Sacred Fragments - Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew

Sacred Fragments is a book of surprising depth for a popular treatment of theology. Gillman presents many theological concepts in ways that are easy to understand, without diminishing their complexity. This book definitely has a theological agenda, but Gillman does a good job of presenting other opinions in a fair and open way. The work is not dogmatic or preachy. He even raises the question if a Jewish theology is necessary. In a religion that has been dominated by halakah, do modern Jews really need a concept of God in the first place? In many ways, organized conceptions of God are alien to the Jewish tradition. Gilliman does indeed present a position, but has the honesty to tell us that it goes against the grain of most of mainstream rabbinical tradition. He is trying to rework Judaism.

The ' sacred fragments' are those pieces of the broken first tablets which are preserved with the second tablets Moses brings down. They represent for Gillman those elements of the original revelation, and religion which too are to be preserved, though they be supplemented and augmented by the second tablets. In his midrashic reading Gillman sees the whole course of Jewish religious life in terms of historical development. The original ideas, the fragments are in themselves not enough, but must be reinterpeted. And the history of this reinterpretation is the history of developing Jewish thought. At one point in the work Gillman talks about three ways of connecting with Judaism, through Belonging,through Behavior, through Belief. His concentration on this volume is on questions of Belief and Thought. And he presents a panoply of views on questions which are central to Jewish religious thought. His fundamental mentors are Mordechai Kaplan,Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig and Abraham Heschel. He is critical of Orthodoxy but expounds its positions in an abbreviated way, contending that Orthodox thought is 'literalist ' and 'behavioral'. A very significant omission in his work is the thought of the two major Jewish Orthodox thinkers of this century, Abraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook and Joseph Dov Baer Solovetchik. The absence of any consideration of their views, along with the absence of consideration of major Hasidic thinkers makes his work less impressive than it might be. There is also the omission of a major Jewish theological and existensial topic, the centrality of the land of Israel in Jewish life and experience. These omissions mar an otherwise outstanding and especially clearly written work. In his concluding chapter Gillman gives a set of prescriptions for helping the individual formulate his own theological views. In this chapter, and in fact throughout the book one senses Gillman's excellence as teacher and communicator, as one who really cares for those he is addressing. This is again a very good book from which it is possible to learn a great deal about Jewish thought.

Judaism is about more than ritual, law and observance. It is also about God and His relationship with humanity. In this excellent book, Rabbi Gillman, chair of the philosophy/theology department at the Jewish Theological Seminary (which ordains COnservative Rabbis) writes a lucid introduction to this complex subject that is fully accessible to lay persons with no Jewish background (although a little knowledge of philosophy will help) Besides surveying all the major trends in Jewish theological thought from re-constructionism to Orthodox literalism, Gillman gives the reader his own views. Gillman attended the seminary during the waning years of Mordechai Kaplan's influence and during the hay day of the influence of Abraham Joshua Heschl. Heschl, who was essentially an hasid at a modern seminary took a decisively mystical and yet thoroughly modern approach to Jewish theology. Heschl's approach is most definitevely set forth in his classic "God in Search of Man." This book is difficult reading. Gillman summarizes it in much simpler, easier language. Heschl's approach can be summed up by his famous saying that "As a record of revelation, the whole bible is Midrash." In essence, Heschl and Gillman view the revletion at Sinai as something which happened for sure but not in the manner set forth in the bible. Because God's essence is beyond description or even human understanding, the bible necessarily filters that experience through the eyes of man. Thus, paradoxically, the fact that belief in God and His majesty defies rational explanation is the very essence of what makes it possible for modern man to believe in Him. Because while I cannot believe that God sits on a throne and opens a book every Rosh Hashanah, I can accept this as a metaphor for the nature of God which I cannot begin to comprehend. This very mysticism makes belief possible for modern man. Heschl really changed conservative theology after he came to the seminar in the 50's. His non-rational mystical approach was the precise opposite of what Mordechai Kaplan had taught for decades. Heschl's arrival made Kaplan's departure for the Reconstructionist movement inevitable. Heschl died young but his influence lives on through Gillman. This book will be of interest to any Jew or non-Jew interested in a truly modern approach to God and revelation. I also recommend Heschl for the truly adventurous. He was a great thinker and a poetic writer who will be remembered as one of the Jewish giants of the 20th century.

A beginners' guide to Jewish theology and to the varying Jewish points of view on a variety of issues, the sort of book that points you to other books that discuss those issues in more detail. As other reviewers have pointed out, this is not the sort of book that should finish one's inquiry into such matters -- but for what it is, its excellent.

Gilman provides an excellent, scholarly introduction to modern Jewish thought on the topics that everyone wonders about, but few contemporary Jewish thinkers take the time to explore: how do Jews begin to think about G-d; how do Jews understand revelation, divine authority, and the human response to the Divine?Gilman's exploration of these subjects is broad-ranging and well-documented, drawing on sources from within the Jewish tradition as varied as Moses Maimonides to A.J. Heschel, from Samson Raphael Hirsch to Mordechai Kaplan. Gilman's methodology derives heavily from the modern Western analytical philosophical tradition (for example, it might be helpful for the reader to be previously familiar with basic philosophical questions of epistemology, ontology, ethics and metaethics, and so on). Most importantly, Gilman provides his readers with the opportunity to explore their own thoughts on these important questions of Jewish belief, and allows them to see where t! heir thoughts fall along the spectrum of Jewish thought throughout the ages--a chance for the modern Jew to collect and regain the "sacred fragments" of the title.Sacred Fragments is eminently readable from a lay standpoint and provides an excellent point of embarkation for further study, alone or (even better) in a study group format.