On Being a Jew

Composed as a meandering dialogue between a wily Syrian-Jewish banker and an American graduate student of literature, this engaging book explains all the basic beliefs and practices of Judaism–Jewish teachings on intermarriage and conversion, keeping the Sabbath, prayer and Torah, midrash and mitzvot, and God's presence in the world. Although the book has plenty of the ''how to'' of religious practice, Being a Jew is in the end an eloquent reflection on Judaism's deepest theme: living life as a way of serving God. ''I hope that readers will not only savor Jim Kugel's engaging conversation about Judaism, but will participate in it.''–Adin Steinsaltz