In the fifty years since the Holocaust, the Jewish People have felt one overriding concern: survival. The ghosts of the murdered six million, along with the living generation of survivors, have called out the unifying chant, "never again." In 1948, this concern found a second focus in the state of Israel, the ultimate refuge of Jews worldwide. But Rabbi Michael Goldberg finds that these twin pillars of Jewish identity are brittle, and have already begun to crumble; they will not be enough to support or sustain the next generation. The time has come to answer the question: Why should Jews survive?
In this provocative book, Goldberg launches a bold attack on what he calls the "Holocaust cult," challenging Jews to return to a deeper, richer sense of purpose. He argues that this cult--with shrines like the U.S. Holocaust Museum, high priests such as Elie Wiesel, and rites like UJA death camp pilgrimages--is deeply destructive of Jewish identity. As the current "master story" of Judaism, Goldberg writes, the Holocaust has been used to depict Jews as uniquely victimized in human history--transforming them from God's chosen to those who manage to survive despite God's silent complicity in their persecution. This Holocaust-centered, survival-for-survival's-sake Judaism is already showing its emptiness, Goldberg contends; the generation that survived Hitler and founded Israel is dying, and the new generation seems adrift (for instance, one recent survey predicts that 70% of American Jewish marriages will be intermarriages by the turn of the century). Jews need positive reasons for remaining Jewish, he argues; they need to return to the Exodus as their master story--the story of God leading the Jews out of slavery and making with them an eternal covenant that gave the Jews a unique place in God's plan. The Jews should survive, Goldberg concludes, because they are the linchpin in God's redemption of the world.
Rabbi Michael Goldberg has long wrestled with the crisis of identity facing today's Jewish community. In Why Should Jews Survive?, he provides a provocative and powerfully argued challenge to the dominant theme of modern Jewish thought.
Industry Reviews
"Stirring, lucid, and beautifully written."--The Jerusalem Report
"An eloquent, brave call to Jewish covenantal fidelity....Goldberg's erudite passion deserves the ear of the masses."--Kirkus Reviews
"[A] thoughtful and challenging essay."--Publishers Weekly
"This volume deserves attention....[A] provocative and challenging book."--Manna
"A passionate effort to say that in the face of calamity, it remains important to be Jewish."--Moment
"Stirring, lucid, and beautifully written."--The Jerusalem Report
"Goldberg contends that the twin pillars of modern Jewish life--the Holocaust and the State of Israel--have weakened and, in themselves, will not provide a sturdy identity for another generation of Jews. If there is not some more positive, overriding reason for Jews to continue being Jews...they may not survive as a people."--Jewish Exponent
"Provocative....By emphasizing what Hitler was unable to accomplish rather than what he did, Goldberg is trying to pull us all out of an intellectual box and move the discussion forward. If it means that more young Jews will ask more questions and receive better answers about their heritage, Goldberg's iconoclastic book will have a positive impact."--Jonathan Groner, The Washington Post Book World
"The title Goldberg chose for his denunciation of a mentality of victimization among Jews should cause a stir, but not as much as will his arguments. He asserts that it is important to study the Holocaust, yet he laments that the study has taken on almost religious dimensions....It's about time Judaic studies received such an alarming wake-up call."--Aaron Cohen, Booklist
"An eloquent, brave call to Jewish covenantal fidelity....Goldberg's erudite passion deserves the ear of the masses."--Kirkus Reviews
"In his thoughtful and challenging essay, Goldberg ranges through art, theology, and Jewish communal politics, from Schindler's List to Harold Kushner, arguing that the 'most distinctive evidence' of God's presence is that, despite their crimes, the Nazis, 'ultimately failed to murder the Jewish People.'"--Publishers Weekly
"A gutsy and well-written Jeremiah."--Yale Alumni Magazine
