THE NO-STATE SOLUTION

A Talmudic scholar who is disenchanted with Israel’s current injustices against Palestinians vows to support Jewish identity and culture through diaspora.

Boyarin, who has authored many books about Judaism and comparative religion, believes that the Jewish identity is shaped less by ethnicity and nationality than by common narratives, languages, and practices. As a young man, the author was deeply engaged in the Zionist socialist youth movement, which imbued him with a deep sense of social justice for everyone. After serving in the Army Reserves in Israel, he lived and studied there for 20 years, raising a family. During that time, he began to realize that Israel was not committed to social justice. Living in the U.S. for the past 30 years, he is ever dedicated to Talmudic study and Jewish culture. In this “manifesto,” the author looks at how two ideals—a prosperous nation-state and commitment to social justice for all—can be achieved. Probing thorny issues with aplomb, Boyarin questions a variety of concepts of Judaism as a religion and Jews as a people. Ultimately, he demonstrates the significance of what binds all Jews and makes them what they are: “shared trials and tribulations…shared practices, shared languages, and other cultural forms.” He emphasizes the importance of the Talmud and the lively dialogue that it has engendered across time and space. “Ideas are generated out of quotations, quotations contested, amended, emended, combined, and renewed.” The author draws insightful comparisons to Black learning, identity, and isolation. As jazz is to Black vernacular, so is Talmudic diaspora learning to Jewish sociality. Boyarin is clearly committed to eliminating labels about religion and state, and he will inspire like-minded readers with his focus on “just Jews, singing, dancing, speaking, and writing in Hebrew, Yiddish, Judezmo, learning the Talmud in all sorts of ways, fighting together for justice for Palestinians and Black Lives Matter.”

A self-consciously radical statement that is both astute and joyous.