Updated Goldman guide out in paperback

How to do Jewish...this way and that

By Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett

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If you missed Ari Goldman’s “Being Jewish: The Spiritual and Cultural Practice of Judaism Today” when it debuted, make it a point to seek out the updated Simon & Schuster paperback edition, now on bookstore shelves.

This is a serious, yet very conversational take on Jewish life in theory as well as contemporary practices. Its approach draws on Goldman’s journalism background and his life as an observant Jew.

The former New York Times religion reporter turned Columbia University professor is a smooth writer whose enthusiasm for collecting and telling stories has grown over the years. He’s a natural teacher; “Being Jewish” is a textbook of sorts, describing practices, holidays and history without endorsing one ritual or another as absolute. Not that Goldman is a wishy-washy sort, far from it. 

As those who read his bestselling 1991 book, “The Search for God at Harvard,” will remember, the challenges Goldman faced as an Orthodox Jew working in a very secular business were met head-on with his considerable courage and conviction.
   

His equanimity when faced with widely varying interpretations of Jewish practices won’t sit well with every reader, of course—what Jewish guide could? The very things that enliven the book for some, will annoy others:
• A woman who approaches Goldman at a reading just to brag that she doesn’t even floss on Shabbos.
• The self-described kosher Detroit household that kept three sets of dishes—for meat, dairy…and Chinese takeout.
• Or, the father who forbids the kids to have a Miss Piggy doll because the toy wouldn’t be kosher if it existed in the flesh, so to speak.

It’s hard to argue, though, with the sensible observations Goldman offers as one who has seen nearly every variation in Jewish-family life and behavior over the years.
   
“Bar Mitzvah is a difficult rite of passage for any 12- or 13-year-old. If the child is from a divorced family, the challenge is even greater…All sorts of issues are raised: Who pays? Who gets an aliyah? …How are the stepparents recognized?” In the end, Goldman says, “There are no simple answers, except for one: Focus on the child.”
   
He elaborates on this a bit, and in a few hundred words offers a view both reasoned and valuable. (Here too, the author’s earlier readers will see the personal behind the professional prose. The child of divorced parents, Goldman has written with passion about the difficulties of his divided early home.)
   
The three-section organization of this book is notable too, as it nudges the reader to see Jewish life through various lenses, from life-cycle events (birth, death) to holidays to the rituals and prayers of a given day. This arrangement also makes the book useful as a teaching tool or a family reading project.
   
His empathy for those unfamiliar with Judaism, especially its synagogue services, comes off the page as something quite real and warm, never patronizing, making the book a particularly good gift for the new arrival to Jewish turf.
   
“For newcomers, the service can be daunting…But even without understanding or following the service, a worshiper can tap into its rhythm. There are times for meditation, times for song, and times for just sitting, listening, and watching.”

Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett is a Portland writer.