august_8's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
butchriarchy's review
3.0
I think this was a nice introduction to Judaism. Not very in-depth, of course, but it has further piqued my interest. A major downside was the author's Zionist views and insistence that anti-Zionist Jewish people are "self-hating."
cuteasamuntin's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Hate crime, Antisemitism, Genocide, Death, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and War
buck_e36's review
4.0
Informative and not preachy. Essential for anyone who's curious, looking to convert, or understand their culture.
anne3lise's review
4.0
A good basis for the basics of Judaism, and overall a good read—as long as you keep in mind that there’s definite bias in it that isn’t so much reflective of core religious beliefs as it is editorializing.
jessicadmj's review
4.0
This is a wonderful reference source for converts or the "Jew-curious." My local Reform temple recommended this for my conversion, and I found it a very informative text. It's basically a series of short articles about the Bible, Jewish history, practices, and beliefs. Although I commend Rabbi Telushkin for his ability to summarize Judaism in such a way,
I'm docking a star for his Islamaphobic attitude throughout the book. At other points, Telushkin's prejudices come through in a negative way. I found it questionable that Telushkin used the n-word at a few points, although some may say the context of these uses are important. He was saying that Jews should understand the history of Jews being called "Christ-killers" just as black people should know the history of being called the n-word. Except he actually spells the word out. Additionally, Telushkin gives an air of being an anti-feminist.
Otherwise, I'd highly recommend the book for anyone's Jewish library.
I'm docking a star for his Islamaphobic attitude throughout the book. At other points, Telushkin's prejudices come through in a negative way. I found it questionable that Telushkin used the n-word at a few points, although some may say the context of these uses are important. He was saying that Jews should understand the history of Jews being called "Christ-killers" just as black people should know the history of being called the n-word. Except he actually spells the word out. Additionally, Telushkin gives an air of being an anti-feminist.
Otherwise, I'd highly recommend the book for anyone's Jewish library.
csd17's review
4.0
Caveat-- Didn't read the whole thing.
I read mostly from the end of the biblical section to the end of medieval period and the section on Sholem Aleichem (the Twain story was great!) through the end of WWII. Was appalled at many things, thoroughly impressed with others (Denmark and Sweden), and thought much about "the 614th commandment."
This sort of book has a place and a use. I find that Jonathan Sacks often has a broader scope and wish that he would attempt something like this.
I read mostly from the end of the biblical section to the end of medieval period and the section on Sholem Aleichem (the Twain story was great!) through the end of WWII. Was appalled at many things, thoroughly impressed with others (Denmark and Sweden), and thought much about "the 614th commandment."
This sort of book has a place and a use. I find that Jonathan Sacks often has a broader scope and wish that he would attempt something like this.
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