MUST READ: What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew about JUDAISM by Robert Shoen

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“Kermit the Frog has said that it’s not easy being green.  Well, it’s not easy being anything.  Being Jewish presents its own problems, and through the years I have often wished I could explain to my non-Jewish friends, in a simple, nonthreatening manner, what my religion is all about. “
 
This is the opening statement in the book’s Preface which made my youngest son pick up the book (along with two others we will feature); he suggested to me that instead of trying to explain Torah life to the clueless, if anyone is truly interested—just suggest books they could read such as this one.
 
What interested me in the opening statement is “its not easy being green” . . . that should have been qualified by a something like “in a red world.”  What do I mean?
 

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We have written articles about how difficult it is to be a Sinaite—we are not Christian, we are not Jewish, nor are we Jew-wannabes.  And yet we’re so easily dismissed as wannabe’s if we as much as say we’re simply living the Torah life as prescribed by the self-revealing God on Sinai who gave it as guidelines for living on His planet earth.  We’re also constantly qualifying further —- what is clearly biblical/scriptural, and what is Jewish. We have repeatedly explained this experience in many posts.
 
If it’s not easy to be Jewish in a gentile world, it’s not easy to be a Sinaite in a predominantly Christ-centered world, or in  a non-Torah-observant world. Between Christians and the unbelieving population both of which are aplenty, we have much difficulty explaining where we fit in as well as our stand on Christianity/Judaism/religion in general.  In fact we keep ending up defending Israel and Judaism aside from ourselves!
 
As my son wisely suggested, just tell them —IF THEY ARE TRULY INTERESTED — to read these books, the first of which is what is featured here.
 
So, to finish the Preface:
 
“From the Sabbath to circumcision, from Hanukkah to the Holocaust, from bar mitzvah to bagel, how do Jewish religion, history, holidays, lifestyles, and culture make Jews different, and why is that difference so distinctive that we carry it from birth to the grave?”
 
“So, I present here a compendium of facts, lore, and opinion.  I’ve checked the facts and the lore in a number of sources.  The opinions (and humor) are mine.  If you disagree with anything written on these pages, it’s OK.  As a matter of fact, it’s part of the Jewish tradition to disagree.“—-Robert Shoen –Oakland, California
 
As it is our practice, we feature enough excerpts or even whole chapters from our MUST READ books, if only to whet our readers’ appetites enough to convince them to get a copy for their own library.  What interests me personally might be different from what interests you, reader, so if there is any particular topic/chapter in the CONTENTS below that you wish us to feature here, please speak up in the “Leave a Reply” box.  We will accommodate you.  We realize the book might not be accessible to you; I got my copy from DAYENU, a gift shop at the Jewish Center in San Francisco.
 
What to expect from the CONTENTS ?
 
 Christians and Jews

• Going to Church:  The Jewish Roots of Christian Worship
• Jews, Jesus and Christianity

The Jewish Religion

• From Orthodox
• To Reform
• To Reconstructionist
• Contemporary Synagogues and Congregations
• A Personal Observation

Inside the Synagogue

• The Torah and the Law
• Prayers and Blessings
• Symbols—The Mezuzah and the Star of David
• The Role of the Cantor
• Jewish Education
• Congregation Membership and Paying the Bills
• The Temple
• Jewish Priests
• Time for Confession
• Who’s in charge?

Holidays and Festivals

• Holidays and the Jewish Calendar
• Shabbat—the Sabbath
• The High Holidays—Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
• Sukkot
• Simchat Torah
• Hanukkah—Is it Really the “Jewish Christmas”?
• Purim
• Passover
• Shavuot–the Harvest Festival
• Other Religious Events

Jewish Life Cycle Events

• A Jewish Wedding
• Let’s Go to a Circumcision!
• Adoption
• An Invitation to a Bar Mitzvah and a Bat Mitzvah
• A Jewish Funeral —Saying Good-bye to Uncle Harry
• You can Only Get a Divorce if You’re Married

Home Life, Jewish Beliefs, and Other Interesting Matters

• Is a Kosher Hot Dog really Kosher?
• Jewish Food
• Degrees of Orthodoxy
• Conversion to Judaism
• Intermarriage
• Religious Apparel and Dress
• Hasidim and Hasidism
• Creation, Heaven, Hell, and Life after Death
• Where, When, and How Many
• Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews
• Women and Judaism

Judaism in the World

• Israel
• Jewish Art and Music
• Mysticism and the Repair of the World
• Money—Stereotypes, Charity, and the Scriptures
• Perform a Mitzvah
• Controversial Social Issues
• Old Wars and New Wars
• The Chosen People
• Anti-Semitism
• The Holocaust

 
A Call for Understanding and Community
 
Next:  The Purpose of this Book/A Range of Jewish Lifestyles, Beliefs, and Behaviors.

NSB@S6K