Publishers Weekly
04/22/2024
Harvard law professor Feldman (The Broken Constitution) delivers a sweeping overview of Jewish ideas “as they exist today, and as they are being transformed for the future.” Eschewing the traditional classifications of Judaism (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, etc.) in favor of categories that better reflect “how God and spiritual morality are conceived internally,” Feldman breaks down what he defines as Traditionalists, Progressives, Evolutionists, and Godless Jews. He examines the benefits and drawbacks of each group (Traditionalists, for example, live in highly supportive communities that are rife with sexism and gender hierarchies), and their views on issues related to God, Jewish life, and Israel. Rather than anointing one group as the future of Judaism, he advances an inclusive notion of all Jews as members of a family that finds in God and one another “love and embrace along with contention.” The same holds true even for “godless Jews and cultural Jews,” who in their nonbelief are “struggling with God too, whether they like it or not.” Feldman’s methodical analysis takes little for granted—not even the value of Jewish survival in and of itself (“We should hope to preserve Jewishness only if doing so reflects our deepest values,” he writes). This will be a welcome resource for readers curious about Judaism’s past, future, and purpose. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"Judicious, sober . . . Invite[s] a more capacious understanding of Jewish lives and Jewish futures in the diaspora . . . Important . . . Cannot be written off." —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker
"Feldman’s analysis is notably free of judgment or bias; while he glancingly refers to his own Jewish path and predilections, he is refreshingly open in describing the theology (or lack thereof), the politics and the challenges of his fellow Jews." —Jane Eisner, The Washington Post
"[To Be a Jew Today] reconciles competing understandings by putting forth his vision of Jewishness: that to be a Jew is to struggle lovingly, with ourselves, with other Jews, and with Israel, because Judaism itself is a loving struggle . . . [Feldman] has written an appealing guide, or at least mapped out a starting point, for being a Jew today." —Emily Tamkin, The Forward
“An impressive, insightful assessment of the complexities of modern Jewish existence . . . Incredibly relevant in a post-October 7 world.” —Jewish Book Council
"[A] personal, analytical, nonpolemical work . . . Feldman employs deep scholarship and a nondidactic tone to revisit the essential stories of Jewish struggle and faith . . . An eloquent, accessible, well-written reflection on the significance of being a Jew." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A welcome resource for readers curious about Judaism’s past, future, and purpose." —Publishers Weekly
“To Be a Jew Today is a beautiful book, a necessary and important book. Written with learning, insight, and anguish, it is a provocation to be argued over (I certainly did) and wrestled with, but it cannot be ignored.” —David Wolpe, rabbi emeritus of Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, and author of David: The Divided Heart and Why Faith Matters
“More than with any book I’ve read in years, Jewish readers will draw new insights into their own Judaism from Noah Feldman’s fresh, fascinating, and compelling analyses of contemporary Jewish life. Feldman exhibits the gift of all great teachers and influential public intellectuals: the ability to take even the most complex ideas and convey them with clarity, context, and honesty.” —Rabbi David Saperstein, director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
“To Be a Jew Today is an instant classic, not only because it explains being Jewish in our lifetime, but also because it talks about timeless universal Jewish themes in a magnetic and accessible way.” —Rosalie Silberman Abella, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and Pisar Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School
“In this exciting and passionately argued new book, Noah Feldman offers us a lifetime of thinking and struggling with being a Jew, and thinking with Judaism, in America today. Broad in scope, sparkling with new insights, often provocative and daring, and deeply rooted in the Jewish textual tradition, Feldman deftly weaves memoir, philosophy, legal theory, and sociological analysis to paint a complex yet accessible portrait of being a Jew and taking Judaism seriously in this crucial time of transition. Highly recommended.” —Shaul Magid, professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College and author of The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance
“To Be a Jew Today takes the reader on a rich and nourishing journey that is at once spiritual, emotional, and intellectual while deeply engaged in untangling and understanding and holding space for the mysterious and the unknown. It speaks to those ready to be welcomed into a sacred conversation.” —Rabbi Lila Kagedan, New York Medical College
“To Be a Jew Today is a field guide to a richer, more meaningful spiritual life—and not just for Jews. Feldman’s answers to the question of ‘What’s the point of being a Jew?’ offer a whole new paradigm for how to think about Jewishness, one that will change how you walk through the world, whether you’re Jewish or not.” —Rabbi Benay Lappe, president and Rosh Yeshiva of SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2024-01-04
A multifaceted exploration of Jewish identity in the modern world and the place Israel has come to hold in it.
In this personal, analytical, nonpolemical work, Harvard law professor Feldman, author of The Broken Constitution and Divided by God, walks readers through the different versions of Jewish belief today—including “ultra-Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Religious Zionist, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, and Humanist”—and how the state of Israel plays a central role in them all. With an intentional nod to Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed, published in 1190, Feldman employs deep scholarship and a nondidactic tone to revisit the essential stories of Jewish struggle and faith. First, he looks at the beliefs of various Jewish sects, regarding them all inclusively, even the atheist. “Even conscious rejection of Jewishness may be meaningfully Jewish,” he writes. In the second part of the book, the author posits, “the idea of Israel has fundamentally transformed all strands of Jewish belief.” He delves deeply into the early secular Zionist ideal; how the early 1970s brought Israel to the forefront for Diaspora Jews because of renewed Holocaust awareness and the Yom Kippur War; the powerful appeal of messianism; and the debate over how Jews are the “chosen” people. He offers a warning that Israel is exhibiting the sin of excessive pride. Finally, the author examines Jewishness as an embrace of family, community, and God. “A nationalism that tries to take God out of the picture and transmute Jewishness into an expression of pure peoplehood,” he writes, “will not provide access to experiences of transcendent meaning that make life worth living.” Feldman calls this work a map or field guide, and he seems to have in mind young readers who are confused and angry about the raging Israel-Palestine war.
An eloquent, accessible, well-written reflection on the significance of being a Jew.
