Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin explores Judaism’s most famous nonbiblical story--Abraham’s shattering of his father’s gods--and describes how this legend has become a model for Jewish views on the world.
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin is the author of numerous books, including Righteous Gentiles in the Hebrew Bible: Ancient Role Models for Sacred Relationships and Putting God on the Guest List, winner of the 1993 Benjamin Franklin Award for the best religion book published in the United States.
Table of Contents
Introduction vii
1 Out of Ur 1
2 Abraham the Iconoclast 17
3 Which Gods Shall We Break Today? 33
4 Three Paths to the Sacred 49
5 The Primal Trauma of the Jewish People 65
6 (Re) Embracing Terah 81
7 From Broken Idols to Broken Tablets 101
8 The Sound of Broken Glass: Jewish Iconoclasm and Anti-Semitism 115
Notes 135
Bibliography 149
What People are Saying About This
Norman J. Cohen
“Jeffrey Salkin takes us on a magical journey through Jewish history and texts, showing us how a simple, ancient postbiblical tale is essential for our understanding of the totality of the Jewish experience. It is full of insights that will challenge how we as readers view modern society and the idolatries that are inherent in it.”—Norman J. Cohen, rabbi and professor of Midrash at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, and author of Masking and Unmasking Ourselves
David J. Wolpe
“Can a single story unfold the history of a nation and some of the deepest truths of tradition? Yes, if that story is the rabbis’ tale of Abraham and its interpreter is Rabbi Salkin. There is much to learn in this absorbing, important book.”—David J. Wolpe, rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and the author of Why Faith Matters