A Teacher's Guide to Finding God; Ten Jewish Responses

This is a book about God, specifically about the different ways Jews have spoken of God throughout history. In its examination of 4,000 years of Jewish thought, it presents the broad spectrum of theological opinions that have been explored and affirmed by great Jewish thinkers, ancient and modern. Many Jews today avoid speaking about God. Unable to accept the traditional notions presented to them as authoritative, they often turn to other faiths or cults that offer the possibility of spiritual expression more in keeping with their personal God concept. Unaware of the variety within Judaism, they abandon their religious community in the mistaken impression that their longing for God cannot be satisfied within the faith of their ancestors. In this book, the authors skillfully present ten distinct Jewish theological perspectives, each of which has something to say to us today about our lives as individuals and as Jews. Each grapples with the following crucial questions: What is God? Is there more than one God? What is God's name? How can we know God? What is God's relationship to the world? Does God have a special relationship with the Jewish people? What does God "want" from us? How does God relate to me? Why is there evil in the world? "If we make it possible for one Jew to reclaim his or her Jewish spiritual identity, " the authors write, "if we help others to begin to talk about God without ambivalence or embarrassment, if we serve as a catalyst for further study of these and other Jewish thinkers, we will consider our work worthwhile."