Must a Jew Believe Anything?

Rating:
Summary: Inaccurate and Unconvincing
Review: Kellner puts together a hodgepodge of ideas, most of them correct on their own but entirely wrong when grouped together, and tries to create a new approach. His approach is entirely un-new and internally inconsistent. In trying to combine traditional talmudism and Jewish philosophy with his own brand of pluralism, Kellner ends up with an ill-defined mixture that does not sustain even the most basic analysis. As Dr. David Berger wrote in his review of this book (Tradition, 33:4 1999), "While significant elements of Kellner's argument are convincing, others, I think, are flawed to the point where they render the historical thesis misleading and the contemporary message, for all its good intentions, confusing and unworkable."

Rating:
Summary: Rambam & Judaism
Review: Kellner's book accurately but dispassionately summarizes some of the controversies that swirled around the Rambam in the middle ages. If you want to understand why Maimonides is still considered controversial in some circles, read this work.

Rating:
Summary: A persuasive analysis of what religious faith means
Review: One of the central questions confronting the Jewish community in assimilation friendly United States and Western Europe is whether or note their grandchildren will be Jewish. Menachem Kellner (Sire Isaac and Lady Edith Wolfson Professor of Jewish Religious Thought, University of Haifa) addresses the core concern and provides a coherent and persuasive analysis of what religious faith means in classical Judaism. He concludes with arguing for a new way of construing the relationship of Orthodox to non-Orthodox Jewish and Jewish institutions. Must A Jew Believe Anything? is an invaluable, timely, and much appreciated contribution to Judaic Studies collections and reading lists.