Reviews for Ask the Rabbi: Questions and Answers in Judaism

The average rating for Ask the Rabbi: Questions and Answers in Judaism based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-03-04 00:00:00 Jose Augusto Freitas Sob This book is at times very interesting, but, in the end, unsatisfying. "Judaism, Physics and God" is a different approach to reconciling science and religion. Rather than (futilely) attempting to prove that science and the Bible are actually consistent with each, as so many other authors have done, Rabbi Nelson proposes an equally futile alternative: Rewriting Jewish theology to fit the latest theories in physics. This undertaking, while interesting to consider, is flawed from the outset: Religion and science address fundamentally different questions. Insisting that they must be consistent with each other is silly. Simply put, scientists are trying to understand natural phenomena, through replicable measurement. Religionists are trying to figure out what our purpose is and how we can best live together. You might enjoy Rabbi Nelson's descriptions of the major theories of modern physics - and his insights about the evolution of Jewish thought. But the book's call to action has been largely ignored, for good reason.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-10-13 00:00:00 Sharon Carpenter The central task of the book is contemplating modern physics and whether it can provide modern metaphors for ways of thinking about God, particularly in the context of Judaism. Although I imagine that contemplating God as the Big Bang or a "fractal ... shaped impersonal creative structure of the physical universe" is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, for me, these metaphors actually do provide a compelling and spiritually fulfilling way to think about the nature of God and the universe. I would recommend this book for spiritual seekers, not necessarily just Jewish ones (although that's the particular religious context here, given that the author is a Rabbi) who have a sense that science & religion need not be a zero sum game and want a conceptual framework for reconciling the two, and for those (again, particularly, but not necessarily only, Jews) for whom a notion of a personal God is not comfortable and who are looking for other ways to conceptualize God. If you're one of these folks, maybe you'll agree or maybe not, but it'll give you something to chew on for a bit.