WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK
THEOLOGY AS SONG AND DANCE AND PRAYER
Theology is a dance of heart and mind with neither leading but both responding to each other as together they spin and turn and circle through life. It is a beautiful dance, and, though its steps and rhythms vary from dancer to dancer, we do not dance alone. If our arms are open, we can find partners and teachers whose steps match our own.
Serving the Jewish community as a rabbi and as a chaplain, I soon discovered that I was more than a theological dancer. People began calling on me to guide them in their dance and I felt that choreographing others’ dances without being able to describe my own would be irresponsible. Therefore, I embarked on an exploration of my faith, hoping to bring clarity to my Judaism. This search gave birth to my new manuscript, “I AM”: A Journey in Jewish Faith, my attempt to examine and articulate the spiritual and theological foundations upon which my life as a Jew and work as a rabbi rest.
Since my goal was to describe my personal faith, my search started at the point where people first turn toward God — the moment of prayer. I began my investigation with the Shema, the six-word declaration of Jewish faith, because it was among the first Hebrew prayers I learned, and it is a prayer that still plays a central role in my prayer life as a member of the Jewish people.
Although this prayer forms the heart my book, the book is neither a prayer book nor a book about prayer. It is an exploration of God that focuses on the relationship between God and the individual believer and on the commonalities that bind them together.
I have divided “I AM” into twelve chapters. Each one considers a different aspect of faith though the lens of the Shema. Since theology draws on both the heart and mind, I have tried to balance the emotional with the intellectual impact of my search by beginning each chapter with a poetic reflection on the chapter’s theme.
“I-AM” begins with a discussion of my discovery of the unique God through the exploration of my own uniqueness. The book goes on to explore issues such as Jewish peoplehood, the significance of scripture, the power of prayer, and the meaning of religious practice.
My spiritual search grows out of my own personal and religious experience and, thus, my book has its roots in the beliefs and practices of late twentieth century liberal Judaism. However, I did not compose it only for a liberal Jewish audience but for all who seek to make sense of their faith and beliefs. The issues it addresses — the nature and implications of an individual’s relationship to God, to his or her religious tradition and to our created world — are universal. My response to those issues draws its power from the Jewish tradition, but engages anyone struggling with similar issues.