Episode 87: Rabbi Rifat Sonsino writes about God

Religions emphasize, in different measure at different times and for different reasons, belief/theology and practice/ritual/tradition. 

Judaism, in general, is a religion that focuses more on practice than belief. And it famously has multiple ways to remain “tied in” to the ethnoreligious tribe: To be Jewish is to do Jewish religion, to be Jewish is to be a part of the tribal nation of Israel (as differentiated from the secular state today), and to be Jewish is to be a part of the tribe of Jewish people. Religion. Nation. Tribe. 

Traditionally, you are a Jew whether you believe in God or not, but other religions aren’t so forgiving on the point. Can you be a Christian without believing Christ is Lord? Can you be a Muslim if you don’t believe Muhammad was a prophet? But you can deny God and remain in the Jewish people. 

All that to say, when I was studying for conversion more than 20 years ago, one of my favorite books was not about the practice of Judaism, but the range of belief systems available to those under the umbrella of Judaism: Finding God by Rabbi Rifat Sonsino. When a student of mine said she was questioning the existence of the Jewish God, I offered her parents a few books to read with her, and one of them was this one. I was happy to see Rabbi Sonsino had updated the book as well as written others. 

When I reached out to him, and this was me really reaching for the stands, I was thrilled to hear he’d talk to me about theology and his books. This podcast episode is the result. 

If you’re interested in Jewish theology and thinking about God in general, our conversation will be interesting and enlightening. If you, like Rabbi Sonsino, find the rational/scientific/modern world is quite impressive, and your ideas about God are flavored or curtailed by that, Rabbi Sonsino is your jam. 

In the ideal world, you’d want to read more after hearing this. Great! Start with Rabbi Sonsino himself. His blog is free and updated at least monthly. 

Want to dig into books covering the wide range of Jewish theology in Rabbi Sonsino’s bibliography? Consider: 

• Finding God: Selected Responses (Behrman House); 

• or The Many Faces of God (Behrman House), which relies on wonderfully chosen direct excerpts from modern thinkers. 

Interested in Rabbi Sonsino’s own exploration of theology and the God-wrestling he describes in this episode? Try: 

• 6 Jewish Spiritual Paths: A Rationalist Looks at Spirituality (Jewish Lights); 

• And God Spoke These Words: The Ten Commandments and Contemporary Ethics (Behrman House), a perfect one for Christians and Jews who draw from these teachings;  

• or, last but not least, his most recent book, A God We Can Believe In, co-written with Rabbi Richard Agler. This comes with a lengthy, free book-club-like set of discussion questions to put the book’s content to work for you in rolling the idea of God around in your own head. 

Whether you believe in God, believe in something god-like, or think the idea has outlived its usefulness, well, hear what Rabbi Sonsino has to say first ...