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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From impenetrable to quite translucent.., November 22, 2000
Back in the 'Eighties, I found myself teaching Chaim Potok's "The
Chosen" to a Year 12 class, a system-shock, since I was, by then,
as school librarian, largely free from classroom duties. But it was a
book I liked, and the best book, by far, on that year's required
reading list, and the English Coordinator, the class teacher, had
declared himself an avid antisemetic and this unwilling to add the
text to his repertoire..though quite willing to allow ME to
"borrow" his class to demonstrate the book's worth.And so I
came to research Judaism the first time.. The second thrust toward
Judaic enlightenment was differently inspired, prompted, in fact, by a
stroll around New Orleans with a Jewish met-on-the- internet-friend
from New York, with me miserably aware that I was registering only a
fraction of his conversational vocabulary (and that several paragraphs
behind). And it seemed to me that if so obviously intelligent a man
could find meaning in Judaism, perhaps the faith,and its inherent
disciplines, were worth a second look.. But where to look
first?
Other Jewish friends proffered advice.
Herman Wouk's
"This Is My God" was recommended.
"Lightweight!" scoffed my New York friend."Pap for the
masses!You would do better just asking ME!" But I wanted to
input some other, more openminded ideas, and tried Amazon Books.
Amazon came up with a list of twenty or more, a list which threatened
to go on, and on, but I started with nine, the shelf since much
augmented, and browsed them all, before selecting "Basic
Judaism",by Rabbi Milton Steinberg, subtitled :
"The
essential book for both Jews and non-Jews eager to know more about one
of the world's great religions". And as a starting point,
as an overview, as a balanced, heart-warming, conscious-of-all-faiths
introduction to the Jewish way of life, I doubt you can go past Rabbi
Steinberg's positive little text which manages, in just 172 pages, to
render the seemingly impenetrable, quite translucent... sunlit, even!
Educated in my formative years by Sisters Of Joseph nuns,
indoctrinated that only baptised Christians can "enter the
Kingdom Of Heaven", I was unprepared for the welcoming warmth
this little book exudes. There is no hint of a restricted heaven here,
nor babies in limbo, with Rabbi Steinberg reminding us, over and over,
that , to a Jew, heaven is for the righteous, all righteous
,regardless of creed, something my Islam-convert son has pointed out
to me as a major difference, also, between Christianity and his
adopted faith.
I was interested, too, to see that there is no
equivalent of the Catholic Pope, and no parent "CHURCH" to
grow rich and powerful, that each synagogue congregation is an
independent, autonymous entity..
Interested,too, to see how much
emphasis Judaism places on individual learning and scholarship, even
for women,and on rights for women, NOT things the Christian churches
have exactly emphasised down the years. As well, Rabbi Steinberg
continually clarifies both the traditionalist and modernist Jewish
stances on each point at issue...something else that came as something
of a shock to me after my rather frustrating attempts at broadbased
discussion with my classically trained, Ashkenazic Jewish friend from
New York. But remember, this is an OVERVIEW of Judaism, and not
the book in which to delve for obscure points of pre-Passover
procedure, though its eleven sections cover Judaism from historical
foundations , through current practice, to a "World To Come"
section and Epilogue, noting, at each step, the differences in
interpretation between the main Jewish divisions, and explaining how
these interpretations affect daily life for a Jew. I have read
many books on Judaism since, and attended classes, and "discussed
the Holy Books" with some very learned men indeed, and had many
questions thus answered, but this book, with so many passages
highlighted by my yellow pen, is the text that made me want to
continue to find out. And if YOU, with a Jewish friend or
workmate, or perhaps reading the daily papers and watching televised
news of the conflict in Israel, would like to understand better, to
maybe offend less, to be more in the picture, read Rabbi Milton
Steinberg's "Basic Judaism"....as a starting point.
Almost certainly you will want to go on and read more!
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