Many years ago, as a student in Rabbi Shlomo Riskin’s yeshiva, I had the privilege of attending his Talmud class.
We all loved it, but one summer’s day a classmate took a break and skipped class. The rabbi immediately noticed his absence. Turning to me, he asked where he was.
What could I say? I didn’t want to betray my friend. Hoping to deflect the question, I adopted the words of Cain. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” I ventured.
Rabbi Riskin smiled, then delivered his gentle rebuke. “Gideon, you’ve missed the entire point of the story. The answer to God’s question is ‘Yes. Yes, you are responsible for your brother.’”
That message, delivered over 30 years ago, has stayed with me ever since. It encapsulates Rabbi Riskin’s worldview, with its emphasis on love, responsibility, and community.
These principles informed his rabbinate at New York’s Lincoln Square Synagogue and as the rabbi of Efrat.
They also underlie the Ohr Torah Stone network of schools, yeshivot, and seminaries, which he founded in 1983, and continue to educate thousands of students, from schoolchildren and students with special needs to rabbinic scholars.
Summing up the teachings of a rabbinic giant
Reading Rabbi Riskin’s latest book, Judaism: A Love Story, I felt as though I was returning to his classroom. It is a wonderful summing-up of his teachings.
The book opens with an exposition of his philosophy that every person is precious because each one of us was created in the divine image.
“Judaism,” he tells us, “is not merely a religion of law and ritual; it is a love story between the Jewish people and their compassionate God.”
In the following chapters, he draws on the Bible, Talmud, Midrash, and a wealth of secular scholarship to guide us on a journey through the Jewish year. Each chapter focuses on a different fast or festival, sharing its theological and national messages.
Rabbi Riskin states that one of his goals in writing the book was to encourage greater religious commitment. While that might sound intimidating, he never preaches and is never patronizing. On the contrary, he has deep sensitivity to human frailty, and he believes God does, too.
In his chapter on Yom Kippur, for example, he addresses those who struggle to live up to Judaism’s high standards. He shares a poignant midrash likening us to a tenant farmer who promised to deliver a bountiful harvest but produced only a modest crop. When the landowner accused the farmer of breaking his promise, the farmer explained his failure: “What could I do? You gave me poor-quality land – no one could have produced more from it!”
The midrash suggests that when confronted with our spiritual shortcomings, we, too, may turn to God and say, “You created us with flaws and temptations – how could we help but stumble?” It’s a message rich with compassion and understanding, but it also reminds us that Yom Kippur is a time for taking responsibility, seeking forgiveness, and renewing our relationship with God.
Indeed, for Rabbi Riskin, Judaism is all about our partnership with God. Discussing Shavuot, he explains that the second set of tablets that Moses received after the sin of the golden calf came with greater holiness than the first set because Moses hewed them himself, reflecting human input into God’s Torah.
The rabbi’s combination of deep sensitivity, creativity, and total fidelity to Orthodox Judaism is the hallmark of his teaching. He reinterprets ancient traditions through a contemporary lens, offering insights that resonate today – especially within the context of the modern State of Israel.
For example, he connects Passover and Shavuot to Independence Day and Jerusalem Day. He suggests that Passover, when we escaped from persecution and slavery in Egypt, parallels the freedom Jews gained when we established a sovereign Jewish state in 1948. Shavuot, when we received the Torah, which gives spiritual purpose to our newfound freedom, he argues, parallels Jerusalem Day, which celebrates the time when Israel liberated its holiest sites in Jerusalem and Hebron, reconnecting us with our spiritual and historical heart.
He traces that same positivity in the Torah reading for the week of Tu Bishvat, which describes how the Jewish slaves held a Passover Seder in Egypt with matzot and bitter herbs on the eve of the exodus. In doing so, they celebrated the first indications of freedom and gave thanks for their redemption even before they packed up their matzot and left.
These are wonderful messages of optimism and hope that are especially meaningful during our current challenging times.
As these examples demonstrate, Rabbi Riskin’s ideas are positive and inspirational. They are expressed in the book in clear and engaging language, interspersing deep Torah with engaging anecdotes, making it a joy to read. His explanations of the festivals will benefit the beginner, while his original insights will challenge seasoned scholars.
This is a book that will open readers’ hearts and minds to Rabbi Riskin’s vision of Judaism, not just as a religion but as a profound and enduring love story.
The reviewer is a long standing student of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin who currently serves as the British United Synagogue’s Rabbi in Israel. Prior to making aliyah, he served as Rabbi of Radlett United Synagogue in London.
- JUDAISM: A LOVE STORY
- By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Maggid
- 304 pages; $30