FINDING OURSELVES IN THE BIBLE

In this nonfiction book, a rabbi revisits ancient texts to find spiritual direction for contemporary life.

According to Fuchs, this work is “the result of more than forty-five years of thought, writing and revision.” The volume’s origins can be traced to 1974 when the Baltimore Board of Rabbis, Conservative and Reform invited the author to teach an introductory course on Judaism to potential converts. With a subsequent half century behind the pulpit, in addition to a prolific career as an influential Jewish lecturer, author, TV commentator, and president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, Fuchs offers readers a sage approach to reading the Bible that rejects religious fundamentalism that holds “that every word reflects unerring historical truth” as well as skeptics who view Jewish Scripture “as little more than fairy tales.” Instead, the author explores a third way, one that reads the Bible not as a historical or literal text, but as moral and ethical instructions. Moving chronologically across the books of Genesis and Exodus, Fuchs begins with the Creation story, wherein he is not concerned with what the narrative tells readers about evolutionary science and “how the world was created.” Instead, he stresses, “it offers invaluable insight as to why.” Emphasizing “sacred time,” the book delivers short chapters that are often no longer than three or four pages, and are designed not to be read cover to cover but to be contemplated. At just 124 pages, this volume gives lay readers a clear account that expertly balances erudite analysis of Scripture with a jargon-free prose that teaches the fundamentals of Judaism without dumbing down its content or belittling the audience. Whether readers are intimately familiar with or brand new to the Tower of Babel, Abraham, Moses, Jethro, and the wandering of the Israelites through the desert, Fuchs delivers wisdom born of a lifetime of study. But curiously for a book that emphasizes the timelessness of biblical morality, it fails to meaningfully apply the stories to today’s pressing social issues, from gay rights to abortion.

A learned yet accessible Jewish reflection on Genesis and Exodus.