A Letter in the Scroll
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
April 16, 2004 Free Press
272 pages
Review by: E. Broderick
A Letter In The Scroll by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks is that rarest of things – a radical book written by an Orthodox Rabbi that is easily read and understood by lay people. From the introduction, in which the central premise of the book is laid out, it is clear that A Letter In The Scroll is different than other books I’ve read on Jewish thought and identity. Written in response to a group of students seeking to understand modern Jewish life and identity the Rabbi poses a question – why be Jewish at all?
This might not seem revolutionary to someone who is not Jewish, but for a person born and raised an Orthodox Jew, that question is wild. It almost doesn’t make sense. We’re raised knowing that we are Jewish because we’re born Jewish. There’s no escape, no way to undo it. Our Jewish souls are part and parcel of our existence, even if we wish they weren’t. Even if we no longer practice Judaism at all. It’s a burden so heavy it can at times feel oppressive. Having a Rabbi indicate that being Jewish is in fact a choice – one that should be made with joy and pride – is deeply moving. (A feeling I get every single time I speak with a Jew by choice BTW).
Rabbi Sacks is discussing the phenomenon of Jews across multiple types of Jewish observance choosing to remove themselves from Jewish life and identity, but his compelling answer to the question – why be a Jew at all? – is just as useful for those of us who never entertained leaving Judaism as a possibility.
You can read the book for the answer to that particular question. It would be a disservice to summarize it here when Rabbi Sacks is significantly more eloquent than whatever I’m going to type. Instead I’d like to focus on a few key concepts: that every human was created in the image of God, and the Dignity of Difference. Meaning, in Rabbi Sack’s view, even non Jews deserve respect and care. It’s a concept that too often gets overlooked in favor of “chosen people” rhetoric. As a little girl I always held an idea in my heart that everyone was worshiping the same God in the end, even if we went about it in different ways, including some deeply problematic and harmful ways (crusades anyone?). I never said it out loud because I assumed it was heresy likely to get me criticized for being overly sentimental and naive. That little girl full of love and compassion felt really validated by this book.
I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss the chapters dealing with antisemitism and how Jews have begun to identify themselves in response to it or in spite of it. Although the book was published in 2004, this is especially relevant right now. Of course we’re hemorrhaging members. Who wants to be defined by someone else who keeps changing the rules of the game to your disadvantage? Far better to forget the Jew hatred and instead remember the old Yiddish adage, which I recognized immediately because it was a favorite of my high school Chumash teacher – es gut tzu zein a yid. It’s good to be a Jew.
The Rabbi anticipated the Jewish Joy movement years before it hit hashtag status. It’s good to be a Jew – and we should celebrate that. Not because we’re forced into it but because we are part of a special heritage that teaches us our religion is not about a perfect world. It’s about repairing an imperfect one and in so doing become partners with God. This is our legacy, the ongoing story of our forebears that we seek to continue as letters in their scroll. And it is a joy. So was reading this book.