Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism

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Summary: Mr. Prager, Please Calm Down
Review: Ah, Dennis Prager. He can't write a book called Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism. No, he has to write, THE Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism. But this is typical Prager. His questions are just the topics upon which he wants to pontificate. On most questions, he could state his positions quite succinctly, but he prefers to belabor each point with the gleanings of his thesaurus.

The questions themselves don't mine any new territory of Judaic thought, nor pull new wisdom from old problems. As far as I was concerned, questions two and six are self-evident-- they're not really questions. Question eight, whether or not to intermarry, is certainly a question, but because Prager confines the argument to Judaism's tenet of "universal brotherhood," the question becomes some sort of logical fallacy.

To argue this question in terms of "universal brotherhood" only is to fall through the sand before the first sentence is out of your mouth. Serious debaters can pursue this question for days with powerful and substantial arguments on both sides that have nothing to do with some sort of ideal of "universal brotherhood."

Prager also asserts, with no support, that most people form their religious belief at a young age, and never examine them again as long as they don't become rabbis. Further, his question seven accepts without examination the much believed, but as far as I know unproved, "fact" that young people feel alienated from Judaism.

I read this book as a young Jew, a young Jew who read Torah on a regular basis, had been active in Hillel, observed ALL the holidays, and shomer Shabbes. I really resented his broad generalizations about young people.

But that's Dennis Prager. I haven't read anyone who takes himself more seriously since Rabbi Shammai. His narrative voice is so pompous, I keep waiting for him to declare himself infallible.

What's more, Prager has an agenda. I've read others of his works, and he has a very conservative political agenda, with some odd quirks, that he had tried other times to link with Judaism. I see him doing it here again. When he poses, then answers, these particular questions, he pretends to speak for Judaism (Judaism reified). I don't agree with him, and I resent what he is trying to do.

If he would be honest about his agenda, and then try to demonstrate that the Torah or the nava'im offer him proof text, that might be different, but what he is doing here is dishonest, and since this book is marketed as an introduction to Judaism, I think it's a poor show.

Rating:
Summary: Offers satsfying answers
Review: Another Amazon reviewer rated this book highly because it is not the typical "same old, same old" description of basic Judaism. I heartily second that opinion. The book, in a highly readible manner, offers some very satisfying answers on some basic and importnat questions. One of these is the most basic question of all religions ... the question of the existence of God. I liked the answer ... that when you look at all around us there has to be a God. But, you might ask, what is God? The very satisfying answer is that if you take a scientific view that everything was created by cause and effect, then God is the original uncaused cause. Excellent!! With analysis like this, this book is of great value to those interested in Judaism as well as those interested in timeless theological questions. This book answers other impoertant questions such as whether Jews can worship Jesus (the answer is no). Important questions are answered without equivocation. I recommend this book

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Summary: Absolutely brilliant! Articulate, relevant and rational!
Review: Fascinating insight into the relevance and challenges facing modern Judaism. This book manages to answer the most important and complex questions facing the Jewish people in a logical and easy-to-read format. Particularly useful for Jews questioning their faith and for non-Jews seeking to understand more about Judaism, it's beliefs and struggles. Read it.... you won't regret it!

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Summary: Nine Answers To Nine Questions
Review: I am happy to report that it offers nine concise but dense and provocative answers to the nine questions it poses. Certainly people ask more than nine questions about Judaism but the book is clearly most targeted at the assimilated, disillusioned or curious nonpracticing Jew. It is perfect and on target in its speculations of main issues that trouble and perplex nonpracticing Jews (ex. How do you explain the immoral religious Jews). What makes this worthwhile reading for the non Jew is that a large bulk of the material deals with theological and metaphysical issues thoughtfully. It's also a poised argument for the superiority of religious ethics over secular ethics. Interspersed throughout the chapters are many sharp and fascinating sound bites and quotes. The mainstream success of the authors both as writers and public speakers owes to their eloquent style which is persuasive but not absolutist. Their tone is one of sharing knowledge and belief, not forcing knowledge and belief. The authors do a wonderful job of providing a logical exposition on the soundness and consequence of ethical monotheism. This book will appeal to all Jews and to anyone who has an interest in spiritual reasoning.

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Summary: Why Christians should read this book
Review: Looking back on my college years, I can honestly say that I learned more from listening daily to Dennis Prager on the radio than from attending my classes. What is tragicomic is that I paid over $100,000 for my Pomona College education, whereas my lessons from Prager were free.

Prager is a Jewish talk radio host who also teaches the Bible at the University of Judaism. His mission in life is "to get people obsessed with what is right and wrong." He does this primarily through his nationally syndicated talk radio show in which he discusses the great moral issues of the day. He often receives challenges from a variety of callers, and I have never heard him lose a debate. I once heard Alan Dershowitz on the show, and Prager wiped the floor with the Harvard law professor. A few years back, Prager also memorably debated an Oxford philosophy professor on the question, "Can man be good without God?", and he triumphed yet again.

But interestingly enough, while I have never heard a greater defender of Judeo-Christian values in the secular world than Prager, I have never experienced anyone undermine my faith as much as he has either. Since I will be recommending one of his books, I first need to mention a brief caveat before explaining why I think believers ought to read The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism.

In college I read the works of existentialists, evolutionists, higher critics, et al, and still felt secure in the religion that I grew up with since birth. I could see through their smoke and mirrors, and I could sufficiently meet the objections posed by my classmates and professors in and outside of class. I must confess this was due in no small measure to listening to how Prager handled such objections from his callers.

But one day as I was listening to Prager's show, he posed a question that I had never thought of before. It provoked several Christians to call in, and my heart and faith began to sink as I heard him shoot down caller after caller. The question was: How can a just God require perfection from imperfect people? By contrasting the apparent unfairness of Christianity with Judaism (which requires neither perfection nor even belief in God to go to heaven), Prager was making a strong case against Christianity and for the reasonableness of the Jewish faith. His statement that a moral giant like Gandhi could go to heaven, at least according to Judaism, which emphasizes good acts over right belief, powerfully resonated with me.

To make a long story short, after about a month of searching through books, calling ministers, looking online, all to no avail, I finally came upon a small book by R.C. Sproul titled, Reason to Believe. It introduced me to John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, St. Augustine, i.e., the Reformed faith. The doctrine of original sin, as explicated by these masters, answered the challenge and my faith was reborn.

In light of my own personal quandary, my caveat is that The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism devotes a chapter on why many ethnic Jews are not Christians. The chapter is disturbing especially for new Christians, thus I would not recommend this book for them. Reading Nine Questions might be comparable to a Mormon reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. In fact in my opinion it is Judaism as interpreted by most ethnic Jews, and not Freud or Nietzche, that has presented the most potent objections against Christianity. So why should Christians read this book?

Christianity is a Jewish religion. 70% of the Bible was written in Hebrew. The heroes of the faith were Jews. (Hebrew 11-12) Indeed the New Testament itself professes that Judaism is the root of Christianity. As Paul reminds Gentile believers, "You do not support the root, but the root supports you." (Romans 11:18) The New Testament by definition is a continuum. You cannot understand it fully without understanding the Old Testament.

Therefore Christians should read this book in particular because it is the Mere Christianity of Judaism written by the C.S. Lewis of the Jews. And a firmer grounding of the root of one's faith can only lead to more fruit. Did you know, for example, that the purpose of keeping kosher reflects an ethical concern for the suffering of animals? Or did you know that the Jews' life calling is to perfect the world under the rule of God? Even wrestling with the book's chapter on Christianity will make you stronger or reveal just how weak your faith really is. The book's devastating critiques of atheism and humanism, its enlightening explanation of Jewish traditions, and its arguments for the importance of organized religion are some other reasons to pick up this quick read.

The nine questions addressed in the book are:

1. Can one doubt God's existence and still be a good Jew?
2. Why do we need organized religion or Jewish laws - isn't it enough to be a good person?
3. If Judaism is supposed to make people better, how do you account for unethical religious Jews and for ethical people who are not religious?
4. How does Judaism differ from Christianity, Marxism and Communism, and Humanism?
5. What is the Jewish role in the world?
6. Is there a difference between anti-zionism and anti-semitism?
7. Why are so many young Jews alienated from Judaism and the Jewish people?
8. Why shouldn't I intermarry - doesn't Judaism believe in universal brotherhood?
9. How do I start practicing Judaism?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent intro, focus on ethics and ideas over ritual
Review: Nine simple and obvious questions, but most secular and even many (most?) more observant Jews don't know or really understand the answers. Perfect for the Jew, prospective convert, or interested Gentile wondering what Judaims thinks about the big issues and how it arrives at its answers. Prager is generally credited as a modernist but serious Jew who has brought more to Judaism and its ideal of ethical monotheism than perhaps any other commentator/lecturer. Telushkin, a rabbi, provides the scholarly support.

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Summary: A compelling introduction to Jewish thought and practice
Review: Regardless of your background, Prager & Telushkin's introduction to the major ideas and practices of Judaism will provide an immense amount of food for thought. This book is not neutral about Judaism: it is written by two passionately religious Jews (Prager is religious, not Orthodox) who do an outstanding job at presenting a case for living Jewishly in today's world. Amazingly, The Nine Questions has a great deal to offer to Jews who are already deeply committed to Judaism, as well as to the tentative or skeptical Jewish or non-Jewish thinker who is interested at learning what Judaism has to offer to life in modernity. The writing is crystal-clear, and the book has a straightforward and honest tone which is very appealing. I finished The Nine Questions in about a day, and give it a wholehearted endorsement.

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Summary: Not your run-of-the-mill "Intro to Judaism"!
Review: Sick of books that try to introduce you to Judaism through "same old, same old" descriptions of holidays, the Sabbath, and kosher food laws?

This book cuts right through all of that and says with gusto, "this is what Jews believe!"

Whether you're a Jew or not, this is one book you want to pick up if you want to understand the Jewish mind a little better. Did you go to Hebrew school as a kid but now you're not sure why you should care? This book will get you caring, whether you agree with Prager or not.

Even those who disagree with him cannot deny that his writing gets Judaism up off the page and brings it to life in a way that few other "Intro" books do.

Prager is an apologist in a religion that offers little by way of heartfelt apologetics, and an oasis of reason in a sea of religious hyperbole.

Rating:
Summary: Not your run-of-the-mill "Intro to Judaism"!
Review: Sick of books that try to introduce you to Judaism through "same old, same old" descriptions of holidays, the Sabbath, and kosher food laws?

This book cuts right through all of that and says with gusto, "this is what Jews believe!"

Whether you're a Jew or not, this is one book you want to pick up if you want to understand the Jewish mind a little better. Did you go to Hebrew school as a kid but now you're not sure why you should care? This book will get you caring, whether you agree with Prager or not.

Even those who disagree with him cannot deny that his writing gets Judaism up off the page and brings it to life in a way that few other "Intro" books do.

Prager is an apologist in a religion that offers little by way of heartfelt apologetics, and an oasis of reason in a sea of religious hyperbole.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best book I ever read.
Review: This book changed my life for the better and many who are close to me. Prager is brilliant, insightful, and thought provoking. If your curious about Judiasm and it's meaning, or are a healthy sceptic, this is THE book to read