Unfinished Journey: a Rabbi's Bout with Doubt

Unfinished Journey: A Rabbi's Bout With Doubt represents a collection of personal observations of the diverse groups affiliated with his congregation where he served as rabbi in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. The author also delves into the thorny issues of religious faith that trouble the laity, but also members of the clergy of all faiths who are reluctant to ask themselves whether they honestly believe what they publicly preach. Since his retirement from the active rabbinate, the author began to re-examine the provocative views of his mentors who taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary in his student years. Rabbis, educators and laymen looked to the intellectual "giants" for clarity and religious guidance. Two of these great teachers, Rabbis Mordecai M. Kaplan and Abraham Joshua Heschel, were both eloquent and courageous interpreters of Jewish thought although they represented sharply divergent views on questions such as the meaning of God, the efficacy of prayer, or the concept of the Chosen People. As he reviewed many of the sacred texts, the author began to question and even to doubt what he was taught to accept as irrevocable truths. In recent years, however, he has begun to define what he can comfortably believe in while still maintaining his personally integrity as a teacher of religious values and traditions. He maintains that his "bout with doubt" has helped him find a more mature understanding of what faith can and cannot achieve for the modern generation.