I’ve spent my life writing about Jewish issues, shaped by my family’s history and my own experiences. This book needs to reflect that personal connection to offer something unique.
As a writer, your gift is in immersing us in your personal story and awakening us, your audience, to seeing parallels and perpendiculars, and thus your sea creates tributaries.
Re your mention of working with Christian communities, I just came across a book, Judaism is About Love, by Shai Held, founder of Hadar, that offers a correction to the longstanding belief that Judaism's about. law, Christianity about love. Though it came from Christianity, it's even held by rabbinical students, he says. I haven't read it yet but plan to soon. Turning this idea on its head could be helpful in addressing antisemitism, in my view. There is also Jewish Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine and her work on how Christians and Jews read the same Hebrew Scriptures differently. Both make the point that there is a lot of unconscious bias based on lessons learned without historical context. I like to put my 2 cents in too, through a few poems and essays, from my own experience as a half-Jewish child of atheists, raised Catholic, married to a dual national from the U.S. and stepmother to an Israeli.
Howard, I can relate. My father's family came from Lithuania and lost many relatives whom I never even knew about in the Holocaust. They were just nameless faces in old family photographs.
I think your project is challenging and more than worthy. I too am often aware that many Jews feel inadequate, or have inadequate tools to confront antisemitism - especially when it is cloaked in Left-wing narratives, because they feel at odds with the same people with whom they identify, being Left-wing themselves. They feel torn between wanting to belong and identified as morally Left, and having to defend their identity and their support of Israel, in confrontation with people they see/saw as partners in their activism to make the world a better place. Suddenly, they feel outcast and betrayed. And, they don't have the tools to fight back. Your project could give them those tools, not only as a scholarly study, but as a handbook, perhaps.
Now, I have not written a single book. I blog. Usually not more than 1500 words. But I do know that people respond better (in terms of interest and keeping reading) when we reveal something of ourselves. It gives them a personal connection. It's probably the instinctive inner voyeurism we all have. So my suggestion to you (I would not be so presumptuous to give you advice) would be to flow with it, to make the book less "dry" and intellectual.
Thank you for naming the ever confusing, multifaceted, conflicting Jewish stances we now have today. I also grew up during the Soviet Jewry era and had a Bat Mitzvah “twin.” My family together with politicians and the agency helped them emigrate to the US. It was a profound moment to meet her at 17 years old when we had only been writing for the previous four years. We all seemed to mostly be on the same page then. Or so my young mind thought. Now seeing Holocaust survivors claiming Israel as a colonizer is tremendously worrying and heartbreaking. If we are divided what will become of us?
Appreciate your sharing this, Howard.
thank you for sharing this. even in ordinary times it would be valuable.
“candor defeats paranoia” is always a good mantra when discussing work-in-progress!
buon lavoro!
As a writer, your gift is in immersing us in your personal story and awakening us, your audience, to seeing parallels and perpendiculars, and thus your sea creates tributaries.
Re your mention of working with Christian communities, I just came across a book, Judaism is About Love, by Shai Held, founder of Hadar, that offers a correction to the longstanding belief that Judaism's about. law, Christianity about love. Though it came from Christianity, it's even held by rabbinical students, he says. I haven't read it yet but plan to soon. Turning this idea on its head could be helpful in addressing antisemitism, in my view. There is also Jewish Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine and her work on how Christians and Jews read the same Hebrew Scriptures differently. Both make the point that there is a lot of unconscious bias based on lessons learned without historical context. I like to put my 2 cents in too, through a few poems and essays, from my own experience as a half-Jewish child of atheists, raised Catholic, married to a dual national from the U.S. and stepmother to an Israeli.
I agree that the historical context of the Scriptures as they were given into the culture of the times is super important.
Here's a couple of things the Giver of Scripture says:
Psalm 119:18: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.”
Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things
that you have not known.”
This is fascinating and heartfelt, @Howard Lovy. Thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you ever so much. Yes unity and hope ! Shavua Tov
Early Happy Birthday. Your ending "...together we will prevail" made me think of - In Unity Success (be’achdut hatzlacha).
I look forward to reading your new book. B"H
Howard, I can relate. My father's family came from Lithuania and lost many relatives whom I never even knew about in the Holocaust. They were just nameless faces in old family photographs.
I think your project is challenging and more than worthy. I too am often aware that many Jews feel inadequate, or have inadequate tools to confront antisemitism - especially when it is cloaked in Left-wing narratives, because they feel at odds with the same people with whom they identify, being Left-wing themselves. They feel torn between wanting to belong and identified as morally Left, and having to defend their identity and their support of Israel, in confrontation with people they see/saw as partners in their activism to make the world a better place. Suddenly, they feel outcast and betrayed. And, they don't have the tools to fight back. Your project could give them those tools, not only as a scholarly study, but as a handbook, perhaps.
Now, I have not written a single book. I blog. Usually not more than 1500 words. But I do know that people respond better (in terms of interest and keeping reading) when we reveal something of ourselves. It gives them a personal connection. It's probably the instinctive inner voyeurism we all have. So my suggestion to you (I would not be so presumptuous to give you advice) would be to flow with it, to make the book less "dry" and intellectual.
Good luck. Can't wait to get to read it.
Very good points!
Thank you for naming the ever confusing, multifaceted, conflicting Jewish stances we now have today. I also grew up during the Soviet Jewry era and had a Bat Mitzvah “twin.” My family together with politicians and the agency helped them emigrate to the US. It was a profound moment to meet her at 17 years old when we had only been writing for the previous four years. We all seemed to mostly be on the same page then. Or so my young mind thought. Now seeing Holocaust survivors claiming Israel as a colonizer is tremendously worrying and heartbreaking. If we are divided what will become of us?
Edit: half marathon is 13.1 miles, not kilometers. Thanks for your work. Look forward to the book
Oops, I meant to write that Levine is a New Testament scholar. I think in
Tennessee. She has her work cut out for her.