Am I a Jew?: My Journey Among the Believers and Pretenders, the Lapsed and the Lost, in Searc h of Faith (Not Necessarily My Own), My Roots, and Who Knows, Even Myself

Am I a Jew?: My Journey Among the Believers and Pretenders, the Lapsed and the Lost, in Searc h of Faith (Not Necessarily My Own), My Roots, and Who Knows, Even Myself

by Theodore Ross
Am I a Jew?: My Journey Among the Believers and Pretenders, the Lapsed and the Lost, in Searc h of Faith (Not Necessarily My Own), My Roots, and Who Knows, Even Myself

Am I a Jew?: My Journey Among the Believers and Pretenders, the Lapsed and the Lost, in Searc h of Faith (Not Necessarily My Own), My Roots, and Who Knows, Even Myself

by Theodore Ross

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Overview

What makes someone Jewish?

Theodore Ross was nine years old when he moved with his mother from New York City to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Once there, his mother decided, for both personal and spiritual reasons, to have her family pretend not to be Jewish. He went to an Episcopal school, where he studied the New Testament, sang in the choir, and even took Communion. Later, as an adult, he wondered: Am I still Jewish?

Seeking an answer, Ross traveled around the country and to Israel, visiting a wide variety of Jewish communities. From “Crypto-Jews” in New Mexico and secluded ultra-devout Orthodox towns in upstate New York to a rare Classical Reform congregation in Kansas City, Ross tries to understand himself by experiencing the diversity of Judaism.

Quirky and self-aware, introspective and impassioned, Am I a Jew? is a story about the universal struggle to define a relationship (or lack thereof) with religion.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781101590164
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 08/30/2012
Sold by: Penguin Group
Format: eBook
Pages: 288
File size: 555 KB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

THEODORE ROSS is the articles editor of Men's Journal. Cofounder of the parenting blog DadWagon, Ross's essays, features, and fiction have appeared in the New York Times, Atlantic, Saveur, Tin House, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his family.

Read an Excerpt

Am I a Jew? It is an obvious question, but one that even the most sophisticated minds struggle to answer. It's a silly question, except millions have lost their lives, depending on their response. It's a religious question, except when an atheist asks it. There is, admittedly, a certain Hebraic quality in even asking it.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Theodore Ross, who may or may not be Jewish, is excellent company on the page. Whether he’s discovering secret Jews in New Mexico, attempting to discern the brighter side of Orthodox Judaism, or interrogating his family members about their own religious foibles and dodges, Am I a Jew? is always moving, heartfelt, funny, and alive. This is a terrific—and terrifically odd—memoir.”

—TOM BISSELL, author of Extra Lives and Magic Hours

"Am I a Jew is a brilliant American odyssey, one that is both inside and outside of traditions both national and religious; it's also often very funny, and always very empathic; Ross has written a genuinely great book."
—RIVKA GALCHEN, author of Atmospheric Disturbances

"[This] intelligent and altogether entertaining account of searching out the roots of identity will be of interest not only to those who've asked, 'Am I a Jew?' but also to anyone who's ever wondered, 'What am I, anyway?' One finishes this book thankful for a fuller understanding of the diverse strains within the Jewish tradition and not a little awed by the writer's compelling mix of skepticism, candor, and love."
—GARRET KEIZER, author of Privacy and The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want

"An elegant guide for the perplexed inhabitants of our increasingly disorienting world, Am I a Jew? is a profound meditation on the nature of modern identity."
—ROGER HODGE, author of The Mendacity of Hope: Barack Obama and the Betrayal of American Liberalism

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