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Hillel: If Not Now, When? (2010)

by Joseph Telushkin(Favorite Author)

4.13 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0805242813 (ISBN13: 9780805242812)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Schocken

review 1: The book is reads well, and at the same time goes into depth in describing Rabbi Hillel, as a person, as expounder of Jewish law in 1st C Eretz Israel.It explains well the different schools of thought at the time, and show the influence these schools often still have today.All too often there is a tendency to dismiss people of old as not having relevance on modern life. Joseph Telushkin clearly shows that great men like Hillel still have messages for us in the 21st C.
review 2: "Hillel: If Not Now, When? (Jewish Encounters) by Joseph Telushkin (2010)"This volume is the latest example of the evolution of Joseph Teluskin from a rather shallow popularizer to a profound Jewish thinker. The two volumes of his planned three volume set on Jewish Ethics are also well w... moreorth reading. This is a pretend biography of Hillel, in fact, we know very little about Hillel on which to base any such biography. The sparcity of the source material has led to all sorts of speculations regarding what Hillel's complete views are like, some of which speculations have been very very different than Teluskin's present volume. This volume is really an extended essay and declaration by Teluskin in favor of what might be called "pluralistic Judaism." Pluralistic Judaism is the view that there is no one absolutely indisputably view of the particulars of Jewish law, but that there are and always have been many competing views on virtually every question concerning "observance." Pluralistic Jews not only acknowledge that state of affairs, but consider it as essential to an understanding of the living character of Judaism - which is principally centered around "taking seriously" such questions and debating over them. Those interested in that "take" on Judaism may want to look into the Shalom Hartman Institute, the scholars of which have similar views. This volume will have one of two fates. It will be totally ignored by Jews [my money is on this one] or it will result in a bloody fight between fundamentalist and nonfundamentalist Jews. less

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