God Is in the Crowd: Twenty-First-Century Judaism

Tal Keinan. Random/Spiegel & Grau, $28 (336p) ISBN 978-0-525511-16-8

American-Israeli entrepreneur Keinan, chairman of Koret Israel Economic Development Fund, pulls no punches in this strident assessment of the future of Judaism, but his proposed solutions are ultimately unrealistic. Keinan builds on current research into negative demographic trends for Judaism and makes use of his own experiences in the Israeli Air Force to highlight serious internal divides in Israeli society that threaten stability. With the world’s dwindling Jewish population concentrated in the U.S. and Israel, he is afraid the “wisdom of crowds” that helped to constantly redefine Judaism by welcoming a diversity of theological interpretations will soon come to an end. The essence of his points will be familiar to readers already engaged with the topic, but the book’s true novelty lies in Keinan’s admittedly radical proposals for change. He suggests moving away from the monopoly on Judaism exerted by the Israeli rabbinate and establishing a “president of world Jewry,” as well as creating a Jewish world endowment to fund basic Jewish educational and cultural opportunities for children—though neither of these comes across as particularly realistic. His final suggestion, that technology “may prove a superior medium for establishing and maintaining a coherent Jewish communal voice,” is similarly aspirational and underdeveloped. Keinan’s passion for the topic and his desire to advance the discussion are commendable, but his ideas for radical reinvention are unconvincing. (Sept.)