“This book is a blessing, a sublime meditation on hope, an erudite feast of Jewish wisdom, and a wellspring of surprising, subversive, deeply satisfying epiphanies about the relationship between hope and all the emotions and experiences that comprise a life of meaning.”—Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author of Deborah, Golda, and Me: Being Female and Jewish in America
“Serious, well‑reasoned, literate, and uplifting, Choosing Hope should be in a great many hands and hearts.”—Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, scholar‑in‑residence, Congregation Emanu‑El in San Francisco
“Former clinical psychologist Arnow . . . unearths the hopefulness baked into Judaism in this stimulating [work].”—Publishers Weekly
Throughout our history, Jews have traditionally responded to our trials with hope, psychologist David Arnow says, because we have had ready access to Judaism’s abundant reservoir of hope. The first book to plumb the depths of this reservoir, Choosing Hope journeys from biblical times to our day to explore nine fundamental sources of hope in Judaism:
- Teshuvah—the method to fulfill our hope to become better human beings
- Tikkun Olam—the hope that we can repair the world by working together
- Abraham and Sarah—models of persisting in hope amid trials
- Exodus—the archetype of redemptive hope
- Covenant—the hope for a durable relationship with the One of Being
- Job—the “hard-fought hope” that brings a grief-stricken man back to life
- World-to-Come—the sustaining hope that death is not the end
- Israel—high hope activists work to build a just and inclusive society for all Israelis
- Jewish Humor—“hope’s last weapon” in our darkest days
Grounded in contemporary theology that situates the responsibility for creating a better world in human hands, with God acting through us, Choosing Hope can help us both affirm hope in times of trial and transmit our deepest hopes to the next generation.
About the Author
David Arnow, Ph.D. is a psychologist and a scholar of the festival of Passover. He is the author (davidarnowauthor.com) of Creating Lively Passover Seders: A Sourcebook of Tales, Texts & Activities, co-editor of My People’s Passover Haggadah, and co-author of Leadership in the Bible: A Practical Guide for Today. View his website.
Title: Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism Publisher: Jewish Publication Society (Essential Judaism Series) ISBN: 978‑0‑8276‑1520‑5, 328 pgs. $30, Pub. Date: March 1, 2022