Jewish theology, "God-Talk," as it's sometimes called, lies at the heart of Judaism, as David Novak tells us in the title he has chosen for this latest of his many books. Yet, despite the centrality of theology, many who are entrusted with developing, sharing, and passing on to new generations the religious commitments so central to Jewish belief and practice shy away from speaking, writing, or teaching about God. Some prefer to focus on Talmudic study. Others choose to sublimate by airing their ideological/political commitments, as though the unique teachings of Judaism had no more to tell us than we might have absorbed almost passively from the ambient atmosphere of familiar nostrums, or garnered from the passing wagons of the peddlers of exotic elixirs. David Novak has the learning and the courage to voice his Judaic commitments clearly here: Long immersed in the Aggadic literature that is the vehicle of Judaic theology, he is ready to elicit from its texts, classical and modern, what he finds (and is prepared to argue) that Judaism calls on Jews to see and hear and think about God. He invites his readers on a journey of discovery guided by the recognition that God speaks to us through the Torah, and that we in turn are called to speak to God in turn, through prayer. Perhaps the richest part of his book lies in its extensive references to the rabbinic literature that it cites. Readers who take the trouble to follow up on the extensive notes that enrich this text will find themselves in the great midrashic woodlands where Novak has traveled for decades.

With him as a guide, they too will find themselves at home and will gain a judgment like his, that will enable them to journey and grow all the stronger and more independent spiritually. rough the Torah, and that we in turn are called to speak to God in turn, through prayer. Perhaps the richest part of his book lies in its extensive references to the rabbinic literature that it cites. Readers who take the trouble to follow up on the extensive notes that enrich this text will find themselves in the great midrashic woodlands where Novak has traveled for decades. With him as a guide, they too will find themselves at home and will gain a judgment like his, that will enable them to journey and grow all the stronger and more independent spiritually.repared to argue) that Judaism calls on Jews to see and hear and think about God. He invites his readers on a journey of discovery guided by the recognition that God speaks to us through the Torah, and that we in turn are called to speak to God in turn, through prayer. Perhaps the richest part of his book lies in its extensive references to the rabbinic literature that it cites.

Readers who take the trouble to follow up on the extensive notes that enrich this text will find themselves in the great midrashic woodlands where Novak has traveled for decades. With him as a guide, they too will find themselves at home and will gain a judgment like his, that will enable them to journey and grow all the stronger and more independent spiritually.rough the Torah, and that we in turn are called to speak to God in turn, through prayer. Perhaps the richest part of his book lies in its extensive references to the rabbinic literature that it cites. Readers who take the trouble to follow up on the extensive notes that enrich this text will find themselves in the great midrashic woodlands where Novak has traveled for decades. With him as a guide, they too will find themselves at home and will gain a judgment like his, that will enable them to journey and grow all the stronger and more independent spiritually.rich this text will find themselves in the great midrashic woodlands where Novak has traveled for decades. With him as a guide, they too will find themselves at home and will gain a judgment like his, that will enable them to journey and grow all the stronger and more independent spiritually.