Thinking About God (Rabbi Kari Tuling) -- A Review

 

THINKING ABOUT GOD: Jewish Views (JPS Essential Judaism Series). By Rabbi Kari H. Tuling. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2020. Xxxi + 387 pages.

                As a Christian, my thinking about God is channeled through Jesus, whom I affirm to be the Word of God incarnate (John 1:1-14). That said, my Christian understanding of God is rooted in texts that emerge out of Judaism. Therefore, if I am to understand who God is, I would be well-advised to consider Jewish views of God. What I mean to say is that the earliest Christians, the ones who produced the New Testament, were, for the most part, Jews who came to follow Jesus, who was Jewish. They depended on what Christians call the Old Testament, which is known among Jews as the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. Thus, we share Scriptures, even if we interpret them differently at points. Just as Christians have traditions that embody and interpret Sacred Scripture, the same is true for Jews.

                In her book Thinking about God, Rabbi Kari H. Tuling takes us through a series of questions that speak to how Jews understand God. Hearing these views explicated is truly helpful, for Tuling brings to the conversation another way of looking at shared texts. What we learn is that although the text of Sacred Scripture, especially the Torah, is fixed, the same is not true of its interpretation and application. Thus, the Rabbis determined that the interpretation of Scripture belonged to them and that it should be adjudicated by the majority, even, interestingly enough, if the dissenter could claim God's endorsement (p. 358).

                The book has its origins in a course taught at the University of Cincinnati titled "Thinking about God: Jewish Views.” Tuling proceeds with her task with the understanding that there is a diverse tapestry of thought within Judaism. To communicate her message, Tuling organizes the conversation topically, doing so while covering the "full span of Jewish history" and by taking an "intertextual approach by highlighting the interplay between texts over time and how the later texts participate in the ongoing process of Jewish commentary" (p. xxvi). As you can see this course of study is very text-oriented.

                Tuling divides the ten chapters of the book into four parts or sections. She begins each chapter by stating three questions. The first question is answered with more depth and the latter two are given briefer exposition. The way she develops the chapters and parts reflects a recognition that there are differences of interpretation and understandings of God within Judaism. She notes that while Judaism is monotheistic, the Hebrew Bible shows traces of monolatry (worship of one God, while recognizing that there are other gods). I appreciate her use of the word monolatry, which focuses on the worship of one God, without assuming that there is only one God. Contextually this is probably a better word than henotheism that has a more doctrinal sense to it.  

                Part 1 is titled "Is God the Creator and Source of All Being—including evil? In two chapters, Tuling explores the question of God's role in creation, beginning with a biblical view, and then she takes us through a series of interpretive responses. These start with the liturgy of Judaism, then the ancient rabbinic view, a medieval interpretation, and finally two modern views. This is followed by a summary section and then two more sections that deal with questions of the seven-day creation and the intended role of humanity within creation. This pattern is largely followed throughout the book. Bible, liturgy, rabbinic view, medieval view, modern view, followed by a summary statement. Finally, she addresses the two remaining questions, though in much briefer space. The second chapter in Part One focuses on the question of evil and its origins if God the creator is good. Regarding the nature of sin, Tulling comments that for Jews, “sin is not a state of being.” People make mistakes and God holds them accountable, but biblically the origin and continuation of sin is something for which there are various answers, even within Scripture (pp. 35-36). There is not just one view on this matter within Judaism nor in Christianity, though both affirm that the creation is in its origins good. Thus, God is not the cause of evil but is a result of free will. For many Jews (and growing numbers of Christians) the presence of evil requires a rethinking of God’s omnipotence.

                Chapters three through five develop the question of whether God has a personality as opposed to being an impersonal force. Thus, chapter three asks the question of whether God is like a person. Then there is a chapter on whether God has gender. Part of the conversation here speaks to questions of how Scripture is read and translated. Then finally, there is the question of what is meant in the declaration that God is one. Regarding the final question, on the oneness of God, we are reminded of the importance of the Shema in defining Jewish understandings. Regarding this emphasis within Judaism, Tuling notes that “when we try to define God—to tame our God-concepts so they might be comprehensive—we tend to imagine things that are not God. Affirming the singularity and uniqueness of God helps us to recognize that God is so much bigger, and grander, than our comprehensions” (p. 166). Even a Trinitarian, such as am I, can agree with this!

                Part Three seeks to answer the question of whether God redeems or whether God might not redeem. This section incorporates two chapters. The first is more personal—it asks the question of how God might intervene in our lives. Among the questions addressed in this chapter concern whether God acts on behalf of the Jewish community and whether the creation of the modern state of Israel is evidence of divine providence. Then, in chapter seven, the question is whether God intervenes in history. While the questions found in the first of these chapters focuses on the Jewish community, in the second she takes a wider view but doesn’t leave aside her concern for the Jewish community. Thus, in these two chapters, she addresses the question of suffering, especially Israel's suffering. That includes the question of the Holocaust.

                Finally, in Part Four the remaining three chapters address the question of whether God is a covenantal partner and lawgiver. Additionally, she asks whether these roles can be rethought in our modern age. As a Christian, I live with the assumption that God has made several covenants, some like that with Noah on behalf of all humanity, and the one at Sinai with a particular people. What is interesting here is the discovery that within Judaism the question of the nature of that covenant is being debated. So, chapter 8 addresses the question of the relationship between God and Israel. Chapter 9 speaks to the question of whether the covenant remains binding, especially if God didn't write the Bible, as to whether how the covenant is to be understood in the context of living peacefully in a pluralistic world. Finally, in chapter 10, she addresses the question of how revealed law should be understood. Here the question of interpretation comes into full view -- including the assumption that it is to be interpreted according to a rabbinic majority.

                In many ways this can be read as a reference book, providing answers to specific questions. We are reminded that Judaism is not monolithic. As I’ve been told many times by my Jewish friends, there isn't just one Jewish view of anything. By taking a more historical look at these questions, taking them from Scripture down through various traditions to the present, we get a true sense of that diversity. While the book is written for a Jewish audience, it is written in a way that I, as a non-Jew, could understand what she was laying out. Yes, it is filled with insider language, but it's not overwhelming. And speaking as a Christian historian, theologian, and pastor, I recommend that my Christian sisters and brothers check Rabbi Tuling’s book Thinking About God. Not only will you develop a new appreciation for Judaism, but you might also gain a new understanding of the Christian faith. You might also read Scripture differently.