A Conversation with the Author
Your book has been praised for its humanistic and universalist perspective. How do you understand the Jewish notion of covenant in light of other faith communities?
I supposed I am in many ways a universalist. I find it hard to believe that the spiritual and emotional potential of one person is different from that of another just because we have different faiths. So I believe that different faiths are attempts to apprehend the Divine and create around that apprehension an ethical, spiritual way of life. Having said that I feel passionately Jewish true to the center of my being. In fact I feel that the universalist outlook enables me to love Judaism without negating the values of other ways of life.
Do you think the rabbis of the Talmud intended Jewish living to function as a path for spiritual awareness, or do you think spiritual awareness is a by-product of a system that was intended to define a specific code of behavior?
The Talmud is enormous and the rabbis clearly loved the intellectual challenges of difficult cases, borderline definitions and unlikely scenarios but there are passges of the Talmud as well that are deeply imbedded in matters of the spirit and which are concerned with the soul's relationship to God. So the Talmud should be seen as comprehensive.
What books do you recommend to people who are considering conversion to Judaism or want to know more about Jewish life and belief?
Joseph Telushkin's book, Blu Greenberg's How to Run a Jewish Household, books by Harold Kushner, Philip Goodman's anthologies on the individual festivals. Heschel's The Sabbath and The Earth is the Lord's, Schiendlin's History of the Jewish People, Brad Artson's Bedside Torah, Reuven Hammer, Entering Jewish Prayer . And the traditional texts: Torah, Pirkei Avot.
What is theologically challenging in your own personal quest for God?
One of the most difficult things is that nothing is static in spiritual life. There are moments when people feel privileged to experience great beauty and a deep connection with life and with life's source, but there are also times of confusion, loneliness, frustration and sometimes anger. Being in the wilderness is always a spiritual challenge. I don't think in life I ever feel that I'm attentive enough, listen enough, love enough, or have the kind of humility that is really my ideal of a spiritual life.
You weave in many literary sources to your essays. What are your favorite literary works?
I inherited from my mother and grandparents and love of English and European literature. Before I began to study for the rabbinate, Shakespeare was a central passio. I love all poetry I can get a hold of and get into. I always find the Russia novel, particularly Dostoyevsky, particularly gripping But in the last few years I particularly value reading biographies and autobiographies to learn how other people feel about their lives.
What are you working on now?
Being a community rabbi, Finishing a shiva book. Hope to begin another book-length journey soon, looking at the innder word-- heart, conscience, soul, mortaliity. {The sidra sheets}
What challenges have you faced in your work of bringing a Masorti vision to the British Jewish community?
England 's a very establishment country where Orthodox is by far the strongest denomiation with an old and respected Reform movement so the Masorti movement is very much a new family on the block. Having said that, people often voice a need for an apprecation for traditional Judaism with a commitment to the mitzvot, which is at the same time intellectually based on our sources as we now understand them.
You have a great appreciation for the natural world. Do you have a garden?
We've very fortunate to have a huge garden in London . Gardening brought me and my wife together. The garden is always filled with animals. Right now, my children run a pet hotel for congregants who are on holiday. As we speak we have our dog, one guest snake, one rabbit of our own, five guest rabbits, one guest hamster, 18 guinea pigs of our own and a similar number of guest guinea pigs and a few other animals. One of the first things I do in the morning is feed the birds.
Why do you share your author photo with your dog?
I love the dog. My dog has given me trust, love, quiet, and an intuitive sense of the world. I'd feel very lost without him.
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