Jewish Renewal

I read an article about this book in recent issue of Tikkun Magazine. While I have not finished reading the book yet, I have found it to be a breath of fresh air and provocative in a very positive sense. A great read for anyone of the Jewish faith seeking to reconnect or find a new way into their tradition. It might also be valuable for folks of more contemporary spiritual movements who are interested in exploring more traditional paths.

As a Jew who is liberal both in theology and politics, I expected to enjoy Lerner's book. Instead, I found myself frustrated by its limitations. Lerner seems confident that he has come up with enlightened, left-leaning views on a wide range of issues, but I found the defenses of his positions unpersuasive. I saw little willingness to grapple with the best arguments that can be raised against his own preferred views. Similarly, he doesn't sufficiently acknowledge the questionable assumptions that any theologian must make before taking a position on these ever-so-difficult issues. I cannot imagine that he was successfully preaching to anyone but the choir, and if that is true, what's the point? I sympathize with Lerner that Judaism -- indeed, ANY of the great organized religions -- is in need of the spirit of renewal. More specifically, he should be congratulated for leading a movement to inject into Judaism a warm, communal spirit that is willing to embrace change and actively seek peace. But Jewish Renewal advocates need more effective spokespeople than Lerner. They need writers and leaders that come across as more humble and self-questioning, and more willing to deal with ambiguity. I look forward to hearing from other voices who claim to be Lerner's disciples but whose methods of communication are very different from their mentor's. Perhaps Lerner is a modern Abraham, but his movement is still awaiting its Moses.

As another reviewer wrote, this book is a meal of several courses that don't always blend: in other words, a mixed bag -- but on balance, one worth reading. Lerner's ideas about religion are often interesting. For example, Lerner tries to make sense of Abraham's almost-sacrifice of Isaac by suggesting that when Abraham heard the voice of God telling him to sacrifice Isaac, he was merely experiencing a delusion -- but when he stopped, THAT was the voice of God. Lerner's discussion of Jewish holidays is eloquent.When it comes to politics and history (even religious history) Lerner is on shakier ground, and wrote some things that gave me pause. To name a few:1. Lerner's criticism of Rabbinic Judaism on issues like homosexuality doesn't fully grapple with the views of his intellectual adversaries. Lerner reasons: The rabbinic authorities changed the plain meaning of the written Torah all the time, therefore we can do the same today when we deem it ethically appropriate.What Lerner should be aware of is that some Orthodox Jews think that the rabbinic authorities themselves spoke with divine authority, because they were repeating an oral tradition ("the Oral Torah") which itself (due to a divine miracle) was passed down unchanged from Mt. Sinai. It follows that if you believe the Oral Torah doctrine, the Jewish position on homosexuality and a whole lot of other things must be written in stone--- or in other words, if its in the Mishnah and the Talmud (the leading documents of pre-medieval rabbinic Judaism), God said it.I don't expect Lerner to endorse the Oral Torah doctrine--but he should explain to his readers why he rejects it, rather than just pretending it doesn't exist.2. His discussion of the Holocaust is tainted by his deemphasis on history. He talks a lot about how capitalism and the lack of meaning in Germans' lives created Hitler--but somehow he overlooks the two most immediate causes, the Depression and the Versailles Treaty. Talking about the rise of Hitler without talking about the Depression and Versailles is like talking about the American Revolution without mentioning George III and the Stamp Act.3. Perhaps because he thought he was writing to an audience of the leftwardmost 1% of American Jews, Lerner has not come to grips with the collapse of Communism and Socialism. He admits that Communism did not quite work out early in the book, but then he repeatedly refers to Marxism as somehow a liberation movement (I wonder how high the death toll has to rise for Lerner to reconsider). But worst of all, he refers to Mao, the biggest butcher of them all, "liberating" areas from "feudalism." The idea of Mao liberating anything is just plain morally obscene. One might as well refer to Hitler liberating the Germans (say, from the Treaty of Versailles, which was about as popular with ordinary Germans as feudalism).This nutsiness arises out of his hostility to capitalism. Without much discussion

As an extremely devout, orthodox Jew, I am in wholehearted agreement with Dr. Lerner that Judaism is in need of renewal. The same is true for every religion! Over time, every religion becomes stale, and is in need of regeneration. After all, Judaism is a product of an agrarian/pastoral society, a society that could never have conceived of a world such as the one we live in today. They wrote the scriptures with no idea that we would live in a world where women were anything but child-bearing beasts of burden. So before getting your hackles up, read this book!Unlike many (unfortunately) short-sighted religious Jews, who have apparently learned nothing from the Holocaust, Lerner openly supports the gay/lesbian civil rights movement and welcomes gays and lesbians into full participation within the Jewish community. Together with his other book "The Politics of Meaning", in "Jewish Renewal" Lerner is staking out important territory. Any thoughtful Jew or person, for that matter, needs to read this book.

This book had a positive impact on me, and helped to reignite my interest in Judaism. In fact, reading it made me realize how much I was never taught, and probably should have been taught, about Judaism growing up. Some of the book's ideas are no doubt controversial, which is its strength. For instance, it lays the groundwork for a Judaism which in some ways is more applicable to the world we live in than has been traditionally taught. But at the same time it retains an idealism that the religion can be used as a powerful tool to transform our world. It's enjoyable to read. The only drawback is it tends to be a little repetitive at times.