Review by Choice Review
Gordis's latest work on Jewish thought is distinguished by a dual purpose. By locating Halakah within the context of the social environments of Jewish epochs, he has pinpointed lasting and evolving traits of Jewish law. Second, Gordis's work is deeply motivated by an academic and reverential disposition toward the biblical and rabbinic sources and the kind of ethical and moral virtues they have placed upon the Jewish community. The result is a centralist Jewish thought position: Halakah is the linchpin of Judaism, and its strength derives both from the stability of what tradition holds as true and from its flexibility toward what is new. Gordis writes from experience. His ability to understand interior rhythms of Jewish law and his skill in presenting its importance in contemporary idioms result from his calling as rabbi, professor, and editor (emeritus) of the quarterly journal Judaism. His ultimate aim is to bring justice to the status of the Jewish woman within Jewish law, with regard to home, marriage and divorce, and ordination. But more traditional minds may view his apologetics as severing the persona from the body of Halakah and sending it into the abstract language of modernity and founded in situational ethics. To Gordis's credit, however, he knows how to make us believe that the truth lies in the nuances of the female liberative struggle. He sounds almost convincing. -Z. Garber, Los Angeles Valley College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
