Arguing about Judaism

Peter Cave is Patron of Humanists UK; he lectures in philosophy for New York University (London) and the Open University, UK.Dan Cohn-Sherbok is a Reform rabbi and Professor Emeritus of Judaism at the University of Wales, UK.

• Prologue Introduction: Judaism’s diversity PART I: JEWISH BELIEFS 1. God 2. Creation 3. Providence 4. Divine goodness 5. Revelation 6. Free will and sin 7. The chosen eople’ 8. Messiah and afterlife PART II: JEWISH PRACTICE 9. Jewish ethics 10. Worship and prayer 11. Holidays and festivals 12. Men and women 13. Sex and marriage 14. Contraception, assisted conception and abortion 15. Euthanasia and suicide 16. Dietary laws and animal welfare PART III: JEWS AND OTHERS — AND THE WORLD 17. Israel: the Promised Land 18. Israel within: Jews and Gentiles 19. The diaspora: Jews as citizens outside Israel 20. Antisemitism 21. Anti-Zionism 22. Poverty and inequality 23. The environment: Jews as ‘green’ 24. Jews and the future Epilogue Glossary Further Reading Index

‘Arguing About Judaism invites its readers to pull up a chair and join Cohn-Sherbok and Cave in a brilliant critical enquiry into the past, present and future of Judaism's diverse traditions of belief and practice. Their dialogues are not only richly educative, they are also, in an age of increasingly rancorous public debate, a timely master-class in the art of convivial disagreement.’— Melissa Raphael, University of Gloucestershire, UK ‘Among the many introductions to Judaism, this book stands out as refreshingly unique and challenging. With its conversational tone, the book holds your attention from beginning to end and as such, will be widely appreciated at both an academic and popular level. It is a welcome and long-overdue contribution to the ways we see – or are blind to – the challenges that Judaism faces - both within and without - in today’s troubled world.’ — Martin O'Kane, University of Wales, UK‘This conversation between a moderately "Progressive" rabbi, and an atheistical humanist philosopher, is a clear and helpful introduction to the varieties of contemporary Jewry. The two conversationalists together manage to disagree without rancour and without misrepresenting each other's position: an excellent achievement in itself!’— Stephen Clark, University of Liverpool, UK