The Way Into Encountering God In Judaism [Paperback]

In 4,000 years of reading, writing, and talking, Jews have imagined countless images of God. The Way into Encountering God in Judaism is an introductory survey of this imaginative tradition. Neil Gilman, a philosophy professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, freely asserts that that "nothing that we human beings say about God or God's activities in the world is literally true." Given that, Gilman asserts, "To think and talk of God ... is to think and talk metaphorically. We must make our peace with that conclusion and then trace its implications." The image of God as presented in the Bible and in Jewish tradition is "a complex metaphorical system" whose main characteristics are plurality and fluidity. The metaphors change over time, as God's people come to understand God in new ways. (Feminists, for example, have questioned or rejected male images of God; Jews living after the Holocaust have questioned or rejected the notion of a God who is "beneficent, caring, all-powerful, and, above all, just.") The chapters highlight traditional understandings of God, such as "God Is Person," "God Is Nice (Sometimes)," "God Is Not Nice (Sometimes)." And Gilman peppers his clear, accessible, survey with more contemporary thoughts, such as the idiosyncratic, beautiful idea of a theological student who thinks of God as Fred Astaire (and herself as Ginger Rogers).

When we miss a step, it's always my fault. He dances in flats; I have to dance in heels; he's on the ceiling, I'm on the floor; he can be late, I can't. He pinches me in the clinches; I mustn't. And Cyd Charisse is waiting for me to fail. But when we get it together, it's sheer ecstasy.

--Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

This audacious exploration of the Jewish concept of God squarely faces many contradictions and conundrums. Gillman, a professor of Jewish philosophy at Jewish Theological Seminary, won the National Jewish Book Award for Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew. He begins by asking how humans can describe God if He is ultimately unknowable. Our common conception of God in human terms is metaphorical thinking, according to Gillman; when it comes to actual knowledge, "we are all agnostics. We know nothing." Moreover, "there is no way of proving objectively and conclusively that God exists." Gillman's ensuing discussion of monotheism leads to the paradox that God is simultaneously powerful and vulnerable--caring and loving, but also distant and cruel. Gillman cautions that since we cannot know God's essence, these attributes represent our own feelings. He explores human suffering through creative analyses of the Book of Job, the martyrdom of Rabbi Akiva and the Holocaust, leading to the admittedly unsatisfactory conclusion that acts of God are "beyond human understanding." Finally, Gillman takes up revelation and redemption, considering the issue of the Jews as the "chosen people" and juxtaposing liberal with traditionalist views. His examination of texts brings him to accept inconsistencies and to highlight discrepancies between popular images of God and God's portrayal in classical Jewish sources. Gillman has made a significant contribution here.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Many readers may pause before delving into a book on theology. But Gillman (Jewish philosophy, Jewish Theological Seminary in New York), who has written on theology in his well-received earlier works (Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew, The Death of Death: Resurrection and Immortality in Jewish Thought), provides a steady and sure understanding of the topic. He has a knack for addressing common questions (e.g., "Can people know anything about God?") in an everyday vernacular. Each chapter discusses a unique aspect of the traditional Jewish view of God, as in the first chapter which discusses the meaning of a single God. Although written primarily for a Jewish audience, this book will be appreciated by non-Jewish readers as well. Another fine volume in the new Jewish Lights "The Way Into " series, this is recommended for medium and large libraries. Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

An accessible introduction to the Jewish understanding of God throughout history—and today. “A unique guide to how Jews have encountered God in the past and, even more significantly, an open, embracing companion to the journey—of our God relationships today.”—Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, president, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion Neil Gillman, rabbi and PhD, is professor of Jewish philosophy at The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he has served as chair of the Department of Jewish Philosophy and dean of the Rabbinical School. He is author of Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew, winner of the National Jewish Book Award; The Death of Death: Resurrection and Immortality in Jewish Thought, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and a Publishers Weekly “Best Book of the Year”; The Way Into Encountering God in Judaism; The Jewish Approach to God: A Brief Introduction for Christians; and Traces of God: Seeing God in Torah, History and Everyday Life.