Reviews for Why I Am a Jew

The average rating for Why I Am a Jew based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-08-20 00:00:00 John Brooks Not an easy text to read. It was published in 1929 Recently, my Jewish friend asked me a poignant question: Why the Jews are so hated? I said the world hates the God that the Jews represent and the fact that this God had anointed them as the chosen people. (Never mind that so many Jews these days are secular or even buy into the notion that they are the chosen people). I knew my answer was less than satisfactory even to my own conscience. The truth is, I don't really know why the Jews are so hated by the world and I know this is happening, because I don't know how to entertain such hatred. But really though why do we singled out the Jews of all people the way we do? They got the blamed for everything under the sun. The fact is, the Jews as people did so many good deeds (and no signs of stopping even now, in spite of) for the benefits of humanity as a whole. We aren't supposed to behave like this to our fellow human beings, but history proved that we did. We did a lot of horrendous things to each other particular to the Jews. We aren't supposed to be enemies with each other; we can blamed our forefathers for being misguided and ignorant; sadly we don't do much better either. These days which I find it alarming is that antisemitism and anti-Israel is one and the same; that's really food for thought is it not? While I disagree with several of the author's arguments on Christianity, I agree with him on the following quote and sadly it's still relevant today: "If Christians have persecuted Jews (and they have hideously done so, and still do) it is because they neither possess Christian virtues nor Christian beliefs; they are still pagans, for one cannot be anti-Jewish without being anti-Christian." (pg. 76). * For further reading: The Anti-Israel Agenda by Alex Ryvchin (Chapter 9: Israel and the Church - Allies or Enemies? I believe one of the ways to combat antisemitism is for the non-Jews to stop sitting on the fence or remain indifferent by the antisemitism activities around us. Take action, nip it in the but before it has chance to blossom. It must be strange for a non-Jew to read this book, but I am a curious reader (it's take me places), and it had been an educational and sobering read. Say, you're a Jew whom lost your way or don't know anymore what it meant to be a Jew, my friend, this book is for you.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-12-02 00:00:00 James Webster When I pulled this book from the boxed set, I inadvertently broke the sequencing scheme I had for reading this series. I'd intended to read them in order from "most exotic" to "least exotic," landing last on Roman Catholicism, the religion I was raised in. That would have placed this one *after* Islam, which is instead the one I'll be reading next. As expected, I found this one to be the most accessible so far, because of the clear line of descent between Judaism and Christianity. I found it interesting that some features of my birth religion, such as "Catholic guilt," actually arise in Judaism and are simply transmitted through that descent. It probably also helped that the author is a genuine evangelist for his religion, and speaks of it as if it were Truth, and the reader a (potential) believer. This makes many concepts much less abstract. The book is organized in a way that I found somewhat more rational than the previous volumes, but this may simply be a consequence of the cultural affinities between religions. Each section is amply supported by writings from rabbis of cultural and historical significance. These writings can help put some things in perspective that might be challenging even given that cultural affinity, such as modern Zionism and the warlike nature of early Jewish society. (I generally prefer an anthropological / archaeological view over a religious one when seeking rationale for such things, but it doesn't hurt to have multiple perspectives casting light on the subject.) Perhaps inadvertently, the author seems to undermine one aspect of his case with a couple of the readings, which apparently contradict each other. (On the other hand, this may be his attempt to illustrate the inherent mysteries of faith, and human inability to grasp cosmic subtleties.) We're told in the chapter on Doctrine that human nature is very akin to godlike nature, and that sin alienates humanity from his true nature, thereby imposing its own punishment in process. A few pages later, however, a reading makes the point that it's all too easy to fall into sin, and that as we age, this tendency becomes greater. This suggests to me that human nature is less godlike than sinful, and I'm not entirely sure the author was aware that the near-juxtaposition of these arguments would come across as contradictory. Maybe, though, it was intentional, with the objective of pointing out that of such (apparent) contradictions faith is made. I could, and should, have finished this book a couple weeks before I did. Having had a couple loaner books dropped in my lap about two-thirds of the way through, I took a break from this to work on those in order to return them as quickly as possible. Don't let my excessively-long read time dissuade you from this book, if you've an interest in religion. Not counting the References section, it's only 246 pages, and comparatively breezy.