Does the World Need the Jews

Plot

From Library Journal
Rabbi Gordis (Univ. of Judaism, Los Angeles; God Was Not in the Fire, LJ 7/95) addresses here the assimilated Jew who feels indifferent toward Jewish identity and tradition. Gordis's intention is not to win over this individual by theological argument but by a gentle though sustained argument on the importance of Jewish identity in American culture. The result can be compared to works by Alan Dershowitz (The Vanishing American Jew, LJ 3/1/97) and Elliot Abrams (Faith or Fear, LJ 5/1/97) in that all three authors are distressed by the growing trends of Jewish intermarriage and alienation from traditional identity. Gordis maintains that Jews serve humanity best by asserting their unique outlook and tradition. To illustrate this point he tells of how even the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama sought out noted Jewish figures to find instruction on how a people and religion can survive and thrive in exile. A persuasive volume?easy to read and discuss?that libraries serving Jewish patrons should consider.?Paul M. Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., Ill.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Rabbi Gordis makes a vigorous attempt to reconnect U.S. Jews to their religious heritage. He argues that as they became assimilated into the mainstream, Jews gradually lost their central Jewish identity. For example, they stopped learning Hebrew and drifted away from the Torah's teachings. They also left behind the fundamental belief in being a chosen people, because, Gordis contends, they didn't want to be seen as different by U.S. society. He calls for Jews to no longer shy away from their chosenness and to embrace it as the only way to reclaim their "authentic voice." It's only in being different, he stresses, that Jews can offer something to the larger world. And this difference will be found with a return to Jewish teachings, laws, and culture. Provocative, forceful, and exquisitely reasoned, the book should spark much debate in the Jewish community.