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Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition
As featured on the cover of Tikkun magazine
How do we articulate a religious vision that embraces evolution and human authorship of Scripture? Drawing on the Jewish mystical traditions of Kabbalah and Hasidism, path-breaking Jewish scholar Arthur Green argues that a neomystical perspective can help us to reframe these realities, so they may yet be viewed as dwelling places of the sacred. In doing so, he rethinks such concepts as God, the origins and meaning of existence, human nature, and revelation to construct a new Judaism for the twenty-first century.
How do we articulate a religious vision that embraces evolution and human authorship of Scripture? Drawing on the Jewish mystical traditions of Kabbalah and Hasidism, path-breaking Jewish scholar Arthur Green argues that a neomystical perspective can help us to reframe these realities, so they may yet be viewed as dwelling places of the sacred. In doing so, he rethinks such concepts as God, the origins and meaning of existence, human nature, and revelation to construct a new Judaism for the twenty-first century.
197 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 22, 2017
(Remarks from around the end of 2010 or early 2011)
The author is a teacher and a post-modern Jewish mystic who also describes himself as a religious humanist. He is so not a bible literalist or fundamentalist, yet, as he says, takes Scripture & tradition seriously. He wants not just to explain Judaism but to deal with the universal religious questions in a way compatible with thinking in scientific terms, or in universal terms, yet still being religious. This is one of those very rich books. It is probably too advanced for me. Now that I've read it I need to read it again and study it with other people!
The author is a teacher and a post-modern Jewish mystic who also describes himself as a religious humanist. He is so not a bible literalist or fundamentalist, yet, as he says, takes Scripture & tradition seriously. He wants not just to explain Judaism but to deal with the universal religious questions in a way compatible with thinking in scientific terms, or in universal terms, yet still being religious. This is one of those very rich books. It is probably too advanced for me. Now that I've read it I need to read it again and study it with other people!
June 16, 2020
It should be noted that this book is well-written—the one-star rating has to do with how flabbergasted I am at the content of the writing.
Green reframes Judaism as a person inhabiting a liminal space in-between theism and atheism. Green winds up with a panetheistic reading of Hebrew Scripture in which he insists that people require a level of material comfort and/or liberation before they are able to worship God. What about Hagar, who praised God even as he commanded her to return to slavery? (I’m thinking too about womanist theology and the legacy of African American women who worship while they are oppressed in many directions.) What about Job? What about the prophets, psalms, and proverbs that seem to suggest that actually being fully provided for makes a person forgetful of God? While I agree with Green that the Exodus story is central to the Hebrew Scriptures and the Jewish religion (as an outsider, of course), Green’s theology offers nothing to the person who is disinherited, which to me seems utterly incongruent with the content of those Scriptures. I am not impressed with this re-reading of Judaism; it might invalidate and insult more than it opens up anything substantial.
Green reframes Judaism as a person inhabiting a liminal space in-between theism and atheism. Green winds up with a panetheistic reading of Hebrew Scripture in which he insists that people require a level of material comfort and/or liberation before they are able to worship God. What about Hagar, who praised God even as he commanded her to return to slavery? (I’m thinking too about womanist theology and the legacy of African American women who worship while they are oppressed in many directions.) What about Job? What about the prophets, psalms, and proverbs that seem to suggest that actually being fully provided for makes a person forgetful of God? While I agree with Green that the Exodus story is central to the Hebrew Scriptures and the Jewish religion (as an outsider, of course), Green’s theology offers nothing to the person who is disinherited, which to me seems utterly incongruent with the content of those Scriptures. I am not impressed with this re-reading of Judaism; it might invalidate and insult more than it opens up anything substantial.
August 20, 2017
I love this inventor of the term Eco-Kashruth's universalist outlook, yet remaining within the context of observant neo-Hasidic Judaism. What a way to reframe things. I also hope that this book will be heard, and will be part effectively in transforming human consciousness, as he is right, this is a most critical hour in human history.
October 15, 2010
Radical Judaism creatively combines many of the trends in modern
Judaism--with Art Green's unique way of rendering issues and debates
as urgent calls to action--to bring us closer to solving many of the
problems that bother religious and other thoughtful people: how to
reclaim religious passion from its misdirection into divisiveness and
atrophy, how to make our colleagues wake up and take action on the
disasters facing humanity and the rest of the world today, how to
respect our heritage while fully accepting modern knowledge.
If enjoyed the book a lot and know that it represents a summary of
Green's life work so far, but I don't know his other books enough to
say how many steps forward this one takes. Readers should also be
aware that Green is in an exploratory stage of this fusion of ideas.
The book is not a doctrine and perhaps not even a signpost pointing us
in a clear direction; it is an invitation to join him in creating new
forms for the practice of religion and social action based on these
ideas.
Green's Judaism is radical, yes, but true to its meaning as understood
by most Jews today. For instance, although he explicitly brings its
core message close to the "we are all One with the universe" message
of well-known Eastern religions, he also insists on celebrating the
diversity of life and the unique perspectives each person brings.
The book's ideas are too rich and complex for a summary, and other
reviewers have done a nice job presenting some of them, but I
recommend the book for its main themes as well as its byways and
enjoyable insights, such as why Freud couldn't have access to all the
rich approaches to relationship that Judaism built up over the
centuries and presented it in a narrow Oedipal light.
I'll finish by adding something for non-Jewish reader. Green claims to
aim his book at people outside the Jewish tradition as well as within
it, but I'm afraid his doctrinal and interpretive concerns delve so
deep within specifically Jewish areas that non-Jews will find much of
the book arcane and ultimately uninteresting.
Judaism--with Art Green's unique way of rendering issues and debates
as urgent calls to action--to bring us closer to solving many of the
problems that bother religious and other thoughtful people: how to
reclaim religious passion from its misdirection into divisiveness and
atrophy, how to make our colleagues wake up and take action on the
disasters facing humanity and the rest of the world today, how to
respect our heritage while fully accepting modern knowledge.
If enjoyed the book a lot and know that it represents a summary of
Green's life work so far, but I don't know his other books enough to
say how many steps forward this one takes. Readers should also be
aware that Green is in an exploratory stage of this fusion of ideas.
The book is not a doctrine and perhaps not even a signpost pointing us
in a clear direction; it is an invitation to join him in creating new
forms for the practice of religion and social action based on these
ideas.
Green's Judaism is radical, yes, but true to its meaning as understood
by most Jews today. For instance, although he explicitly brings its
core message close to the "we are all One with the universe" message
of well-known Eastern religions, he also insists on celebrating the
diversity of life and the unique perspectives each person brings.
The book's ideas are too rich and complex for a summary, and other
reviewers have done a nice job presenting some of them, but I
recommend the book for its main themes as well as its byways and
enjoyable insights, such as why Freud couldn't have access to all the
rich approaches to relationship that Judaism built up over the
centuries and presented it in a narrow Oedipal light.
I'll finish by adding something for non-Jewish reader. Green claims to
aim his book at people outside the Jewish tradition as well as within
it, but I'm afraid his doctrinal and interpretive concerns delve so
deep within specifically Jewish areas that non-Jews will find much of
the book arcane and ultimately uninteresting.
June 11, 2012
A clarion call for all of us - Jew and non-Jew - to embrace existence as a reflection of God as the One Becoming in all things. When we do that we must work together to prevent the destruction of our world at our own hands.
May 16, 2018
Green does not believe in a personal God that commands humans in the way that the Bible suggests, and he believes that religious practices are of human origin. Green's point of view is essentially pantheistic :he describes God as "the inner force of existence itself" that he chooses to personify by calling "God." He is a religious pantheist, in that he sees himself as in relationship to this Being, by "carrying forth this great mission of the evolving life process." Unlike an atheist, he sees evolution as meaningful and miraculous, as a kind of collective striving for ever-increasing levels of complexity.
Although Green is hardly a traditional Jew, he does value the Torah, describing it as "poetic attempts to reinvigorate our spiritual lives", and the mitzvot as practices that are holy because Jews have "invested [them] with spiritual energy, that is never lost but only builds in intensity over the course of centuries."
He also has more down-to-earth insights about the Torah here and there. For example, he writes that the message of the Cain/Abel story as "Life is unfair, and you are totally responsible". Even though Cain's sacrifice is rejected for no obvious reason, he is still responsible for his actions afterwards.
On balance, I found this book to be interesting - but not exactly a blueprint for a mass movement. At this precise point in human history, evolution seems to favor more traditional forms of religion, much as evolution favored mammals over dinosaurs.
Although Green is hardly a traditional Jew, he does value the Torah, describing it as "poetic attempts to reinvigorate our spiritual lives", and the mitzvot as practices that are holy because Jews have "invested [them] with spiritual energy, that is never lost but only builds in intensity over the course of centuries."
He also has more down-to-earth insights about the Torah here and there. For example, he writes that the message of the Cain/Abel story as "Life is unfair, and you are totally responsible". Even though Cain's sacrifice is rejected for no obvious reason, he is still responsible for his actions afterwards.
On balance, I found this book to be interesting - but not exactly a blueprint for a mass movement. At this precise point in human history, evolution seems to favor more traditional forms of religion, much as evolution favored mammals over dinosaurs.
June 2, 2024
To understand our place and responsibility in the evolutionary process, and to protect the Earth and see God in everyone and everything, is the essential plea. "Read this book as a call to that collective and universal human spirit." And that is just in the introduction.
Green then proceeds to methodically lay out the hows and whys, from "In the beginning..." to an agenda for today. Since I am not Jewish, I read this book with a highlighter in hand, and will need to read and reread my highlighted sections several times for the meanings and message to be fully comprehended.
As he walks us through the history of God, Torah, Israel, etc. he writes, "The real religious question for me has always been: 'Is there life BEFORE death?'" The rituals and traditions of the faith are to lead believers into a divine/human partnership: "God indeed needs you to do the mitzvot -- to feed the hungry, to care for the poor, to do justice, to sustain widows and orphans. These are the essence of mitzvot. It is primarily through these that you become God's partner in the world."
Although written in 2010, his support of Gaza and the 2-state solution (as well as the responsibility of Jews in the diaspora and Israel in this matter) was timely and thought-provoking.
Overall, not a book easily read in large chunks, but one to be consumed section-by-section and savored.
Green then proceeds to methodically lay out the hows and whys, from "In the beginning..." to an agenda for today. Since I am not Jewish, I read this book with a highlighter in hand, and will need to read and reread my highlighted sections several times for the meanings and message to be fully comprehended.
As he walks us through the history of God, Torah, Israel, etc. he writes, "The real religious question for me has always been: 'Is there life BEFORE death?'" The rituals and traditions of the faith are to lead believers into a divine/human partnership: "God indeed needs you to do the mitzvot -- to feed the hungry, to care for the poor, to do justice, to sustain widows and orphans. These are the essence of mitzvot. It is primarily through these that you become God's partner in the world."
Although written in 2010, his support of Gaza and the 2-state solution (as well as the responsibility of Jews in the diaspora and Israel in this matter) was timely and thought-provoking.
Overall, not a book easily read in large chunks, but one to be consumed section-by-section and savored.
December 26, 2024
If you can't beat 'em join 'em! Arthur Green appears to have use Darwin and Big Bang Theory as an excuse to replace the Jewish concept of YHWH with panentheism (a belief that the divine is present in every part of the universe and extends beyond space and time).
I have less faith in modern physics explanation of creation than in the version from Genesis. Modern physics seems unconcerned by how this something from nothing actually occurred. They follow their mathematics (something I am incapable of doing) and don't worry how something from nothing was able to occur. I don't have an explanation either; I believe man will never be capable of understanding how he and she came to be here.
Fortunately, Mr. Green moves on from the origin of the universe to discuss many elements of Judaism. His discussion is both interesting and thought provoking. Although I am not a Jew, I agree with most of his morality and I believe Jesus would as well. He is an American Jew who is willing to criticize Israel and America. We need much more of that
I have less faith in modern physics explanation of creation than in the version from Genesis. Modern physics seems unconcerned by how this something from nothing actually occurred. They follow their mathematics (something I am incapable of doing) and don't worry how something from nothing was able to occur. I don't have an explanation either; I believe man will never be capable of understanding how he and she came to be here.
Fortunately, Mr. Green moves on from the origin of the universe to discuss many elements of Judaism. His discussion is both interesting and thought provoking. Although I am not a Jew, I agree with most of his morality and I believe Jesus would as well. He is an American Jew who is willing to criticize Israel and America. We need much more of that
April 11, 2018
This book is a very dense and heavy read, but an absolutely wonderful look at theology and spirituality. Arthur Green presents a wonderful picture of how one can be both religious and scientifically minded, and redefines the spirituality of Judaism while still remaining true to the religion's inherent characteristics of questioning and exploring all of the hard questions of life.
March 27, 2020
Much of this book is way beyond my understanding of Judaism at the moment, but I was struck enough by Rabbi Green’s Top 10 Jewish Ideas book that I wanted to hear more from him. I was able to find nuggets of wisdom anyway, which make me eager for his new book this fall, which will hopefully speak more to my level of understanding.
January 3, 2021
This book is completely brilliant.
March 2, 2023
i quoted this book in art green’s own class
February 9, 2025
Loved this book. The discussion on understanding evolution through a spiritual lense is one I haven't encountered before, at least not in a way that actually made me stop and ponder. The process of remythologizing Judaism - while trying to avoid the pitfalls of how myth has been used to carry on oppression and prejudice - is an incredibly vital one to our day and age.
The theology of this book is so great but I can't give it full marks, because the weight of his theological framework is undermined by his secular political Zionism. To ponder so deeply on the use of myth to propagate prejudice, and then repeat liberal Zionist mythologies about "a lost Israel pre-'67", and the founding of The State in response to The Holocaust is bad scholarship. Yet I don't think it's for lack of wisdom or compassion, so this book found me in the right place and time 🧿
The theology of this book is so great but I can't give it full marks, because the weight of his theological framework is undermined by his secular political Zionism. To ponder so deeply on the use of myth to propagate prejudice, and then repeat liberal Zionist mythologies about "a lost Israel pre-'67", and the founding of The State in response to The Holocaust is bad scholarship. Yet I don't think it's for lack of wisdom or compassion, so this book found me in the right place and time 🧿
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2016
"That One is Being itself, the constant in the endlessly changing evolutionary parade."
"Nuclear physicists and cosmologists have become the new Kabbalists of our age, speculating in ever more refined ways on the first few seconds of existence much as our mystical sages meditated on the highest triad of the ten divine emanations."
"How would such a reframed tale read? It would be a narrative of the great reaching out by the inner One that inhabits each of us and binds us all together, a constant stretching forth of Y-H-W-H ("Being") in the endless adventure of becoming HWYH (Hebrew for ''being'' or "existence"), or of the One garbing itself in the multicolored garment of diversity and multiplicity."
"I do not view humans - surely not as we are now - as the end purpose of evolution. We, like all other species, are a step along the way. If existence survives on this planet, Mind will one day be manifest to a degree far beyond our present ability to comprehend or predict. On that day, says Scripture, "Earth will be filled with knowledge of Y-H-W-H as water fills the sea" (Isaiah 11:9) - just that wholly and naturally."
- Rabbi Arthur Green, Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition, Chapter One: YHWH
I feel like I wanna quote this whole book. 'Rethinking' doesn't describe the brilliancy and depth of these ideas. However, with so much thinking to do, hopefully these few quotes will help myself take it in.
"Nuclear physicists and cosmologists have become the new Kabbalists of our age, speculating in ever more refined ways on the first few seconds of existence much as our mystical sages meditated on the highest triad of the ten divine emanations."
"How would such a reframed tale read? It would be a narrative of the great reaching out by the inner One that inhabits each of us and binds us all together, a constant stretching forth of Y-H-W-H ("Being") in the endless adventure of becoming HWYH (Hebrew for ''being'' or "existence"), or of the One garbing itself in the multicolored garment of diversity and multiplicity."
"I do not view humans - surely not as we are now - as the end purpose of evolution. We, like all other species, are a step along the way. If existence survives on this planet, Mind will one day be manifest to a degree far beyond our present ability to comprehend or predict. On that day, says Scripture, "Earth will be filled with knowledge of Y-H-W-H as water fills the sea" (Isaiah 11:9) - just that wholly and naturally."
- Rabbi Arthur Green, Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition, Chapter One: YHWH
I feel like I wanna quote this whole book. 'Rethinking' doesn't describe the brilliancy and depth of these ideas. However, with so much thinking to do, hopefully these few quotes will help myself take it in.
May 23, 2021
Continues to be my all-time favorite theological text. I’m so grateful for a religious discourse that is capable of holding this expansive, rigorous, freeing, and deeply loving view of God and humanity.
June 25, 2010
Very well written. But can someone write a book like this minus the mysticism?
November 18, 2010
Very worthwhile
February 5, 2017
Difficult to comprehend. I read this as part of a class. Without the teacher and my fellow students, I'm not sure I would have "gotten" it. With them, it made for an interesting struggle.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews