The God Upgrade: Finding Your 21st-Century Spirituality in Judaism's 5,000-Year-Old Tradition - Hardcover

Korngold, Rabbi Jamie S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1683363698 ISBN 13: 9781683363699

Publisher: Jewish Lights, 2011

Synopsis

For people who don't believe that God can intervene in our lives, and why Judaism is still important.

"Judaism has so much to teach us about how we treat ourselves, each other, and our planet.... Of course, you can learn these values elsewhere. But as a people, Jews have thousands of years of experience turning this kind of stuff over and over. [We've] had millions of users working to debug the system. Rather than look to other sources for guidance, let us turn to our own people’s past to discover what it has to say about our present and our future."
―from the Introduction

For some people, the biggest stumbling block in religion is God―even for an ordained rabbi who admits her rational mind "can’t buy into a God in the sky who writes down our deeds and rewards and punishes us accordingly." But not being sold on an intervening God shouldn’t bar you from living a vibrant and fulfilling Jewish life. The God concept has seen many upgrades over the centuries and it is these reinterpretations that have kept Judaism relevant.

In this provocative look at the ways in which God concepts have evolved and been upgraded through the centuries, Adventure Rabbi Jamie Korngold examines how our changing ideas of God have shaped every aspect of Judaism. With enthusiasm and humor, she shows that by aligning our understanding of God with modern sensibilities, Judaism can be made more meaningful, accessible and fully compatible with twenty-first-century life.

About this title

From the Author

As an ordained Rabbi, I believe that the biggest stumbling block to religion is God.

There. I said it. Any lightening strikes? Okay. Let me explain.

Over the centuries there have been numerous upgrades to the concept of God.

But for whatever reason, the concept of an intervening God - who makes things happen in our lives - is still taught to our kids in religious school and discussed in the media after every natural disaster.

If religion is not going to go the way of the dinosaurs, we have to get the God upgrades.

Since the early times of the Bible, we have been struggling to understand God in a way that reflects what we see in the world. Innocent people suffering. Terrible people being rewarded.

If you're like me, you struggle with these questions. Why does evil exist? Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why did that young person die? Was God angry at him? Was it because he didn't keep Kosher? Because he didn't say the right prayers before and after each meal?

24% of Americans believe in a distant God, who might have gotten the world going, but has been hands off ever since. But we don't hear from this group. Sometimes it feels like there is no room for rational thinkers.

That's about to change.

In my new book, The God Upgrade, I explore how the concept of God has changed through the centuries, and how these changes have shaped every aspect of Judaism.

I know what I'm saying is controversial.

You may not agree with me.

(Many people very strongly do not.)

But I invite you to join me in this conversation.

From the Back Cover

"So I'm not Jewish, okay? But I loved this book.

Rabbi Korngold presents her faith -- and faith itself -- in an accessible, friendly, warmhearted, provocative and, above all, inviting way and answers the most common questions about Judaism (asked by both Jews and non-Jews)....

Rabbi Korngold shows how a tradition that began 5,000 years ago can draw us closer to the God who lives today."

Rev. James Martin, S.J.
Author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1683363698
• ISBN 13: 9781683363699
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176