'Happily Jewish': 19 thinkers who made Judaism accessible - review

It’s not clear why Michael Levin chose 19 people to feature in his book Happily Jewish, about outstandingly influential Jewish thinkers over the millennia. Eighteen is a more significant number in Judaism. Maybe it reflects the 19 centuries between the destruction of the Second Temple and the founding of the State of Israel, a fact he mentions early on.

Whatever the reason for the 19, Levin has chosen well.

Jewish survival, he contends, isn’t about genes or luck but rather ideas.

“It’s the way that Jews understand the world, and then live by that understanding, that has made us nearly invincible as a people over the course of history,” he writes at the beginning of Happily Jewish.

The book seems geared toward American Jews who may know little about their heritage or its conception of God, though any reader can gain much from its profiles of remarkable people.

Making Judaism accessible to the masses

Levin is not interested in changing anyone’s beliefs, he assures readers. “Instead, I really want you to come away from the book and say, ‘Wow, I had no idea that there was so much brilliant, useful thinking in Judaism about spirituality and about me becoming a better person.’ … Give Judaism the same open-minded attitude that you might give another religious belief system you were encountering somewhere else.” 

The first of the book’s four sections, “Jewish Spirituality,” includes Gateshead Yeshiva founder Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler; The World of Prayer author Rabbi Dr. Elie Munk; Maimonides; Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg; and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

That should give you some idea of the vast range from which Levin has chosen his influencers. Just as striking is that he manages to present, in 10 to 15 pages apiece, a good snapshot of each scholar’s contribution to the ages.

In the chapter on Maimonides, who was a physician, Levin zeros in on one aspect of the Rambam’s “prescription for health and long life”:  saying 100 blessings every day in continuous recognition of the gifts of life.

“Jewish tradition teaches us to identify opportunities for gratitude in every experience – from going to the bathroom to buying a new car. What if we paid attention to what we had? Would we be happier people? Would we need to shop less? Would we feel safer?

“How different would our lives be if we made a practice of giving thanks a hundred times a day for everything that happened in our lives, big and small?”

Section 2, “Jewish Character Development,” includes Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chofetz Chaim); Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto; Rabbi A.Y. Kook; and Rebbitzen Esther Jungreis.

Section 3, “Studying Jewish Texts,” presents a peek at the world-changing writings of King David; Rabbi Jonathan Sacks; Irving Bunim; Gershom Scholem; and Nehama Leibowitz.

Unfortunately, Leibowitz is incorrectly spelled “Liebowitz,” and it’s not the only misspelled name in Happily Jewish. The book’s typos indicate the need for a more thorough proofreading, and I hope these mistakes will be corrected in future editions. This is, after all, only the second book published under the Jewish Leaders imprint.

Levin’s final section, “Judaism on the Practical Things,” focuses on parenting expert Wendy Mogel; The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning author Rabbi Maurice Lamm; Yocheved Debow, the Jerusalem-based author of Talking About Intimacy & Sexuality: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Parents; Rabbi Daniel Lapin, a media personality and author of Thou Shall Prosper: The Ten Commandments for Making Money; and Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.

I’d never heard of Lapin before, and I gleaned a nice nugget from that chapter: “Rabbi Lapin points out that one Talmudic term for money is the word zuz, which is related to the English word meaning move... Money, therefore, is something that naturally moves between people; when it doesn’t, economies can go into recession or fall apart completely.”

THE BOOK is chock full of philosophical and practical gems, the kinds of insights that will make you want to read it with a highlighter in hand. Levin employs an easy, folksy style that makes for enjoyable reading.

Levin peppers these insights with cute anecdotes, such as the winter night in 1981 following a public lecture by Leibowitz when he ran out into the street intending to help her into the waiting taxi. Instead, he gave her the mistaken impression that he was trying to grab the cab for himself.

Levin is to be commended for bringing bits of timeless Jewish wisdom to the casual reader in an accessible, friendly format.

As he writes at the end, “We’ve combed our faith for guidance about everything from spirituality to character-building, from making a living to having a spiritually inclined sex life. We’ve crossed paths with men and women throughout our tradition, and I hope that their guidance, even though some of those lessons are 1,000 or 2,000 or even close to 3,000 years old, still has relevance for you today.” 

HAPPILY JEWISHBy Michael LevinJewish Leaders Books270 pages, $18.95