Y’all Come

First Word

Not so long ago and not so far away, a certain high-placed U.S. politician, a male, became the subject of a much publicized investigation due to a grossly distasteful dalliance in which he had supposedly engaged with a young, female government intern. In one session of those hearings, a lawyer asked that gentleman, “Is such-and-such true about your relationship with Miss _________ ?”

The politician answered with one of the most infamous one-liners in the history of American politics. It went something like, “Well, that depends on what your definition of ‘is’ is.” Say what ?????

Nearly a generation has walked across the American landscape since that bit of political theater occurred. Today, the young intern has regained most of her former anonymity, the politician has been largely rehabilitated in the national vision, and the collective cry of disbelief and disgust we uttered after his verbal acrobatics has almost stopped echoing in the national ear. But we’ve learned our lesson. Sometimes it’s important to know what “is” is and what “is” isn’t. It’s an understanding which will make this book more useful. Please allow me offer you a brief description of what you have before you.

What “Is” Isn’t

First, this is not a scholarly book, even though quite a bit of research was involved in putting it together. I cannot claim to be a scholar. I do not have the rigorous educational background; nor do I have access to primary sources. The best I can claim is that this is a thoughtful book. But scholarly? Nope! Probably not.

But maybe that’s okay. I am convinced that what the world really needs today, especially the religious community, is not another scholarly tome. Basically, scholars write for other scholars. They read each other. They learn from each other. Then they write more books in which they criticize each other. Oh, my!

At this point, however, let me not lead you into error. Scholars are important. I am convinced that G-d created scholars on the second day. Remember! The sun, moon, and stars didn’t come along until the fourth day. So, what was the divine illumination which contrasted with the darkness on day two? It had to be scholars. G-d crammed the firmament full of really bright people, catalogued them according to field of expertise, and mapped where they could be easily found and put to use. After that, whenever earth creatures needed new knowledge - how to start a fire, how to turn a wheel, an understanding of formgeschichte1, or production of a 64 gig flash drive - G-d would zap a scholar out of the firmament onto the earth to produce the desired effect. I have scriptural backing on this point. Pause for a moment to read Proverbs 8:1, 22-31. G-d called it good. (Here, I probably should append a smiley face or another icon which denotes tongue in cheek.)

We should understand, however, that religious scholars could not do their important work without some help from co-workers who are equally important, even if somewhat less celestial. At some point, thoughtful non-scholars have to start melting down the academic ice berg into a form which can be used by the folks in the pews of our synagogues and churches. That’s why G-d created rabbis and preachers: thoughtful folks, (perhaps scholarly too) who can help their flocks understand the lofty scholarship and put it to use in their everyday walk with G-d and neighbor along paths which are often meek and lowly.

As a final disclaimer, it should be understood that this book is not an evangelistic effort. It does not seek to convert Jews to Christianity, or vice versa. In fact, this book’s best result might move in exactly the opposite direction. It might serve to help both Jews and Christians better appreciate their own religious tenets and become more faithful to them.

That moves us toward the second half of our description.