Open Minded Torah: Of Irony, Fundamentalism and Love - Softcover

Short article on author/book at http: //www.mishpacha.com/Browse/Article/1220/A-Vital-Relationship 'William Kolbrener is adept at finding Torah in places where you don't expect it and at finding the unanticipated in the Torah. This is a book for people who want help listening for the elusive, important silences that course beneath the clamor of everyday life.'- Judith Shulevitz, author of The Sabbath World Recommendation on the Jewish Daily Forward Sisterhood blog, http: //blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/139549/ 'When a great and capacious mind, blessed with sensibility and sensitivity, engages in conversation with the timeless texts of Torah, the result is both enlightening and enthralling. That is what William Kolbrener's new book represents, and all whose Judaism is reflective and thoughtful will be enlarged by it.'- Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks 'This beautiful book is an exhilarating hybrid, steeped in traditional learning but at home in the modern world, centered on universal questions and yet deeply personal, informed by theology and philosophy and yet guided quite humbly by the challenge of living each day with wisdom and kindness.' - Jonathan Rosen, author of The Talmud and the Internet Interview with the author at http: //www.blogtalkradio.com/animal/2011/07/27/billy-kolbrener This beautiful book is an exhilarating hybrid, steeped in traditional learning but at home in the modern world, centered on universal questions and yet deeply personal, informed by theology and philosophy and yet guided quite humbly by the challenge of living each day with wisdom and kindness. Jonathan Rosen, author of The Talmud and the Internet William Kolbrener is adept at finding Torah in places where you don't expect it and at finding the unanticipated in the Torah. This is a book for people who want help listening for the elusive, important silences that course beneath the clamor of everyday life. Judith Shulevitz, author of The Sabbath World When a great and capacious mind, blessed with sensibility and sensitivity, engages in conversation with the timeless texts of Torah, the result is both enlightening and enthralling. That is what William Kolbrener's new book represents, and all whose Judaism is reflective and thoughtful will be enlarged by it. Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Kolbrener welcomes us into a world where creativity, pleasure and embracing difference are shown to be the foundation for an authentic and committed religious life. In essays as likely to turn to baseball, Denzel Washington, and the NASDAQ as to "Macbeth", quantum physics and psychoanalysis, William Kolbrener provides powerful - and often surprising - insights into how open mindedness allows for authentic Jewish commitment in an age otherwise defined by fundamentalism and unbelief. "Open Minded Torah" presents - on topics ranging from parenting a son with Down syndrome to Biblical criticism to Talmudic interpretation of dreams - a perspective on Torah which emphasizes scepticism, creativity and the need to embrace difference. Through a personal synthesis of Western and Jewish learning, popular culture and philosophy, Kolbrener offers a compelling new vision where being open minded allows for a non-dogmatic and committed Jewish life. Informed by Kolbrener's considerable erudition, but always accessible, the essays show that scepticism informs belief, commitment grounds creativity, and non-defensive receptiveness makes individual autonomy possible. For every person, it is said, there is a corresponding letter in the Torah: this innovative collection shows Kolbrener writing his letter, and providing the inspiration for others to write their own.