A window into the Jewish understanding of
God throughout
history and today—written especially
for Christians.
In Jewish Scripture—Christianity's
foundation—God's presence is everywhere: in nature, in
history, and in the range of human experience. Yet the
Torah, Maimonides, and 4,000 years of Jewish tradition all
agree on one thing: that God is beyond any form of human
comprehension. How, then can Judaism be so crowded with
descriptions and images of God? And what can they mean to
the ways Christians understand their own faith?
In this special book, Rabbi Neil Gillman
guides you through these questions and the countless different
ways the Jewish people have related to God, how each originated
and what each may mean for you. Whether you are Christian,
Muslim, or even Jewish, this nuts-and-bolts introduction will
both answer your questions—and stimulate new ones.
A theologian who writes as a great
teacher, Gillman addresses the key concepts at the heart of
Judaism’s approach to God. From Ein Sof (Infinity) to
Shekhinah (Presence), Gillman helps you understand what the
search for knowing God itself says about Jewish tradition and
how you can use the fundamentals of Judaism to strengthen,
explore, and deepen your own spiritual foundations.
• God Is Echad (Unique)
• God Is Power
• God Is Person
• God Is
Nice—Sometimes
• God Is Not
Nice—Sometimes
• God Can Change
• God Creates
• God Reveals
• God Redeems
Praise for Rabbi Neil Gillman and his work
"Erudite but approachable."
—Reform
Judaism
"[Gillman's] examination of texts
brings him to accept inconsistencies and to highlight
discrepancies between popular images of God and God's portrayal
in classical Jewish sources."
—Publishers
Weekly starred review
"The name Israel, according to the
popular etymology of Genesis 32, means 'He wrestles with God.'
Rabbi Gillman evokes the age-long Jewish wrestling with the God
of Israel, a God of daunting contradictions, in brilliantly
clear prose which cuts though the gordian knots of centuries of
philosophical thought to make the most profound issues
accessible to modern readers, Jewish as well as
Christian."
—Dr.
Eugene Fisher, Secretariat for
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops
