In the course of the last few weeks, I've had occasion to read a book that I'd like to bring to your attention. The book, called, The Beginnings of Jewishness, was written by Shaye J.D. Cohen, who was one of my own doctoral advisors many years ago when I was working on my Ph.D. at the Seminary. Years later, he moved to Brown University, where he taught for several years, and then to Harvard, where he currently serves as director of the Jewish studies program. He is a very clever guy! And a very erudite one too...and also a talented author. The book itself is exceptional.

On the first night of Shavuot, many Shelter Rockers gathered together to devote an evening to Torah study. This evening, called a Tikkun Leil Shavuot, was devoted this year to questions relating to Jewish identity and to the meaning of Jewishness. It was, I think, a very stimulating, interesting evening, and one that opened up all sorts of questions and issues to many of the participants. I myself came away thinking about some of the texts we reviewed in different ways, and possessed of new insights into some of the most basic questions surrounding the question of what it means, ultimately, to be a Jew. I hope the others present enjoyed the evening as much as I did. We'll try to plan a similar evening next year, and I hope even more of you are in attendance.

To prepare for the evening, I reread Shaye Cohen's book. It was first published by the University of California Press in 1999, then reprinted in a softcover edition in 2000. I haven't really looked at it since then, but my own studies have made a lot of what he writes about more personally relevant to me now than I recall finding it when I first looked at it. And this time it struck me as something very worth bringing to your attention. Cohen is a master not only of rabbinic tradition, but also a first-rate linguist whose knowledge of Greek and Latin sources is exemplary. Because of his ability to control so many different kinds of ancient literature, his discussion of the core concepts in play--what it means to call someone a Jew, what it means precisely to say that "it" (meaning Jewishness) comes to a baby through its mother, what conversion to Judaism is really all about (and why and how it works), and what the relationship between Judaism and Jewishness actually is--is exceptionally interesting. This is a man who does not think it sufficient to deal with a thorny issue in Jewish life merely by endlessly repeating slogans and platitudes, but one who prefers to get to the bottom of things the old-fashioned way: by analyzing the literary texts bequeathed to us by the ancients carefully, thoughtfully, skillfully, and with the greatest sensitivity, and by then attempting to synthesize his findings into a coherent whole. It's not the easiest read, but it is well worth the effort. I can't recall ever reading a book on this topic that so deftly treated the sources and so plausibly, and reasonably, used them to come to rational, interesting conclusions. I recommend it all to you very highly!

I generally conclude my year of writing articles for the Shelter Rock bulletin by recommending some books for summer reading. This year is no exception--as you will all see in a few weeks when you receive the June bulletin. But I'd like to use this forum to recommend books to you from time to time as well, works that you might otherwise not come across and which I personally have found to be stimulating and intelligent. Shaye Cohen's book is the one that I've just finished, but I'm always reading something...usually several somethings at once...and I'll be pleased to tell you whenever I come across something I think many of you would enjoy.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Martin S. Cohen