Danya Ruttenberg

I’ve become a little obsessed with her twitter threads, so I thought I’d take a read her story. It was as fascinating as anything, and I was deeply, deeply moved. Not convinced, mind you—I’m still more than a little awed by the ability to give oneself over to faith, after years of trying and failing. As the spouse of a Jewish woman, and father of a Jewish child, I have such a better (if still incomplete) understanding of Jewish spirituality after reading this. As a recovering show more Presbyterian, it still seems so foreign to me, even as I recognized myself in the yearning she describes so clearly early early on, that I wonder how much is due to the Judaism she describes and how much is due to my childhood as one of the frozen chosen. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while yet, and likely pestering my wife with many, many questions/thoughts/observations. Highly recommended. show less

4.25

I decided to do some topical reading for the High Holidays this year, and this book seemed to fit the bill. Starting with Maimonides's recipe for repentance, the author attempts to bring it forward from the middle ages and apply it to contemporary American society. Unfortunately, it's not a great fit. Cancel culture, BLM, #MeToo, anti-vax conspiracy theories, mass incarceration, inner city gang violence, and other modern phenomenon are so far removed from the 12th century context in which show more Rambam wrote as to make the gap all but unbridgeable.

She starts out well, making clear the distinction between the Jewish attitude towards repentance by the wrongdoer as compared to the Christian emphasis on forgiveness by the wronged. But then the message bogs down as the insular medieval worldview (however progressive it was for its time) comes up against the demands of intersectional woke culture. As a result, the Jewish aspect falls by the wayside for most of the book, and instead we get the typical diatribes against racist police brutality, sexism in the workplace, indigenous people's rights, and other societal ills that have nothing to do with Judaism. Conspicuously absent from the story is how contemporary Israeli society (largely determined by and comprised of Jews) deal with issues such as crime & punishment, both in the civil and religious courts. Which could have been a fascinating comparison to the American secular/Christian implementation. show less

"Surprised by God" is an autobiography tracing Danya Ruttenberg's spiritual journey from rebellious atheistic young teenager to devout, observant, rabbinical student. The majority of the book is wonderful. Ruttenberg goes through things that anyone on a spiritual quest will go through, regardless of the religious path they are taking. Accordingly, she quotes spiritual masters from not only Judaism, but Christianiy, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and perhaps a few others as well. She offers show more beautiful insights into some pretty complex issues. Although a biography, it isn't a book for the average biography fan, as story line is distantly secondary to the religious thoughts and questions.

The one weakness in the book for me was several oddly incongruous episodes involving (to me) weird new age type experiences; seeing auras, feeling energy transfered through people's hands, etc. I suppose these things happened, and were a part of her journey. I suppose she felt obliged to include them. I suspect that for the average person on a journey into Judaism (or Christianity, or Islam, or Buddhism) that these experiences will seem just plain weird. show less