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Nothing Sacred: The Truth About Judaism

by Douglas Rushkoff (Goodreads Author)

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 · rating details · 94 ratings · 11 reviews

Acclaimed writer and thinker Douglas Rushkoff, author of Ecstasy Club and Coercion, has written perhaps the most important—and controversial—book on Judaism in a generation. As the religion stands on the brink of becoming irrelevant to the very people who look to it for answers, Nothing Sacred takes aim at its problems and offers startling and clearheaded solutions based o...more Acclaimed writer and thinker Douglas Rushkoff, author of Ecstasy Club and Coercion, has written perhaps the most important—and controversial—book on Judaism in a generation. As the religion stands on the brink of becoming irrelevant to the very people who look to it for answers, Nothing Sacred takes aim at its problems and offers startling and clearheaded solutions based on Judaism’s core values and teachings.

Disaffected by their synagogues’ emphasis on self-preservation and obsession with intermarriage, most Jews looking for an intelligent inquiry into the nature of spirituality have turned elsewhere, or nowhere. Meanwhile, faced with the chaos of modern life, returnees run back to Judaism with a blind and desperate faith and are quickly absorbed by outreach organizations that—in return for money—offer compelling evidence that God exists, that the Jews are, indeed, the Lord’s “chosen people,” and that those who adhere to this righteous path will never have to ask themselves another difficult question again.

Ironically, the texts and practices making up Judaism were designed to avoid just such a scenario. Jewish tradition stresses transparency, open-ended inquiry, assimilation of the foreign, and a commitment to conscious living. Judaism invites inquiry and change. It is an “open source” tradition—one born out of revolution, committed to evolution, and willing to undergo renaissance at a moment’s notice. But, unfortunately, some of the very institutions created to protect the religion and its people are now suffocating them.

If the Jewish tradition is actually one of participation in the greater culture, a willingness to wrestle with sacred beliefs, and a refusal to submit blindly to icons that just don’t make sense to us, then the “lapsed” Jews may truly be our most promising members. Why won’t they engage with the synagogue, and how can they be made to feel more welcome?

Nothing Sacred is a bold and brilliant book, attempting to do nothing less than tear down our often false preconceptions about Judaism and build in their place a religion made relevant for the future.

From the Hardcover edition.(less)

Paperback, 304 pages

Published March 23rd 2004 by Three Rivers Press (first published 2003)

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Jun 16, 2012 Michael Doyle rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: judaica, conversion-journey

I am of two minds about this book. It's a very Jewish work--it questions and struggles with Judaism, God, and everything related in order to find meaning, which is at heart of Jewish scholarship. But it's also not about what it purports to be. Rushkoff calls the book "The Truth About Judaism." What it really amounts to is a thinly veiled call to turn Judaism into humanism.

Rushkoff's main idea is that the irreligious, largely humanist "lapsed" Jews of the 21st Century are really the most "Jewish"...more I am of two minds about this book. It's a very Jewish work--it questions and struggles with Judaism, God, and everything related in order to find meaning, which is at heart of Jewish scholarship. But it's also not about what it purports to be. Rushkoff calls the book "The Truth About Judaism." What it really amounts to is a thinly veiled call to turn Judaism into humanism.

Rushkoff's main idea is that the irreligious, largely humanist "lapsed" Jews of the 21st Century are really the most "Jewish" Jews, and that organized Judaism in all its movements has lost sight of Judaism's central tenets of monotheism, iconoclasm, and social justice. This is in diametrical opposition to works like "The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism," and "God Was Not in the Fire," which point out the dangers of not having a universal ethics (which humanism cannot provide) and the value of ritual and myth as promoting a sense of community.

At variuos points, Rushkoff expresses derision at observant Jews (in fact, he scorns all Jewry that isn't part of the highly humanist Reconstructionist movement), says that the concept of God is irrelevant, and announces that the end justifies the means as if it is an accepted tenet (ignoring that it was this very tenet that allowed every dictator in history to commit mass murder).

Rushkoff want Judaism repackaged as humanism, with God relegated to humansim's "quiet inner voice" that whispers right from wrong and derides everything else. He thinks that doing so leads directly from the Torah being a myth-laden document. He completely ignores that anyone could ever come to believe in God on their own, or that the "inner voice" of which he writes could be a subjective sense of God. If it isn't scientifically proveable, it's not part of Rushkoff's world view.
He also contradicts himself many times (are the Jews a people or aren't they? It depends on the point Rushkoff is trying to make), and draws sweeping, occasionally ludicrous conclusions from tenuous "evidence" and then reports those conclusions as incotroverible fact.

To subtitle this book "The Truth About Judaism" took a lot of chutzpah. That is not what this book is about. This book is nothing more than one long rant from a lapsed Jew who can no longer conceive that others might actually believe--or have a right to believe--in God. There are spiritual homes which share his worldview. But mainstream Judaism doesn't have to throw God out with the mikvah water just because Rushkoff is disappointed that the Bible isn't factual.(less)

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May 20, 2007 Chavah rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Jewish people, students of ancient mid-east and Judaism

Shelves: jewish-studies, womens-studies

the book is most definitely "disturbing". but i love it.

the point of view of the author seems to be rather keeping with the Reconstructionist mindset, and he presents his information in a clear and conversational manner.. he is very easy to follow and his research is exhaustive...

he deconstructs many blindly-swallowed "facts" about rabbinical Judaism and it takes a strong gut to make your way through the book if you are of a more Orthodox/traditional persuasion, but i recommend sticking it out.

i...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Shoshana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, nonfiction

(4.5)

Douglas Rushkoff is thoughtful, irreverent, constructive, occasionally biting in his criticism, and absolutely passionate about Judaism and what it has the potential to be.

His vision is essentially secular, although he uses God-language, I would guess for one or both of two reasons - one, he feels connected to that language himself, and he finds feelings of spirituality enjoyable and constructive; two, it might connect him more successfully with Jews who come from religious backgrounds and...more (4.5)

Douglas Rushkoff is thoughtful, irreverent, constructive, occasionally biting in his criticism, and absolutely passionate about Judaism and what it has the potential to be.

His vision is essentially secular, although he uses God-language, I would guess for one or both of two reasons - one, he feels connected to that language himself, and he finds feelings of spirituality enjoyable and constructive; two, it might connect him more successfully with Jews who come from religious backgrounds and may still believe in a god or feel connected to and inspired by God-language. So although it occasionally bothers me, if I think along the lines of Doubt and realize that his flexible definition of God is really just the use of the name to label community and positive feeling, I'm for the most part comfortable.

The ethical stuff I had already in my head and my upbringing, although I particularly like his discussion of the difference between "do you follow [such and such Jewish law]?" versus "how do you follow [such and such Jewish law]?" The historical stuff - and the trends in the synagogues - I only knew a little of, so it was great to read an honest, secular account and analysis.

My only quibble - what keeps my from giving it a straight up five-star rating - is Rushkoff's seeming ignorance of the pre-existence (for the last forty years, in fact - at least) of communities that do exactly what he is talking about: Getting together, having thoughtful, analytical discussions and debates, bringing ethical Jewishness to the forefront, working within assimilation, welcoming intermarried families, etc. etc. Aka, the secular, humanistic, and cultural communities all over the United States and Canada, many of them falling under the umbrella Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations (or the Society for Humanistic Judaism) (not to mention the Workman's Circle and other old-school Yiddishist Jewish groups). We even have an international conference every year, and a multi-organizational West Coast conference for good measure. I would love to invite Rushkoff to one of these, since he appears to be missing out.

Well, a second quibble, actually. In Rushkoff's attempt to make the book conversational as opposed to academic, which he does very well, he has chosen not to include footnotes for the numerous facts and pieces of analysis he supplies. While there's a good-looking bibliography at the end, with some good notes for further reference on each chapter, I would have appreciated a bit more specificity in the body of the book.

This book - along with other books and articles I've read about Judaism in the last several years - also leaves me hungry for information about Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, their practices, and their internal politics. Not only are they not covered in most American books about Judaism, they're not even mentioned in passing as something the author can't address. I don't even know where to begin with this. The internet, I guess! Haha.

Anyway, I do recommend Nothing Sacred to anyone Jewish who is interested in a serious discussion about in what ways Judaism can and should change (and not change), and any non-Jew whose only exposure to Judaism comes from inactive secular Jews and/or the Orthodox Jewish Right. It's a good read.(less)

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Jul 09, 2010 Matthew W rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The absurd arrogance of the author (and thesis of the book) can be summed up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGt7_0...

As anyone can see, Rushkoff has no problem actually being somewhat honest, but this book is also full of half-truths, narrow generalizations, conscious distortions, and journalistic "scholarship."

For example, Rushkoff tries to blame Carl Jung for helping promote Jewish racial theories that would inspire Hitler and thus result in the holocaust. Of course, I think this is just...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: jewish-culture, history, nonfiction, read-in-2012, religion

I've always felt that Judaism is inherently progressive and social justice-oriented, and this book affirms that. It explores the ways in which Jews who aren't traditionally observant may still be enacting the philosophy of Judaism in their daily lives. My biggest problem with the book was the fact that Rushkoff seems to think this opinion is groundbreaking, and it isn't. I was surprised that Rushkoff didn't spend any time talking about Reconstructionist Judaism, or even the Modern Orthodox movem...more

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Jun 14, 2009 Gabrielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

While much of this book was repetitive, I found the "alternate" Jewish history outlined absolutely fascinating. A provocative look at the true meaning of Judaism, and perhaps of religion altogether.

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Jul 04, 2011 Noah Murphy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book pretty much summed up everything I found wrong with modern American Jewish culture in one nice package.

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Jul 25, 2007 Alyssa rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book provides a scathing critique of the American Jewish Community and its organizations. The critique is brilliantly written, but his solution to the problems he cites is absurd. Nonetheless, read it, as he provides the most eloquent critique I've read yet.

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Feb 18, 2008 Marianne Ogden rated it 2 of 5 stars

There is enough "truth" here, to make the lies sound believable. I did not agree with many of Rushkoff's assertions, but liked most of his suggestions at the end of the book. Also, he has a thourough list of references worth looking into.

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Aug 21, 2007 Paul Hirsch added it Recommends it for: "lapsed" Jews

this book, while quite critical of the way Judaism is being expressed in many if not most corners of the world, has paradoxically inspired me about what Judaism really stands - or could stand - for.

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Nov 01, 2007 Leah rated it 3 of 5 stars

this is a good one to quote at parties.

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About Douglas Rushkoff

Douglas Rushkoff is a New York-based writer, columnist and lecturer on technology, media and popular culture.

More about Douglas Rushkoff...

Books by Douglas Rushkoff

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Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age

Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say

Media Virus!: Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture

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