Customer Reviews

Exodus to Humanism: Jewish Identity Without Religion (Philosophy and Literary Theory)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

26 highly intelligent and articulate people, from various countries, some very well known, have contributed their ideas and life experiences relating to the theme of identity and its links with religion, specifically Jewish identity and Judaism. This theme though is of universal interest and is not limited to Jewishness and Judaism. I think the author has woven a hetereogeneous collection of contributions rather skilfully into a number of related themes. His style is somewhat idiosyncratic , but I enjoyed his "excursions" and recommend it as helpful in clarifying ideas about the way forward and offering support when doubts about religion threaten a moral vacuum and crisis of identity

I think the most important aspect of this book, aside from the fact that it is well written and unpretentious is that it starts the dialogue-- the inner dialogue one has with one's self and the one between one Jew and another. Ibry astutely avoids providing pat, specious answers, instead throwing open the discussion to fellow Jews and admitting that it is, in fact, a brave new world. Recognizing that old traditions and sentiments are hard to leave behind, he reminds us that the Jews invented Judaism, not the other way around.

The questions and opinions explored in this book, while specifically addressing the Jewish dilemma in the Twentieth and Twenty-first centuries, should also have appeal to anyone who feels constrained by the implausibility--if not outright absurdity--of a deity as described in ANY western religious scripture.

If you're looking for a place to begin your transitional journey from theism to rational thought, done with wit, intelligence and emotion, this is the place to start.

This book aims at providing an answer to this question. Included with the author's observations and experiences are arguments and explanations from 26 Jewish contributors who have either rejected Judaism or have never believed in it, including Prof. Sir Isaiah Berlin, Prof. Sir Herman Bondi, Prof. Albert Ellis, Prof. Adolf Grunbaum,Rose Hacker, Prof. George Klein, Dr. Henri Morgentaler, Prof. Jean-Claude Pecker, Prof. Ernest Poser, Prof. Howard Radest, Claire Rayner, Prof.Evry Schatzman, Helen Suzman, and Arnold Wesker. The author is concerned about the survival of the Jewish identity when Jews will realize that the religion of Judaism is obsolete and has the guts to face the problem head on. I found it of great help because it opened my mind to the realities of our day.

David Ibry, an Israeli born Jew, exhorts all Jews to face the traumatic fact that all religions including the Jewish Religion, are obsolete and that a Jewish Identity based solely on an obsolete religion will sooner or later become obsolete.
The author maintains that a really secular Israeli model, retaining the great Jewish history and traditions, but without depending on religious belief for its nationhood, would help to save the Jewish Identity in the Diaspora.

After reading this book I asked myself:
What would happen when more and more people will realize that there is no God, no Heaven or Hell, no immortal soul and no divine revelation?
I hope that also the Jewish Identity, like the English, the German and the American identities will survive, because like the
English, the Germans and the Americans also the Jews have their own country again.

Yes,people are naturally inclined to antagonise those perceived
as different. Religions offer the opportunity to validate antagonsims and confrontations through messages which cannot be doubted because they are revealed from an infallible source.
Without religion people will still confront one another, but their antagonisms will become open to human reasoning and compromise.