Arguing with God: A Jewish Tradition [Hardcover]

Anson Laytner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 1977

As an old proverb puts it, 'Two Jews, three opinions.' In the long, rich, tumultuous history of the Jewish people, this characteristic contentiousness has often been extended even unto Heaven. Arguing with God is a highly original and utterly absorbing study that skates along the edge of this theological thin ice_at times verging dangerously close to blasphemy_yet also a source of some of the most poignant and deeply soulful expressions of human anguish and yearning. The name Israel literally denotes one who 'wrestles with God.' And, from Jacob's battle with the angel to Elie Wiesel's haunting questions about the Holocaust that hang in the air like still smoke over our own age, Rabbi Laytner admirably details Judaism's rich and pervasive tradition of calling God to task over human suffering and experienced injustice. It is a tradition that originated in the biblical period itself. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and others all petitioned for divine intervention in their lives, or appealed forcefully to God to alter His proposed decree. Other biblical arguments focused on personal or communal suffering and anger: Jeremiah, Job, and certain Psalms and Lamentations. Rabbi Laytner delves beneath the surface of these 'blasphemies' and reveals how they implicitly helped to refute the claims of opponent religions and advance Jewish doctrines and teachings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Anson Laytner has explored the anguish of the believer with moving eloquence and passion. (Wiesel, Elie )

In this age after the Holocaust, Anson Laytner's book speaks with extraordinary force. This survey of the tradition of 'arguing with God,' one of the most distinctive and inspiring elements in Jewish faith, covers a wealth of neglected or undiscussed sources. He shows clearly that this unique perspective runs through the seams of Jewish religion and history from the Bible down to today. Written with scholarship, sensitivity, and even humor, this book will richly reward all its readers. (Rabbi Irving Greenberg )

This is a book that needed to be written. Anson Laytner has brought together familiar and unfamiliar material and analyzed it historically and theologically. The sources that Laytner has assembled have a power and a relevance that leap out from the page. (Modern Judaism )

About the Author

Anson H. Laytner is Director of the Jewish Federation Community Relations Council of Greater Seattle. He is the editor of Points East, the periodical of the Sino-Judaic Institute, and has written The Wheels of Observance: A Growth Guide to the Jewish Holidays. His articles have appeared in Conservative Judaism and the Middle East Review. Rabbi Laytner lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and three daughters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 338 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc. (July 7, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876688172
• ISBN-13: 978-0876688175
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,132,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rabbi Anson Laytner is currently a hospice chaplain at the Kline Galland Home and a grant-writer for the Jewish Family Service of Seattle. As a volunteer, he is president of the Sino-Judaic Institute, edits its journal, Points East, and manages its website, www.sino-judaic.org.

Previously he served as the interim rabbi at Congregation Kol HaNeshamah in Seattle, Washington, and as executive director of the Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and of Multifaith Works, a Seattle non-profit agency serving people with AIDS or other life-threatening illnesses. He also directed the Jewish Federation's Community Relations Council.

Laytner is the author of the cult classic "Arguing with God" (Jason Aronson, 1998), co-author of "The Animals' Lawsuit Against Humanity" (Fons Vitae, 2005), and over sixty articles on subjects ranging from Jewish theology to the Arab-Israel conflict to the Chinese Jews. His work-in-progress is a study of god-concepts and the meaning of suffering entitled "Letting Go of God".

Laytner has a BA, summa cum laude in Chinese Studies from York University in Toronto, a Masters of Hebrew Letters (MHL) and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College, a Masters in Not-for-Profit Leadership (MNPL) from Seattle University, and an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Hebrew Union College.

Rabbi Laytner is married to Merrily McManus Laytner, a retired development consultant. Between them, they share three daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandkids.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A CHALLENGING AND MUCH NEEDED WORK, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Arguing with God: A Jewish Tradition (Paperback)

Arguing With God: A Jewish Tradition provides a much needed scriptural and historical basis for a theology of protest. After the Shoah, and in a world where new violence is all too frequent, some find the accepted ways of thinking about and dealing with God inadequate. Laytner provides another option for those who find the other models of faith inadequate or impossible. He grounds his work in scripture and in tradition, showing that arguing with God does not represent such a radical break from the past. It also rooted in the idea that we must defend those who are unjustly suffering, and this is a much needed ethic in our world. Whether or not you end up pursuing this tradition yourself, Laytner's book is a must for anyone interested in exploring ways of thinking about God and being religious in a world of suffering.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring and insightful work, October 12, 2004

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Arguing with God: A Jewish Tradition (Paperback)

This work shows that there is a long Jewish tradition of addressing, and contending with G-d. In face of the evils of the world the Jew is not simply silent and accepting but dares to question G-d. This is true in the Psalms, and in Job as it is later true with Rabbi Yitzhak Levi of Berditchev, and l'havdil Elie Weisel.

The profound idea that one comes closer to G-d, even when one dares to challenge G-d is one central theme of this very important work. Reading it one understands how one can remain a believing Jew while crying out against the evils of the world, and asking G-d, "Why?"