political spectrum. Responses have been placed into four categories: identity; heritage; covenant, chosenness, and faith; humanity; and tikkun ha'olam ("repairing the world") and justice. Among the contributors are A. B. Yehoshua, Daniel Schoff, Mike Wallace, Norman Lear, Kitty Dukakis, Shimon Peres, Cynthia Ozick, and Larry King. A fitting tribute to Daniel Pearl. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing; First Edition edition (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580231837
• ISBN-13: 978-1580231831
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book October 2, 2004

By Chris Macdonald Dennis

Format:Hardcover

I recently purchased this book and was truly touched by it. I have to admit that I am saddened that some believe that this is too "narrow" because it focuses on what being Jewish means to Jews. Of course this book is not simply for Jews; in fact, I would love for my non-Jewish brothers and sisters to read it to understand what being Jewish means to us. What if it were a book about another community? Can no one write about their own community?

The first part of international understanding is understanding oneself and this book does a great job at this.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Being Jewish means much in many different ways October 11, 2004

By Shalom Freedman HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

It is difficult to write a few lines about this book without thinking about the cruel and evil event that led to it. The murder of Daniel Pearl simply because he was Jewish would seem to take us back into the darkest times of Jewish and human history, to the Nazi era. And in truth the new Islamic Fundamentalism in whose name Pearl was murdered is a frightening and abhorrent phenomenom which is a threat to human civilization and freedom as a whole.

Pearl's last words ' My father is a Jew. My mother is a Jew . I am a Jew' are as I understand it a courageous affirmation of his own identity and connection with his people. It connects with generations of Jewish martyrs who died on ' Kiddush Hashem' crying out as their last words the Jewish declaration of faith in G-d, " Shema Yisrael"

The book itself consists in around one- hundred and fifty personal statements by largely well- known Jews about what being Jewish means to them. The selection to my taste is a little slanted to the ' left and to the Diaspora' and should in my opinion have had more Israelis, and more with a strong religious identity. There are a few who I would not have included. But on the whole the selection is varied, interesting and provides a great deal of meaningful thought. I especially was touched by the words of Kerri Strug the courageous Olympic gymnast but there are many other inspiring accounts also.

This is an important book for anyone who wishes to see the collective face of the Jewish people at this time.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book for ANYONE May 14, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I had to respond to the criticism that this book is only for the "narrow Jewish community". I thought exploring various people's thoughts on what it means to be Jewish was an excellent idea. I am not Jewish and I felt the book was aimed at me as much as is it at Jewish people. Daniel Pearl's last words were "I am Jewish", so why not explore what this means? This was not intended as a biography - his wife has written a book, and there are others that deal with Daniel Pearl as an individual and in the larger context of his murder and terrorism.

This seemed to me to be a very positive means of celebrating his life. I thought the stories were interesting and felt it did what it set out to do.