What your rabbi probably has never told
you, but could—if you’d only ask.
Finalist,
National Jewish Book Award
“Every day I wonder if God is real,
if the Torah is true. Every day I wonder why I’m a Jew.
But that’s part of being Jewish. In the Torah,
we’re called Yisrael—the ones who wrestle with God. Wrestling,
asking, wondering, searching is just what God wants us to do!
God loves good questions. Now tell me, what are your
questions?”
—from chapter 1
In Judaism we’re allowed to ask
questions. We are invited to ask them. But for young people, it
often feels as if no one is willing to take tough questions
about religion, ourselves, and the world seriously.
Tough Questions Jews Ask turns that all around. With honesty, humor, and
respect, Rabbi Edward Feinstein tackles topics as diverse as:
- Why does God let terrible things
happen?
- What is God anyway?
- If I pray for something, will I get
it?
- What’s the meaning of life?
Is that a dumb question?
- Why does religion need so many
rules?
- Why be Jewish?
With insight and wisdom—and without
pretending to have all the answers—Rabbi Feinstein
encourages young people to make sense of the Jewish tradition
by wrestling with what we don’t understand.
“I wish I had this book when I was
young. I’m grateful that the b’nei mitzvah and
their parents in my congregation have it now. Rabbi Feinstein
responds to the tough questions thoughtful Jewish teenagers ask
with wisdom, humor, gentleness, and insight.”
—Rabbi
Laura Geller, senior rabbi, Temple
Emanuel of Beverly Hills, California
“In this remarkable book Rabbi
Feinstein asks all the tough questions and gives them
thoughtful, important, and often surprising answers. I will
keep it by my desk; every Jewish parent seeking answers should
do the same.”
—Rabbi
David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, Los
Angeles, California; author, Teaching
Your Children About God
“Rabbi Feinstein takes us through
those ‘keep-you-up-at-night’ questions—and he
does so with wit and depth. This is the best theology book for
young people that I have read in a long time. It will be
must-reading for confirmation classes and Hebrew high school.
What a treasure!”
—Rabbi
Jeffrey Salkin, author, Putting God on the Guest List: How to Reclaim
the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah and
For Kids—Putting God on Your Guest List: How to Claim the
Spiritual Meaning of Your Bar or Bat Mitzvah
“Rabbi Feinstein is a gifted
listener, a Baal shelah, a master of the question. He is
sensitive to the multiple intelligences of the inquirer and in
answering, raises the dignity of the questioner. This lucid and
accessible work is not for young adults alone; it is an
empathetic guide to the parents of the perplexed.”
—Rabbi
Harold M. Schulweis, author, For Those Who Can’t Believe
“A masterpiece in Jewish education.
It offers new and powerful insights without pretending to
provide the solution for the questions that in reality ought to
always accompany a thoughtful Jewish life. Ed Feinstein is a
master educator and he has written a book that is a gift for
teenagers and adults alike.”
—Rabbi
Donniel Hartman, co-director,
Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem
