LITMIR.BIZ

       Preface to the Second Edition

      I remember the day I decided to write this book.

      I was in a branch of the Oakland Public library browsing the new non-fiction books, and there I saw a volume that I’d been hoping to see for years—a book that would explain Judaism to non-Jewish readers.

      Although I’d grown up Jewish in post-World War 2 America, had attended Hebrew school, had a bar mitzvah, I’d never felt comfortable answering many of the questions about Judaism that would come up in conversation with my Christian friends.

      The books about Judaism that I’d come across that purported to accomplish this task—including this one—were never right for some reason. Either they were written by an Orthodox rabbi and did not reflect the more liberal Judaism I knew and lived, or they were too technical and not particularly readable. Why would I recommend such a book to a non-Jewish friend?

      So I began to think. What would an average Christian or Catholic person want to know about Judaism? What would they already know or not know, and how much detail or depth would they want? And who might they be?

      “I’m thinking about writing a book,” I told my wife that night. And so began a seven-year journey from conception to publication.

      The good news was that I had a degree in Communication and had some writing and editing skills. But I’d changed career directions and never put these skills to professional use.

      Fortunately, as I wrote I began to find “my voice” and identified my imaginary reader—an intelligent person, curious about how and why Jews did what they did; someone who was interested in the history of the Jewish People and wanted an overview of Jewish Holidays as well as descriptions of the primary life-cycle events.

      My greatest challenge was (and continues to be) that there exists an extremely wide range of Jewish practice and belief, from ultra-Orthodoxy to ultra-liberalism. The saying goes that if two Jews are discussing a problem, they’ll come up with three opinions.

      But I did my best, and when I finished my first draft I made photocopies of the manuscript and asked friends, family, and strangers for feedback. And boy, did I get it! “What about kosher food?” “You need to talk about the Holocaust! Intermarriage. Conversion. Circumcision. Music. Art. Israel.” I wrote a second draft and repeated the process. By the third round of feedback, including comments from members of the clergy, I thought I was pretty much finished. When Loyola Press agreed to publish the manuscript, they asked for additional changes.

      Almost two more years went by before the book’s release. The big surprise was a “starred review” in Publishers Weekly, which resulted in my little book being acquired by public libraries all over North America.

      This second edition, issued by Stone Bridge Press, allows me to make a few tweaks to the original. But what pleases me most is that I did accomplish what I set out to do—write a book that answers the basic questions: What is Judaism all about? Why do Jews do what they do? What do they believe? And, is Hanukkah the Jewish Christmas?

      The feedback we received from Christian readers was both satisfying and humbling. But I was also happy to find that the book benefited Jewish readers as well, and was used for Introduction to Judaism classes as well as being recommended by rabbis to adults considering conversion.

      Whatever your question, I hope you find some answers here.