What are you reading, Sarah Jones?

I chose to read The Jewish Way because I love history and stories, especially the story about God’s plan for the world! But this time I wanted this plan and model told to me through a Jewish perspective because I think a great deal of beauty, depth, and perspective is lost when it isn’t. Rabbi Greenberg is so eloquent and amazing at articulating abstract and intangible concepts -- making them tangible while re-coloring the way one see's all aspects of life; I love it!

I especially appreciated the way Rabbi Greenberg captured the tension between living with hope and intentionality to help perfect the world, and being disillusioned by its imperfections; and how God made a plan that helps us manage the tension that ensues because of these opposing things. It's taken me a long time to get through the book because there are many words in Hebrew and a lot of information I wasn't familiar with, so sometimes I had to do more research or just go slower to soak it in.

One of the things I took away from this book is an excitement that there is so much depth that Jewish life can bring to Christianity and Christians, but I'm saddened that the Jewish perspective is largely overlooked and/or undervalued by the Church. I'd recommend this book to everyone!

My reading habits are unpredictable and inconsistent. One week it might be all news articles, the next week it might be everything that has to do with tea; so I have no clue what I'll read next. My academic interests are social and behavioral science, history, archaeology, philosophy, and apologetics. For fun or inspiration I like to read anything that has to do with the universe or philosophy or anything loaded with symbolism; and if it’s not loaded with symbolism, I like to make my own symbolic connections between the physical and metaphysical world.

Sarah Jones is an Admissions Counselor for undergraduate admissions at Hope and has held this position for almost 3 years. She holds a masters degree in Marriage & Family Therapy and is a two time Hope alum.

The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays by Irving Greenberg, Jason Aronson Publishers, 1998.

Available from Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

This book can also be ordered from the Hope International University Bookstore.