Judaism For Everyone - Hardcover

Boteach, Schmuley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465007945 ISBN 13: 9780465007943

Publisher: Basic Books, 2002

Synopsis

With the publication of his runaway best seller Kosher Sex (1999), Rabbi Shmuley Boteach gained instant fame as a sage and savvy commentator on public and private life. Now he turns his outspoken energy and vast erudition to the core teachings of Judaism itself. During his eleven years as Rabbi of Oxford University and founder of the university's Jewish outreach organization, the L'Chaim Society, Boteach began to realize how well-matched the foundational beliefs of Judaism are to the broad human needs of the modern world. Unlike the dualist credo of other religions--in which the material and spiritual are always in conflict--the Jewish faith, argues Boteach, uniquely represents a spiritual philosophy concerned about life in this world, rather than in the hereafter. In Judaism for Everyone this most unorthodox of orthodox rabbis explores the Jewish and Biblical origins of civilization's seminal moral ideas and presents Judaism as a program of action for people of all faiths.Boteach's interpretations and commentary are a vibrant celebration of the dynamism that is Judaism. Whether he's peppering his points with stories from his childhood, promoting feminism and decrying boredom, or extolling the virtues of leisure and solitude, Shmuley Boteach never fails to inform, inspire--and surprise. Judaism for Everyone is for everyone seeking a universal moral creed to maximize human goodness and inner potential.

About this title

Review

You think Jews don't evangelize? Think again. In Judaism for Everyone Shmuley Boteach imagines a future in which his religion provides "a locus of spirituality for men and women of all faiths." This sounds like a pretty good future. "In some religions the purpose of life is to perfect oneself," Shmuley begins. "For Judaism the purpose of life is the healing of the world." So, in the same way that Buddhist and Hindu traditions have spawned global interest in Eastern meditation and yoga, Judaism's broad concern for the holiness of this world may catch on with gentiles. Particular traditions of observance such as the Sabbath, for instance, may help gentiles to heal the alienation and lower the noise level of modern life. Throughout this book, Shmuley describes Judaism in terms that are both startlingly fresh and strangely commonsensical, a balanced perspective that will appeal to many readers, not least those who enjoyed his bestselling Kosher Sex. --Michael Joseph Gross

About the Author

Shmuley Boteach, born in 1966, is a practicing rabbi and author of thirteen books, including Kosher Sex, Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments, and Why Can't I Fall in Love? Founder of the Oxford L'Chaim Society, he is a prominent lecturer and guest on television and radio. He lives with his wife and seven children in Englewood, New Jersey.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0465007945
• ISBN 13: 9780465007943
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464