Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice

by Wayne D. Dosick

Book Overview

In Living Judaism, Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D., author the acclaimed Golden Rules, Dancing with God, and When Life Hurts, offers an engaging and definitive overview of Jewish philosophy and theology, rituals and customs. Combining quality scholarship and sacred spiritual instruction, Living Judaism is a thought-provoking reference and guide for those already steeped in Jewish life, and a comprehensive introduction for those exploring the richness and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060621796
• ISBN13: 9780060621797
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Loved it

Really enjoyed this book, a great overview of the Jewish life and traditions. Especially appreciated the thorough holiday section and breakdown of the Hebrew calendar. 10/10 recommend!

Great for conversion.

I am converting to Judaism, and my Rabbi recommended this book, among many others. I found the streamline narrative and thought provoking essays to be informative and inspiring. This is a wonderful introduction to Judaism's beliefs and practices. It gives a detailed yet easy to read summary of what it means to be Jewish. But, you can find an easy to read summary of what it means to be Jewish in a lot of books, and on even more websites. What makes this book unique is the beautifully written essays ranging on issues ranging from prayer to the Holocaust. The tone of the book is welcoming. This was important to me as I am converting to Judaism. Rabbi Dosick skillfully wrote this book to make: the Jew who is being drawn to the faith of their ancestors, the proselyte who has been drawn to Judaism through their own personal journey or through a maritial relationship, and the Christian who is interested in its mother faith feel welcome. This is no small accomplishment. This is a textbook without the boring text. It is an instruction manual with easy to read directions. You can tell Rabbi Dosick loves his faith as it shines through every paragraph. A wonderful book that should be included in every Jewish library.

A Great Book for Understanding the Nuances of Judaism

As a Conservative (though mostly non-practicing) Jew, I have been reading many books on the subject of G-d...actually, what the Jewish view of G-d really is. This book explains it, and much more. It helped me understand why we don't believe that Jesus is the son of G-d, and why we don't. This book is a great resource for the Gentile reader who is intrigued and curious about the Jewish religion. But it is especially useful to the Jew who either a)doesn't understand the role Jews played in History, or b)the Jew that has specific questions about the religion that were never really answered fully by any other book. This book answers questions regarding the many Jewish holidays, why we don't believe that Jesus is the son of G-d, why do bad things happen to good people (was G-d really there for us during the Holocaust?), and definitions and meanings of hundreds of Jewish items and customs that many of us use and follow, but never really understood the deeper meaning behind them. This is my all-time favorite resource for Jewish tradition and thought!

Understanding and pride without preaching

This book, with elegance and simplicity seeks to explains what it means to be Jewish; the beliefs, people, and sacred texts starting with the Torah. Despite wanderings and settlements from Spain, Eastern Europe, and Ethiopia, and Exiles and destructions of the Temple, they have remained "The Chosen People". This book helped me realize the uniqueness of this last century on the Jews, from the Holocaust to the importance of the creation of Israel. The essays that Rabbi Dosick sprinkled through the book, offer a glimpse of a way of thinking about ethics, justice, and law. He presents his personal views, for what they are, and recognizes other views. The description of Jewish Holiday and Worship, describe the rituals and worship that historically permeate the Jewish life. Growing up Christian, I felt some loss that we had discarded these remembrances of God from our daily life. His own essay on "Law and Spirit" recognizes some of the differences in spirit between Christianity and Judaism. It also helped me appreciate some of the Jewish observances, that as an outsider seem unusual.

Accept no substitutes!

This book is one of the best that I've read in any subject! It is completely and totally accessible to all who are interested in the subject. It is written in a very personal format, so that the reader feels that he/she is being spoken to by the author. Without being condescending or assuming any foreknowledge, the author CLEARLY and SIMPLY(two very important criteria) explains all aspects of Judaism, from the beginning to present day. The reader is left with a solid understanding. I cannot recommend this book enough!

An excellent introduction to and reflection on Judaism

After reading literally nine or ten books intended to acquaint readers with the Jewish faith and culture, none ever came close to tying all the ends together and creating a real sense of understanding. This book definitely succeeded where the others left me feeling a bit uncertain, elucidating for me things I had long wondered about. Rabbi Dossick does an amazing job of making the obscure comprehensible and doing over and over again. His chapters are put together on certain themes and different topics within the theme are addressed individually before being connected at the end of each chapter and in different essays ('An Essay on Law and Spirit,' 'An Essay on Right and Wrong'). He uses the Hebrew phrases where possible and each section introduces us to one or two new but fundamental Hebrew words, written in Hebrew and next to a transliteration. If looking for a book to introduce you to Judaism, one that's simultaneously basic in the sense that it expects no prior knowledge but stimulating in its expectation that the people reading it are intelligent people capable of choosing from the many different paths he describes, this is a book to buy, reread, and refer to. This book is *truly* the most comprehensive and illuminating book I have yet read, and I highly recommend it to anyone still feeling that their grasp on Judaism is not as strong or as clear as it could be.