A Letter in the Scroll: Understanding Our Jewish Identity and Exploring the Legacy of the World's Oldest Religion
A Letter in the Scroll, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi  of Britain, was inspired by a project he assigned to several university  students. He suggested that they write to some of the most accomplished Jewish  men and women in the world and ask what being Jewish meant to them. They sent  out 200 letters and received six, mostly tepid, responses. Sacks  considered these responses to be evidence of "confusion and demoralization at  the heart of contemporary Jewish identity." He then decided to address the  question himself, andA Letter in the Scrollis his answer. The book is a  personal theology of Judaism, and it is a challenge to new generations of Jews  to define the nature of their place in the story of Israel. Sacks's central  theme is that "Judaism is not a theory, a system, a set of speculative  propositions, an 'ism.' It is a call, and it bears our name." Sacks makes this  argument in many ways, with reference to theology, philosophy, ancient history,  and his personal experience. Most impressive, however, is his concise, direct,  and wise use of Scripture: "The most eloquent words God spoke to Abraham, Jacob,  Moses, and the prophets was to call their name," he writes. "Their reply was  simplyHineni, 'Here I am.' That is the call Jewish history makes to us:  to continue the story and to write our letter in the scroll."--Michael  Joseph Gross