In the debut issue of the Jewish Review of Books, Lance Sussman tackles perhaps the foremost question facing American Jewry: With participation in Jewish institutions in precipitous decline, how can American Jewry be sustained? Particularly perplexing, Orthodox Judaism in America maintains its popularity, while Reform and Conservative Jewry are being abandoned by high numbers. Sussman accesses this question through a recently published book, Contemporary American Judaism: Transformation and Renewal, by Dana Evan Kaplan.
In separate essays, Ron Rosenbaum explores Bob Dylan's (or Zimmerman's, his real name) Jewishness--and the Jewish people's relationship with Dylan. Hillel Halkin reveals the passion and beauty in the prayer book, particularly the Koren Sacks Siddur. Michael Weingrad explores the lack of mythology in Jewish literature, in clever essay titled " Why There Is No Jewish Narnia."
I won't spoil the magazine, but I will say that I'm particularly taken by the optimism underlying all the essays. Indeed, the whole magazine is really a hopeful pursuit. It's worth a read. And it's exciting to know that there's a new publication that seeks to examine such serious issues seriously.
You can read the Jewish Review of Books at www.jewishreviewofbooks.com.