Table of Contents
PRAISE FORJUDAISM FOR EVERYONE
A great read, and a splendid stepping-stone to a thoroughly enriched life.
Deepak Chopra
Judaism for Everyone gets my vote for the best Jewish book of the year.
Arnold Ages, The Jewish Post and Opinion
Boteachs great faith in Judaism as a source of inspiration shines through.
Publishers Weekly
An entertaining read... Boteachs goal of making Jewish thought palatable and agreeable to a wide audience outside the Jewish faith should be applauded.
Jerusalem Post
Good reading for people of all religions.
Buffalo News
A major achievement. Few books on Judaism convey its essence as clearly, as interestingly, as humanly as Judaism for Everyone.
Dennis Prager, author of Happiness Is a Serious Problem
Judaism for Everyone reaffirmed my own sense of Jewish faith. Ive shared this precious work with friends from other practices who, thanks to [Boteach], now have a better understanding of what it means to be a Jew.
Alan Colmes, Fox News
PRAISE FOR SHMULEY BOTEACH
A cultural phenomenon.
Newsweek
A relationship guru.
New York Daily News
America....may need a Shmuley showcase.
Washington Post
Surprisingly fresh.
Aaron Barnhart, The Kansas City Star
A reality mensch.
People
Self-help superhero.
Macleans, Canada
Hes got at least one lesson we could all use.
The Bangor Daily News
A smart, insightful guy.
Hillary Rhodes, The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
A frank talker with considerable charm.
Wall Street Journal
A self-help sensation.
Alexandra Alter, The Miami Herald
Strode the national stage by analyzing relationships on The Oprah Winfrey Show, acting as a spiritual mentor to Michael Jackson.
New York Times
ALSO BY RABBI SHMULEY BOTEACH
Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments
Kosher Sex
Kosher Emotions
Why Cant I Fall in Love?
The Rabbi and the Psychic
The Jewish Guide to Adultery
Moses of Oxford, Vols. 1 and 2
Wrestling with the Divine: A Jewish Response to Suffering
Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge:
Basic Concepts of Jewish Mystical Thought
The Wolf Shall Lie with the Lamb:
The Messiah in Hasidic Thought
Dreams
To my grandmother Ida Paul,
who ensured that I had a Jewish education
To Shneur Zalman Fellig,
without whose inspiration, influence, and
friendship I would not have become a Rabbi
To Michael Heinhardt,
whose love for all things Jewish
has given me inspiration
And to the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson,
of blessed memory, who inspired generations
of young Jewish men and women
to become spiritual leaders
May the same wonder-working Deity who, long since delivering the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them in the promised landwhose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nationstill continue to water them with the dews of Heaven and to make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessing of that people whose God is Jehovah.
PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON,
in a letter to Congregation Mikve Israel
in Savannah, Georgia, 1789
I have heard from my father and mother all the answers that faith in God could offer to those who doubt and search for the truth. In our home and in many other homes the eternal questions were more actual than the latest news in the Yiddish newspaper. In spite of all the disenchantment and all my skepticism I believe that the nations can learn much from the Jews, their way of thinking, their way of bringing up children, their finding happiness where others see nothing but misery and humiliation.
ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER
Preface
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, the mighty man in
his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him
that glories glory in that he understands and knows Me.
JEREMIAH 9:22-23
MY JEWISH FAITH HAS ALWAYS BEEN my greatest love and inspiration. Knowing that millions of Jews, throughout history, have laid down their lives rather than relinquish the faith of their ancestors has given me considerable pause in undertaking the composition of this book. In the end it was entirely due to the request and encouragement of Robin Baird-Smith, original publisher of Kosher Sex and friend, as well as Joann Miller, my editor at Basic Books, that this book was written. It is my attempt to offer traditional Judaism to a modern Jewish and non-Jewish audience in a rational, intelligible, and inspiring light. The book incorporates the insights of many of the old giants of Jewish history as well as more contemporary Jewish thinkers. Foremost on this list are my great teacher and mentor, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory; Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch; Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik; and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Other scholars whose ideas appear here include Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, my dear friend Dennis Prager, and Yeshayahu Leibovitz.
In my other books I have thanked my wife, Debbie, for being my greatest pillar of support, without whom none of my projects would have achieved fruition. In this book I thank her, not for supporting me, but for inspiring me. Judaism has long maintained that women possess a higher innate spirituality than men. My wife demonstrates this with her absolute love and devotion to God, people, and Judaism. Nothing that her Jewish faith requires is ever a burden to her, and nothing it demands fails to show her its immediate inner beauty. I also wish to thank my children, who are my joy and the lights of my life. Imparting to them my passion for the Jewish faith has been the foremost responsibility of my life.
I also thank Jo Ann Miller, Executive Editor at Basic Books, for her belief in this material and her enthusiasm for my ideas. I hope that her steadfast support will not prove misplaced. I extend my hearty gratitude to my agent and friend Lois Delahabay, who served as a wonderful matchmaker for this book. And finally, I offer humble thanks to my extremely wise friend Ron Feiner, who gives me profound advice on all aspects of life, both personal and professional, without which I would be significantly more impoverished.
As always, I thank Almighty God for granting me the strength to complete this task. I can only hope that I have done His great law some measure of justice.
Readers acquainted with my writings know that at the age of eight I experienced the trauma of my parents divorce, which split my family in two. My mother moved with me and my siblings to Miami, and my father remained in Los Angeles. We had always been an Orthodox Jewish family that celebrated the Sabbath, kept a kosher home, and observed the Jewish festivals, and we children attended a Jewish day school. As young boys, my brothers and I wore yarmulkes always, both at home and in public. But we partook fully in the modern world as well. My siblings and I consumed copious quantities of television and participated in all the adolescent fads that characterized mid-1970s America. We skated in roller rinks on Saturday nights, sang Bee Gees songs, and went to endless showings of