Hope is Baked Into Judaism ... Really
Our Torah, Our Culture, Our Traditions Can See Us Through These Hard Times
You wouldn’t know it by tuning in to the news, but Jews around the world can find reason for hope. No, you won’t find hope necessarily in the headlines or on your Twitter feed, but you’ll find it embedded in our Torah, our Talmud, our culture, and our traditions. Forget what you hear about the vengeful “Old Testament” God who is constantly pissed off at His “stiff-necked” people. Our God is one of hope. Even if you’re a “cultural Jew” who doesn’t believe in God, you’ll still find it in our culture despite generations of tsuris.
I’ve been thinking about this concept of Jewish hope not only as I grow depressed at the daily news feed on the rise in antisemitism, but because I recently reviewed a book on this subject for Publishers Weekly. You can read my review of Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism, by David Arnow, here.
Unfortunately, PW doesn’t give me a lot of space, so I thought I’d reprint for you the unedited version of my review. Read further, and have hope.
Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism, by David Arnow, a psychologist whose previous books focused on the Jewish holiday of Passover, dispels the image of a harsh Old Testament God ruling over a suffering Jewish people by outlining nine fascinating and informative ways there is a surprising amount of hope baked into Judaism.
Arnow separates Choosing Hope into nine disparate sections—each one a Biblical story, a rabbinical concept, a Jewish belief, and even a cultural tendency—and illustrates how each has its roots, practices, and interpretations grounded in the idea of hope. It’s an idea that even many Jews are not aware of, he says.
“Jews know in their kishkas that if their ancestors had responded to their circumstances with despair instead of hope, the Jewish people would have vanished from the earth long ago,” Arnow writes. “And yet, with all this going for them, many Jews find it difficult to tap into Judaism as a font of hope.”
The nine sections illustrate exactly how Jewish scripture, stories, and culture align with the concept of hope. They are:
Teshuvah (Repentance), which “embodies the hope that we can change.”
Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World), which emphasizes the importance of human action in creating and strengthening hope.
Abraham and Sarah, both of whom embody God’s hope to create a perfect society by founding a nation.
The Exodus, which fulfills the Jews’ “deepest hopes to build a world that rejects oppression and treats each of us as an image of God.”
The Covenant, which promises that “regardless of whatever suffering the people endure, redemption lies ahead.”
The Book of Job, which is a lot less pessimistic than thought because of how Job “wanders between hope and despair, ultimately choosing hope and managing to begin a new life.”
Jewish Concept of the Afterlife, which even many Jews are surprised exists at all, but it’s our messianic hopes that keep us committed to the task of repairing the world despite times of despair.
Israel, the physical embodiment of hope despite internal struggles over what kind of country the Jewish State should be.
Jewish Humor, which Arnow calls the “currency of hope” in that it strengthens our social bonds if only to look at the ridiculousness of misery and incongruity.
Each section thoroughly examines these categories, from their roots in Torah or Talmud to how they’re viewed and practiced today. The section on Israel is the only one that breaks form and introduces subsections featuring other voices on various aspects of Israeli politics, life, and culture. It is almost a book within a book and attempts to tackle too many ideas that seem beyond the scope of this work.
Even though Arnow does admirable work in explaining most of the basic concepts, this is not a book for beginners. There are many arcane references to Talmudic discussions. Those who are already well-versed in Jewish law, tradition, and custom would benefit the most and probably learn a few new things along the way.
Choosing Hope succeeds best when it spurs thought about alternative ways of looking at stories we thought we already knew. Arnow grabs familiar ideas, examines them in unique ways, and shows us how we can all view them in the light of newfound hope.
Coming soon on my Emet-Truth: More “writer’s cuts” of my work and content you won’t find anywhere else. I’m working on pieces now on a pro-Palestinian politician in Michigan (No. Not that one. Another one!), a groundbreaking Holocaust-education book, and an interview with an author who discovered an unlikely group of people who were punching Nazis before it was cool. Stay tuned, tell your friends, and subscribe!