Searching for My Brothers: Jewish Men in a Gentile World

Plot

From Publishers Weekly
"Jewish men are in trouble," declares Reform Rabbi Salkin (Putting God on the Guest List), arguing that, despite the religion's patriarchal nature, Jewish men should delve into their identity the way Jewish feminists have done over the past generation. His exploration is thought provoking but incomplete, relying mainly on biblical interpretation with a few dollops of memoir. The biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, he observes, enshrines the latter as the classic passive Jewish man, yet the relationship of Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro, is "the essence of bonding between men." He provides a too-brief exploration of how Zionism represents a rebellion against Jewish emasculation. Better are his musings on what Judaism says about lust: learn to channel the good energy that comes with the bad. Concerning ambition, he advocates finding a balance and using the Sabbath as a place of purity. He suggests a useful reconceptualization of the bar mitzvah ritual incorporating physical, spiritual and community rites of passage. And he argues that, although God is beyond gender, "the image of God as father can actually teach men about fatherhood." The book would benefit from a consideration of Jewish masculinity in Orthodox communities or contemporary secular Israel. In addition, despite occasional mentions of Jewish figures such as Sandy Koufax or the wrestler Goldberg, Salkin does little to assess the portrayal of Jewish men in literature, film and other forms of pop culture. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
This important book deals with what it means to be Jewish and male in contemporary Western society. Salkin chronicles the history of Jewish masculinity from the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. through the post-Temple period, when Judaism became a religious system in which each man could be a "priest" in his own home and study the TorahAand beyond. "This," says Salkin, "is the Jewish moral journey: from the warriors who fought with spears to the sages who fought with Torah, from swords to words." Most of the world would disdain this new image as "unmanly"; 20 centuries later, he argues, Zionism emerged as both a nationalism and a rebellion against images of the weak and effeminate Jew. Passages from the Tanakh and Mishnah are used to explore issues of Jewish masculinity, and although Salkin takes certain liberties (like reading psychological motives into the minds of biblical characters), he does no violence to the historical context. He also offers helpful commentary and advice to Jewish men about relationships, ambition, and sexuality. The chapter on circumcision is especially important; Salkin refutes many of the arguments that malign the practice. Unreservedly recommended for all libraries