New book for teenagers about God
February 20, 2008
Start with this premise: Judaism offers at least two [and usually many more] answers to every question.
We collected thirteen questions about God. Then we found a bunch of rabbinical students, young Jewish teachers, and other new voices in the Jewish world. We asked them the questions, and they gave us their answers. Sometimes they agreed. Sometimes they didn't. Some of their answers are really traditional. Some of them are off-the-wall. All of their answers are Jewish answers to Jewish questions.
That's some of the back cover copy on God: Jewish Choices for Struggling With the Ultimate, a new book out from Torah Aura Productions. It's designed as a text for the Jewish classroom, aimed at teenagers but crafted in a sophisticated and intellectually interesting way. The editors gathered a range of rabbinic students and young Jewish leaders, asked 13 big questions ("Is there a God?" "Do we have free will?" "Does God make miracles?"), and then assembled a patchwork of our answers.
The book includes my answers to the questions "If there is
one God, why are there so many religions?",
"Does prayer work?", and "Does God speak to people?" (Good questions for me -- these are right up my alley.) I'm honored to be the Jewish Renewal voice in this book, and I'm delighted
to be published alongside folks like
Danya. Anyway: if you
work with teenagers, this is a good resource for you -- and
even if you don't, you might enjoy the book anyway. It's a pretty
little paperback; copies cost just $9.95. (I'm not earning
royalties here or anything -- I'm just hawking it because I'm
proud to be a part of it, and I think it's cool.) Thanks for the folks at Torah Aura for putting this together, and for launching it out into the world!