Open Letters: On Life, Loss, Faith, and the Human Condition

By Rabbi Lawrence a Hoffman

For over fifty years as a professor and author, Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD, has been a beloved mentor, theologian, liturgist, and voice of profound spiritual insight. In Open Letters, this prolific scholar affirms that religion's business is the human condition, the mystery of life itself-especially in times that threaten everything we hold dear. In recent years, the world has seen a global pandemic, democracy beleaguered, the Hamas attack on Israel, wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and rising antisemitism and hate. At the same time, Rabbi Hoffman experienced the loss of his beloved wife from cancer. In response, he penned a series of "open letters" melding Jewish tradition with insights from literature, science, and the humanities, seeking abiding wisdom to comfort and guide us. This book collects the best of these short essays along with new letters, each paired with an original introduction. Open Letters invites the reader into a deeply personal dialogue on what it means to be human in our time, exploring how religion generally-and Judaism specifically-offers hope at moments of crisis.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881236993
• ISBN13: 9780881236996
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Central Conference of American Rabbis
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"