Sunday 27 February 2011

Book Review: Explaining Shabbat

Lea Fleischmann is a German Jew, who made Aliyah at the end of the 70s, author of many books aiming to explain Judaism, mostly to non-Jews. This is more than following the Noahide laws, but an introductory effort of clarification.
The book about Shabbat is also a book of the author's discovery of the importance of her connections with Judaism. The memories of her German Youth, with involvement in the left, non (or even anti-) religious background of her Frankfurt intellectual formative years, are completed by the life in Jerusalem. The contact with a new reality created different spiritual needs, hence the return the old Jewish traditions. From this point of view, this book might be considered too the account of the author's discovery of the importance of keeping Shabbat, enlightening the understanding of other aspects regarding the daily practice of Judaism.
The style is accessible, making it an excellent lecture over Shabbat.
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