Contemporary Orthodox Judaism's Response to Modernity [Paperback]

Barry Freundel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Freundel, who counts former presidential candidate Joe Lieberman among his Washington, D.C., congregants, invites readers, Jewish and non-Jewish, to gain a better understanding of Jewish law, tradition and belief in his succinct but thorough analyses of 31 different topics crucial to Orthodox Judaism, such as teshuvah (repentance), Israel, prayer and Shabbat and Kashrut. Each chapter summarizes the central sources upon which the Halakhah (Jewish law) is based in clear, understandable terms and explains the development of the tradition as well as its practical application in today's world. Additionally, Freundel provides all the relevant Orthodox opinions on the matter, including those that he or the law ultimately rejects, and elucidates how and why Jewish law maintains its ancient positions even as modernity infringes on them. He does not shy away from or gloss over sensitive or controversial issues; instead he seems eager to take them on and debunk popular myths, including the widespread notions that Judaism considers women inferior and that Jews do not believe in an afterlife. Even though most chapters number only a few pages, his essays are accurate, entirely to the point, easy to finish without losing interest and convenient to pick up or put down at any time. Freundel's evident mastery of the vast breadth of materials within Jewish thought and law combined with his eloquent and cogent writing makes for an exceptionally worthwhile, inspirational and instructive work that no informed person should be without.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ktav Pub Inc (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881257788
• ISBN-13: 978-0881257786
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,425,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent guide to Orthodoxy..., August 1, 2005

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Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Contemporary Orthodox Judaism's Response to Modernity (Paperback)

explaining the basics and debunking myths that seem to be altogether too common (e.g. that Jewish law is 100% anti-abortion or 100% pro-abortion, or that Jews don't believe in an afterlife, that Jewish mysticism began with Kabbalah, or that the most traditional Jews are always the most pro-Zionist). Although once in a while Freundel mentions other Jewish movements, his tone towards non-Orthodox movements is reasonably respectful, and he writes much more about differences within Orthodoxy.

A few points I thought were especially noteworthy or surprising:

*The key difference between the Five Books of Moses and the rest of the Tanach: the first are sources of law, the second generally not.

*Freundel admits the existence of possible corruptions in the biblical text, noting that 8th-century scholars sought to correct such corruptions and that even now, there is a one-letter deviation between Ashkenazic and Sephardic versions of the Torah. But Freundel argues that any small errors in the text are "not legally consequential" because Judaism rejects literal interpretation of the Bible, and Jewish law is based instead on centuries of rabbinic analysis.

*Freundel asserts that Judaism is optimistic about man's capacities, and gives an interesting example of this: human cloning. Catholics oppose cloning because cloning constitutes "playing God in the work of creation" while many Orthodox Jews support cloning in principle because "becoming a partner with God in the works of creation" is essentially noble. A Protestant theologican argued against cloning in a Congression hearing because "people have a right not to be created in this way". By contrast, Freundel asserts that human existence is sufficiently noble that existence is better than nonexistence regardless of how it is created.

*Freundel's detailed explanations of the relationship between God and Evil. Unlike some fringe characters, Freundel rejects the notion that evil is always a punishment for sin (though of course it might be). Orthodox Jews have also endorsed other explanations, since as human free will, Divine self-limitation, evil as a challenge that humans were created to remedy, and possible compensation (to good people who suffer and bad people who do not) in the next world.

Freundel does occasionally lapse into overly technical language; he once asserts that Israel "is a cutting edge issue in the debate between more modern and yeshivish expressions of Orthodoxy." I suspect that many readers who are not Jewish or who grew up outside Orthodoxy won't understand what "yeshivish" means - but thankfully, such lapses are few and far between.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Jews believe, March 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Contemporary Orthodox Judaism's Response to Modernity (Paperback)

For the uninitiated:

This book is a primer on the basic philosophies of Judaism.

Before a potential convert or person curious about Judaism reads "To Be a Jew" or other books about the basics of HOW to practice Judaism, he or she should read this book first. This kind of book is rare BUT NECESSARY first step of the thinking person's exploration of Judaism because it tells what Jews believe.

The only other book out there like it that I can think of is "Book of Our Heritage" by Kitov, but reading "Heritage" is already a pretty serious investment in study, usually made only by an avid reader. This book is an easier read but no less significant an achievement.

It is also different from "Heritage" in its approach. It is more straight on with a specific goal of saving the earnest intellectual who is curious about Judaism but confused - confused from all of the myths about Judaism, and popular schools of thought today which contradict or at least seem to contradict Judaism. In his way, the rabbi is trying to achieve a work which is not unlike what the Rambam was trying to do with Guide for the Perplexed and eliviate the confusion. This is an update to that idea for the current time and a much much easier read.

For the initiated:

The title of this book might scare some people away because it has the words "modern" and "contemporary", but it shouldn't. Although it is obviously written by a Modern Orthodox rabbi, it favors no particular hashkafah of Orthodox Judaism. If your kids are in Bnei Brock, they're not going to run out and go to the movies or become astronomers after reading this book, and modern kids aren't going to start keeping yashan either. Those who are learned will find this book has mostly basic material, but it is distilled and summarized in such a way which will clarify many things and make them clearer to us. Having said that, there are many things even the learned will learn from it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CONTEMPORARY ORTHODOX JUDAISM'S RESPONSE TO MODERNITY, February 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Contemporary Orthodox Judaism's Response to Modernity (Hardcover)

From Publisher's Weekly
The International News Source of Book Publishing and Bookselling

February 23, 2004
CONTEMPORARY ORTHODOX JUDAISM'S RESPONSE TO MODERNITY
Rabbi Barry Freundel. KTAV,Freundel, who counts former presidential candidate Joe Lieberman among his Washington, D.C., congregants, invites readers, Jewish and non-Jewish, to gain a better understanding of Jewish law, tradition and belief in his succinct but thorough analyses of 31 different topics crucial to Orthodox Judaism, such as teshuvah (repentance), Israel, prayer and Shabbat and Kashrut. Each chapter summarizes the central sources upon which the Halakhah (Jewish law) is based in clear, understandable terms and explains the development of the tradition as well as its practical application in today's world. Additionally, Freundel provides all the relevant Orthodox opinions on the matter, including those that he or the law ultimately rejects, and elucidates how and why Jewish law maintains its ancient positions even as modernity infringes on them. He does not shy away from or gloss over sensitive or controversial issues; instead he seems eager to take them on and debunk popular myths, including the widespread notions that Judaism considers women inferior and that Jews do not believe In an afterlife. Even though most chapters number only a few pages, his essays are accurate, entirely to the point, easy to finish without losing interest and convenient to pick up or put down at any time. Freundel's evident mastery of the vast breadth of materials within Jewish thought and law combined with his eloquent and cogent writing makes for an exceptionally worthwhile, inspirational and instructive work that no informed person should be without. (Apr. 21)