Review by Booklist Review
In his new book, the author of, most famously, Chutzpah (1991) argues that the quest for justice is the main theme of the Bible's first book. The subsequent books of the Pentateuch are much fuller of actual rules and regulations, beginning with the Ten Commandments, but the process that culminated in them is the gist of Genesis. Dershowitz re-presents 10 stories, from the fall of Adam and Eve to the saga of Joseph and his brothers, and discusses the crucial midrashim, or rabbinic interpretations, made about their import relative to justice. Dershowitz does not merely summarize old opinions and arguments; he adds evidence and lessons from his own law practice to point up the stories' continuing relevance to the practice of justice today. Overall, he shows that there are two distinct developments. First, God grows in understanding of humanity and changes his mind about how to deal with his creation, nowhere more strikingly or with greater implications for justice than when he lets Abraham convince him to spare the few righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah from his destruction of those cities. Second, justice increasingly, though never unequivocally and completely, becomes concerned with individual persons' guilt and innocence rather than collective guilt. And what quality of the Jews enabled them to drive those developments? Why, that tireless assertiveness known as chutzpah--of course. --Ray Olson
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A Harvard Law School faculty member since 1964, Dershowitz is noted for representing controversial and unpopular clients. In addition to tomes on the law and two novels, he wrote a 1987 book prescribing a remedy to save American Jews (The Vanishing American Jew). In this further demonstration of his versatility, he turns to 10 stories from Genesis to demonstrate how the Bible provides a basis for contemporary ideas about justice and injustice. The narratives deal with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Dina, Tamar and Joseph. Dershowitz includes a translation of each story, recounts some theological commentaries and offers his own interpretations. He acknowledges the failings of the biblical characters, pointing out that they were guilty of deception, lust, crime, incest, revenge and murder. Their problematic actions highlighted the need for the laws that appear later in the Torah, starting with Exodus and the Ten Commandments. The book concludes with four chapters on "The Genesis of Justice in the Injustice of Genesis." Dershowitz argues that the "bad actions" depicted in Genesis gave rise to the "common law of justice." He addresses the question of theodicy, claiming that the belief in the hereafter solves the problem of why evil exists on earth. Finally, he asserts that the stories he has examined explain the need for judicial codes. The book makes an important contribution by clearly validating this claim, although Dershowitz disregards the stories' significance as a basis for moral and ethical development. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Harvard law professor Dershowitz has written a dazzling and stimulating commentary on ten Old Testament stories and how they provide the origins for today's laws. In a familiar style that evokes being in a small seminar with the professor, Dershowitz takes ten biblical stories, including those of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Lot, and offers multiple views on their application today. His view is that the Book of Genesis reveals the origins of justice in society. Ranging over such topics as the insanity defense, police corruption, federal sentencing guidelines, and the defense of the guilty, the book provokes the reader to consider God's fairness as well as that of our current justice system. In the best Socratic tradition, Dershowitz (Reversal of Fortune) asks many questions and provides multiple scholarly and commonsense views of the lessons to be learned from the biblical tales. He ends the book with a discussion of the Ten Commandments and shows how they can be traced to the stories of Genesis. For believers of all faiths, as well as nonbelievers, this is an outstanding work.--Harry Charles, Attorney at Law, St. Louis (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
