To Life!: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking [Large Print] [Paperback]

Harold S. Kushner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1994

A touching, intelligent, often humorous account by the author who reassured millions with his popular When Bad Things Happen to Good People, is a positive affirmation of what it means to be a Jew. (Religion & Inspiration).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kushner, a rabbi and author of the bestseller When Bad Things Happen to Good People , here presents a wise and lucid guide to what it means to be Jewish. Distilling his extensive study and reflection, he defines the goal of Judaism as "bringing God into the world" by sanctifying ordinary events and by helping people to become fully human through their relatedness to others. As he sees it, God's covenant with the Jews means that God and humans have obligations to one another. Kushner illuminates this reciprocal relationship, emphasizing that people exercise free choice in what direction they take toward goodness and articulating Judaism's expectation that social justice will ultimately prevail. His exuberant approach and organic bonds to a living faith pervade this book, which includes chapters on rituals, holidays, prayer, anti-Semitism, Jews' attachment to Israel and Jewish-Christian relations.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Kushner ( When Bad Things Happen to Good People , Avon, 1983) has here written a lucid analysis of Jewish life, thought, and customs. Enlightening to those who want to learn more about Judaism, this work serves as an excellent introduction to the roots of Christianity and Jewish belief. Kushner discusses the essence of Judaism in a simple and clear language, touching upon the meaning of Jewish customs and ceremonies and the purpose of prayer. He talks about such topics as the love of Israel by Jews, how Jews and Christians need to understand one another, and anti-Semitism in terms of why people hate. The essence of the book is its tone of optimism, its sense of living and making the ordinary sacred; this tone is enhanced by an ease of writing and the use of examples and memories from the author's life. Recommended to all libraries.
- Maurice Tuchman, Hebrew Coll. Lib., Brookline, Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Walker Large Print (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802726801
• ISBN-13: 978-0802726803
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Large Print > Philosophy

More About the Author

Harold S. Kushner is Rabbi Laureate of Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts, where he lives. His books include the huge bestseller When Bad Things Happen To Good People and When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A blessing for all..., July 4, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: To Life: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking (Paperback)

In this book, Rabbi Harold Kushner (perhaps best known as the author of 'When Bad Things Happen to Good People') explores the traditions and practices of Judaism with wit and wisdom. 'To Life!' is his celebration of his heritage, and the heritage of his entire community.

'"To Life!" conveys a sense of exuberance, a readiness to enjoy the pleasures of this world. It removes from wine, and from other pleasures, the taint of sin and self-indulgence, and invited us to look at all that God has created and find it good.' Judaism has a long history, longer than most continuing religious traditions in the world today. It is a testament to the foresight in Judaic teaching and wisdom that, despite its ancient origin, much of that wisdom is still relevant today. This may also have to do with the slow nature of change in the basic human nature, as well as the fact that timeless truths and problems are, well, timeless!

This book is a very personal book for Kushner. He states in the first chapter his Rule One about how to answer the question What does Judaism say about...? -- ''The only correct answer will always begin: "Some Jews believe as follows, and other Jews believe something different." The reason fo this is not just that we are a highly individualistic, independent-minded people. The main reason is that we have never found it necessary to spell out exactly what we are supposed to believe.'

A key difference between Judaism and many religions, including Christianity, is that it is an ethnically-based religion, not only in practice but in approach. The Jews were a people before they had a religion. With most every other religion, the converse is true. When Mordecai Kaplan asked Kushner and his rabbinical school fellow students to write down the ten greatest Jews of the twentieth century (the list included Einstein, Freud, Herzl, etc.) and then asked them to write down the synagogue each attended each week, the point was made clearly -- they were not Jews by virtue of religious observance, but through membership in a community.

Kushner proceeds in a classic Jewish style -- to tell stories. The community is built up largely of the stories carried forward from generation to generation, about the community and its collective responsibility to God and to each other, with neither aspect able to be separated from the other. Story-telling is something that the Christian community has learned and taken to heart from this practice, and indeed, in carrying the Hebrew scriptures into the canon of Christian scriptures, tells many of the same stories.

Kushner discusses sacredness and holiness -- he quotes Martin Buber who, in distinction from the thought of much of the world who believe there is the holy and the profane (unholy), believed the proper division exists between the holy and the not-yet-holy. Everything has a potential for holiness, as part of God's creation. 'Everything we do can be transformed into a Sinai experience, an encounter with the sacred. The goal of Judaism is not to teach us how to escape from the profane world to the cleansing presence of God, but to teach us how to bring God into the world, how to take the ordinary and make it holy.'

Throughout the book, in his discussion of the calendar -- from which he discusses holidays and rituals of importance-- to the ways of prayer, the diversity of Jewish belief about God and humanity, and the ideas of the state of Israel and historical and continuing anti-semitism, Kushner approaches each subject with clarity, compassion, wit, and the love only a life-long devotion to Judaism can bring. His final chapter, 'Why You Need to be a Jew', is aimed largely at the assimilationists, those who would forego much of Jewish life in favour of the greater culture. In this chapter, one can find reasons for a reaffirmation of one's own religion, whatever it may be, and find arguments for taking it seriously.

Kushner's book is a blessing to all who read it, of any tradition.

Shalom.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most inspiring books I've ever read, March 24, 2005

By 

Eric B (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Life: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking (Paperback)

THERE ARE NO "SLAMS" IN THIS BOOK!
I'm a Jew who sings with my Christian friends in their church choir every Sunday (to support them in their worship). Many of them sing in the synagogue choir down the street. Although I'm a devout Jew, I've begun to see the world a bit through Christian eyes. Let me say, flat out, that I found no criticisms of Christianity in this book. In fact, just the opposite: Rabbi Kushner strikes me as thoughtful and respectful of Christianity. For instance, he never makes the claim that Christianiity is a religion of faith without works. He says clearly that the differences between faith and works in Judaism and Christianity are differences in emphasis. Judaism is more focused on this-worldly matters than other major religions. That's a fact, not a criticism. Furthermore, he does not say that Christianity is "part pagan." In the chapter in which he discusses Christianity, he refers to early Christians who adopted aspects of paganism into early Christianity. Few scholars would dispute this. His brief discussion of baptism was in the context of explaining that one is born Jewish in a way that one cannot be born a Christian. Again, this is a fact, not a criticism or a put-down of Christianity.

I read this book back in 1993 when it was first published. Today my wife and I light candles, bless our son and daughter, and chant the blessings over wine and bread every Friday night.........largely because of this book. Thank you Rabbi Kushner.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for me at this time in my life, May 18, 2006

By 

J. Bergin (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Life: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking (Paperback)

I am in the infant stages of my conversion to Judaism, and this book really cemented my conviction that this is the right decision for me. I felt that Rabbi Kushner clearly explained what Judaism is all about to him and, in many instances, to me as well. The chapter dealing with the dietary laws I found particularly helpful and enlightening, as this is one of the most intimidating factors for me in converting to Judaism and living as an observant Jew. Rabbi Kushner's explanations helped me understand the dietary laws in a different way, as allowing the sacred to enter into mealtimes -- which takes the focus off food -- and I immediately began "keeping kosher" to an extent.

I didn't feel that this book slammed Christianity, but I'm not a Christian so my perspective is decidedly one-sided. I did feel that this is a book about Judaism, not about Christianity. There are places where Rabbi Kushner compares and contrasts the two religions, but I didn't get the sense that he was saying, "Our way is better than your way." I DID get the sense that he is a man who feels deeply connected to God, and sees his religion as the source of that connection. While it's likely that a (relatively) small number Christians would read this book, it seems to be intended for Jews -- a book for Jews about Judaism, written by a Jew. The references to Christianity did not seem to be an instruction guide on Christianity so much as a way for Jews to understand their own religion within the context of modern American society, which is predominantly Christian.

If you are interested in learning more about Judaism -- what do Jews believe? what is the Jewish religion all about? -- then I think this is a very good introduction. Rabbi Kushner's explanations are easy to read and understand and at the same time very enlightening. Don't let this be the extent of your studies into Judaism, but it is a fine place to start.