The Transformation of a Skeptic: A Jewish Perspective

by Walter Orenstein

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765761009
• ISBN13: 9780765761002
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Jason Aronson
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Worthy questioning

'Be eager to study Torah and know what answer to give to the nonbeliever.' - Rabbi Elazar Many Jewish people in today's society are, like many people of all religious and ethnic backgrounds, relatively ignorant and untrained in the basis of their heritage. In a secular age, many see the trappings of old customs and religions more of a duty owed, a chore to be performed, given a small amount of attention, but these should not be things that would impact on daily life. For many Jews, formal Jewish education consists of training for a Bar/Baht Mitzvah and not much beyond; the practice of High Holy Days and the various readings associated sometimes comprise the full extent of scriptural and liturgical experience and knowledge. Rabbi Walter Orenstein takes on this challenge in his book, 'The Transformation of a Skeptic: A Jewish Perspective.' Presented in a framework of dialogue between a rabbi and Martin, a young non-observant Jewish physician, Orenstein examines various aspects of the Jewish way of life, beginning with the very basic point at which many secular Jews begin: the rejection of a way of life in which they actually have very little experience. Challenging his fictional Martin to consider his way of life with as much care and attention as he put forward toward his livelihood, they begin a discussion that includes both elements of practice and elements of belief, beginning with a Jewish understanding of God, and continuing through ethics, community, family, religious practice, history, and relations with non-Jewish people. Orenstein says that in their heart of hearts, many skeptics seem to be seeking the road that leads back home. They are anxious to reexamine the values that they and their parents and so many others of the past generation have summarily rejected. It is only necessary to approach them in the proper way to gain their listening ear. Orenstein is a graduate of Yeshiva University, where he spent much of his career teaching. Thus he is well suited to recount this dialogue in terms of the questions which he has confronted in his career as an educator in an increasingly secular age. In the end, Orenstein leaves the conclusion of the dialogue open-ended. Our inquirer Martin cannot decide to embrace traditional Judaism, while he no longer rejects it summarily as he did previously. The rabbi is neither surprised nor disappointed with this response. Judaism encourages lifelong learning about many things, religion included, and Martin can decide over time his true course. Orenstein recounts the tale of a great sage who once mused that when he was young he set out to change the world. When he got a little older he realised that changing the world was an unrealistic goal so he focused on his immediate neighbourhood. Eventually he came to realise that even this was much too formidable an undertaking so he decided to concentrate on himself. He became a great teacher and rabbinic decisor. His books on Jewish law and Jewish ethics bec