There were hardly any Orthodox Jews in the college I went to after yeshiva high school. I hung out at the Hillel office and became friends with many non-religious Jews who also made that office their home base between classes, as well as with the Hillel directors.
While one might think this was a huge culture shock for me, I found that I respected my new friends while strongly disagreeing with their opinions.
One Hillel director, a committed Reform Jew, decided to become a rabbi.When I asked her why, she said that the rabbinate was the only path for a Reform Jew to continue learning within that framework. I had to respect that. We could throw good-natured barbs towards each other but we respected each other. (I even studied Talmud with her.)
I realized that I liked people who were passionate about Judaism even if I didn't agree with their brands of Judaism.
"Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People," edited by David Hazony, reminded me of my college experience with a wide range of committed Jews. The 65 essays are each written by Jews from disparate backgrounds who are passionate about Judaism and its future. Each essay is a personal attempt to answer the question of what they think should be the single most important priority for the collective future of the Jewish people.
As Hazony writes in his forward, he book is intended to be a "good old fashioned intellectual food fight."
The contributors are a stellar list of the most interesting thinkers today, from Hen Mazzig to Ruth Wisse, from David Wolpe to Yishai Fleisher. The book is the equivalent of a really great dinner party where everyone has something fascinating to say.
Many, perhaps most, of the articles are outstanding - Yossi Klein Halevi on "Finding God in the 21st Century," Leil Liebovitz' "Stop seeking validation from those who hate us," Einat Wilf's "Zionism as Therapy," Armin Rosen's "The Satmar Art of Not Giving a F*ck." are just a few. But everyone will like different articles.
You can see the table of contents here.
The passion for our future is evident on nearly every page. There is an occasional sub-par article- often those that are thinly veiled advertisements for the author's own pet project - but since each piece is less than 10 pages long, it is easy enough to read through them and go to the next. All of them are worth reading. It is especially gratifying to read great essays on topics that are not normally associated with the author.
There are a lot of smart Jews out there!
I thoroughly enjoyed "Jewish Priorities" and hope that it becomes a springboard for new projects where some of these ideas can move from the written page to implementation.
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Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. Read all about it here! |
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