The greatness of the Mothers is
Comprising essays by such
not merely that they were prophets scholars as Ruth Wisse, Eugene
and visionaries. Beyond this, they Borowitz and Irving Greenberg,
understood that their passage the work covers Jewish history,
through the seemingly ordinary the Holocaust, Jewish literature
events of pregnancy and birth was and theology.
filled with significance for the fu-
In an essay on "What is the use
ture of their people and all of hu- of Jewish history?" the late Lucy
manity. They knew that every Dawidowicz, perhaps best-known
decision they made had meaning for her works on the Holocaust,
— even if it might seem to others reviews the texts of a number of
only a family matter. Without Jewish historians, from Heinrich
this, land, wealth, and ownership Graetz to Simon Dubnow. What,
would have meant very little. she asks, can history teach Jews?
Truth and the fulfillment of God's
Whether we are believers or
plan came from the treasure of ho- skeptics about providential des-
liness that they cherished in the tiny, we must admit that
inward, intimate sphere of their (Yitzhak) Baer was right: Jewish
lives, just as much as from the history follows it own laws. And
work of Abraham and Isaac. This Dubnow was also right: Jewish
consciousness of inward treasure, history, however dark and cata-
preserved in the hands of women strophic, has in it the potential for
like Sarah and Rivkah was as survival. This sense of Jewish his-
important as, in later days, the tory and destiny is what all Jews
Temple which preserved the trea- who care about the survival of
sure of the Jewish peoples' con- their people feel in their bones,
nection with God.
even if they do not know the dates
Ms. Frankiel, who holds a and events, even if they have nev-
Ph.D. in history of religions, has er heard of Graetz.
taught at Stanford, Princeton and
ou've formed your position
the University of California at
on the death penalty. On
Berkeley, among others.
intermarriage. On the role
t has been a mixed blessing for
of women in religion. Now
Jews in the United States.
find out what leading Jewish
On the one hand, few ethnic thinkers have to say about these
groups have prospered in and other issues.
America as have Jews. Yet the
David Ariel's What Do Jews
cost has been a high rate of in- Believe? (Schocken) serves as a
termarriage and a lack of inter- kind of textbook for Jews who
est in or knowledge about religion. need a refresher course in their
Jews and the New Ameri- own religion and history.
can Scene (Harvard University
Using a number of Jewish
Press), by Seymour Martin Upset sources, including rabbinic schol-
and Earl Raab, examines that ars and contemporary philoso-
age-old question with an Amer- phers, Mr. Ariel, president of the
ican twist: the United States — Cleveland College of Jewish
good or bad for the Jews?
Studies, examines the unique
The book discusses such top- teachings of Judaism and asks,
ics as why American Jews re- "How can modern Jews relate to
main inextricably linked with these beliefs?"
liberalism, the "riddle of the de-
Among the topics he discusses
fensive Jew" (why do so many are human destiny, the concept
Jews say they feel comfortable in of the "chosen people," prayer and
America, yet view anti-Semitism mitzvot.
in the United States as "a serious
At the base of all these lies
problem"?) and Israel, which the what Mr. Ariel describes as "an
authors label "the X-Factor."
overarching rubric that unites
...There is a nagging question Jews of every persuasion, from
as to whether the relationship be- the most Orthodox to the most
tween Israel and American Jews liberal or secular."
— the vaunted unity and expres-
Mr. Ariel ends his book with a
sion of "caring" — has really letter to his children, in which he
moved seriously or durably be- asks, "Why be Jewish?"
yond the obligations of familial
His answer: "Judaism is the
philanthropy or defense. There right system of belief and action
are signs that the common cul- to guide you through the world."
tural and spiritual identity has Or, in the words of a Jewish
in fact been eroding rather than mother, writing to her child in
growing for most Jews. The emo- 1940 in the Warsaw Ghetto, soon
tional attachment of many young before they were murdered by the
American Jews to Israel seems to Nazis:
be thinning.
Judaism, my child, is the
Mr. Lipset is professor of pub- struggle to bring down God upon
lic policy at George Mason Uni- earth, a struggle for the sanctifi-
versity, and Mr. Raab is director cation of the human heart. This
of the Perlmutter Institute for struggle your people wages not
Jewish Advocacy at Brandeis with physical force but with spir-
University.
it and by constant striving for
Another new work considering truth and justice. So, do you un-
Judaism and modernity is Ju- derstand, my child, how we are
daism in the Modern World distinct from others and wherein
(New York University Press) edit- lies the secret of our existence on
ed by Alan Berger.
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