Product Description

If you have ever wondered what being born Jewish should mean to you; if you want to find out more about the nature of Judaism, or explain it to a friend; if you are thinking about how Judaism can connect with the rest of your life -- this is the first book you should own. It poses, and thoughtfully addresses, questions like these:

Can one doubt God's existence and still be a good Jew?
Why do we need organized religion?
Why shouldn't I intermarry?
What is the reason for dietary laws?
How do I start practicing Judaism?

The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism was written for the educated, skeptical, searching Jew, and for the non-Jew who wants to understand the meaning of Judaism. It has become a classic and very widely read introduction to the oldest living religion. Concisely and engagingly, authors Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin present Judaism as the rational, moral alternative for contemporary man.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #208936 in Books
• Published on: 1986-04-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780671622619
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
Rabbi Paul Kushner (Reform) in The Jewish Week I would suggest that on a single afternoon every rabbi, YMHA director, Jewish college instructor and anyone who has contact with young Jewish adults should set aside three or four hours and read The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism. They could then spend the next few decades recommending and quoting them this excellent book. -- Review

Review
Herman WoukThe intelligent skeptic's guide to Judaism

Rabbi Wolfe Kelman (Conservative)Executive Vice President, the Rabbinical AssemblyCompelling and persuasive. Its challenging ideas and direct and illuminating way permeate every page.

Rabbi Hayim Donin (Orthodox)author of To Be a JewStimulating...thought-provoking...excellent.

Rabbi Paul Kushner (Reform)in The Jewish WeekI would suggest that on a single afternoon every rabbi, YMHA director, Jewish college instructor and anyone who has contact with young Jewish adults should set aside throe or four hours and read The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism. They could then spend the next few decades recommending and quoting hem this excellent book.

About the Author
Dennis Prager hosts a nightly talk show about values on KABC Radio in Los Angeles, lectures extensively, and writes and publishes a national newsletter, Ultimate Issues.

Joseph Telushkin, a rabbi and scholar of Jewish history, is currently a Jerusalem Fellow.

Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin are also coauthors of Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism.

Customer Reviews

Why Christians should read this book
Looking back on my college years, I can honestly say that I learned more from listening daily to Dennis Prager on the radio than from attending my classes. What is tragicomic is that I paid over $100,000 for my Pomona College education, whereas my lessons from Prager were free.

Prager is a Jewish talk radio host who also teaches the Bible at the University of Judaism. His mission in life is "to get people obsessed with what is right and wrong." He does this primarily through his nationally syndicated talk radio show in which he discusses the great moral issues of the day. He often receives challenges from a variety of callers, and I have never heard him lose a debate. I once heard Alan Dershowitz on the show, and Prager wiped the floor with the Harvard law professor. A few years back, Prager also memorably debated an Oxford philosophy professor on the question, "Can man be good without God?", and he triumphed yet again.

But interestingly enough, while I have never heard a greater defender of Judeo-Christian values in the secular world than Prager, I have never experienced anyone undermine my faith as much as he has either. Since I will be recommending one of his books, I first need to mention a brief caveat before explaining why I think believers ought to read The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism.

In college I read the works of existentialists, evolutionists, higher critics, et al, and still felt secure in the religion that I grew up with since birth. I could see through their smoke and mirrors, and I could sufficiently meet the objections posed by my classmates and professors in and outside of class. I must confess this was due in no small measure to listening to how Prager handled such objections from his callers.

But one day as I was listening to Prager's show, he posed a question that I had never thought of before. It provoked several Christians to call in, and my heart and faith began to sink as I heard him shoot down caller after caller. The question was: How can a just God require perfection from imperfect people? By contrasting the apparent unfairness of Christianity with Judaism (which requires neither perfection nor even belief in God to go to heaven), Prager was making a strong case against Christianity and for the reasonableness of the Jewish faith. His statement that a moral giant like Gandhi could go to heaven, at least according to Judaism, which emphasizes good acts over right belief, powerfully resonated with me.

To make a long story short, after about a month of searching through books, calling ministers, looking online, all to no avail, I finally came upon a small book by R.C. Sproul titled, Reason to Believe. It introduced me to John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, St. Augustine, i.e., the Reformed faith. The doctrine of original sin, as explicated by these masters, answered the challenge and my faith was reborn.

In light of my own personal quandary, my caveat is that The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism devotes a chapter on why many ethnic Jews are not Christians. The chapter is disturbing especially for new Christians, thus I would not recommend this book for them. Reading Nine Questions might be comparable to a Mormon reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. In fact in my opinion it is Judaism as interpreted by most ethnic Jews, and not Freud or Nietzche, that has presented the most potent objections against Christianity. So why should Christians read this book?

Christianity is a Jewish religion. 70% of the Bible was written in Hebrew. The heroes of the faith were Jews. (Hebrew 11-12) Indeed the New Testament itself professes that Judaism is the root of Christianity. As Paul reminds Gentile believers, "You do not support the root, but the root supports you." (Romans 11:18) The New Testament by definition is a continuum. You cannot understand it fully without understanding the Old Testament.

Therefore Christians should read this book in particular because it is the Mere Christianity of Judaism written by the C.S. Lewis of the Jews. And a firmer grounding of the root of one's faith can only lead to more fruit. Did you know, for example, that the purpose of keeping kosher reflects an ethical concern for the suffering of animals? Or did you know that the Jews' life calling is to perfect the world under the rule of God? Even wrestling with the book's chapter on Christianity will make you stronger or reveal just how weak your faith really is. The book's devastating critiques of atheism and humanism, its enlightening explanation of Jewish traditions, and its arguments for the importance of organized religion are some other reasons to pick up this quick read.

The nine questions addressed in the book are:

1. Can one doubt God's existence and still be a good Jew?
2. Why do we need organized religion or Jewish laws - isn't it enough to be a good person?
3. If Judaism is supposed to make people better, how do you account for unethical religious Jews and for ethical people who are not religious?
4. How does Judaism differ from Christianity, Marxism and Communism, and Humanism?
5. What is the Jewish role in the world?
6. Is there a difference between anti-zionism and anti-semitism?
7. Why are so many young Jews alienated from Judaism and the Jewish people?
8. Why shouldn't I intermarry - doesn't Judaism believe in universal brotherhood?
9. How do I start practicing Judaism?

Nine Answers To Nine Questions
I am happy to report that it offers nine concise but dense and provocative answers to the nine questions it poses. Certainly people ask more than nine questions about Judaism but the book is clearly most targeted at the assimilated, disillusioned or curious nonpracticing Jew. It is perfect and on target in its speculations of main issues that trouble and perplex nonpracticing Jews (ex. How do you explain the immoral religious Jews). What makes this worthwhile reading for the non Jew is that a large bulk of the material deals with theological and metaphysical issues thoughtfully. It's also a poised argument for the superiority of religious ethics over secular ethics. Interspersed throughout the chapters are many sharp and fascinating sound bites and quotes. The mainstream success of the authors both as writers and public speakers owes to their eloquent style which is persuasive but not absolutist. Their tone is one of sharing knowledge and belief, not forcing knowledge and belief. The authors do a wonderful job of providing a logical exposition on the soundness and consequence of ethical monotheism. This book will appeal to all Jews and to anyone who has an interest in spiritual reasoning.

Offers satsfying answers
Another Amazon reviewer rated this book highly because it is not the typical "same old, same old" description of basic Judaism. I heartily second that opinion. The book, in a highly readible manner, offers some very satisfying answers on some basic and importnat questions. One of these is the most basic question of all religions ... the question of the existence of God. I liked the answer ... that when you look at all around us there has to be a God. But, you might ask, what is God? The very satisfying answer is that if you take a scientific view that everything was created by cause and effect, then God is the original uncaused cause. Excellent!! With analysis like this, this book is of great value to those interested in Judaism as well as those interested in timeless theological questions. This book answers other impoertant questions such as whether Jews can worship Jesus (the answer is no). Important questions are answered without equivocation. I recommend this book