[.ca] I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last ... (ISBN 1580232590)

Stirring tribute to Daniel Pearl:
In the wake of tragedy, many survivors, in the face of their immense pain and suffering, are admirably capable of enriching and inspiring the lives of others by means of their particular response. In this unique work, the parents of Daniel Pearl (may G-d avenge his blood) utilize his words uttered only moments before his death, "I am Jewish," to enable others to reflect on their own Jewishness through presenting the "personal reflections" of over 140 extremely diverse Jews on the subject. From rabbis to actors to politicians to journalists to philosphers to authors and more, we learn of what it means to be Jewish. From younger people to the religious to the secular to the famous to the non-famous, we further grapple with the implications of our own Jewishness to our everyday lives. The essays are divided into five categories: 1. Identity 2. Heritage 3. Covenant, Chosenness, and Faith 4. Humanity and Ethnicity 5. Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) and Justice. To my delight, the thoughts of Dennis Prager, one of my favorite thinkers and writers, are included. To conclude, let me share with you one of my favorite essays in the book, authored by the comic, actress, and writer, Sarah Silverman: "Remember the guy who smashed all the idols in the idol store? His mother had a heart attack when she saw the mess, but I'm sure she bragged about it later. That's us. That's me. I am Jewish."

Wow - wow - wow:
An overwhelming and incredible book!!!

Where is my Review?? Excellent book:
Loved this book. Informative and inspirational. I posted review which rebutted some of the points in previous reviews. My review was listed as being helpful by several people. My review suddenly disappeared from the web page (without notice to me). Nothing about my review violated Amazon policies and it is dismaying that this has occurred. Is Amazon skewing the reviews by deleting ones they don't agree with? Anyway, get the book. Its contents are "limited" to the subject advertised in the title. Complaints that it doesn't deal enough with other issues are off the mark. Those are subjects of other books.

Form Follows Function:
To add to the debate- this book was a project inspired by a 13 yeard old girl just before the rite of passage that brought her to Jewish adulthood. Detractors below complain about the book's "limited perspective" and seem to accuse Daniel's parents (who carried this project through) of exploiting their son's name to explore the mosaic of Jewish perspectives. Perhaps if this book was intended to be a life history, collection of Daniel's work, or tome of political essays exploring the region, their critiques would have some merit. Instead, this book does exactly what it has set out to do-- it has gathered together the views of Jewish individuals who had all been affected by Daniel's death, and who were made to think about their Judaism through the lens of Daniel's last words. My one complaint is that the spectrum of Jews selected largely neglect the voices of Jews of color, who deal with yet a different set of issues in claiming their Jewishness every day.

A beautiful book for ANYONE:
I had to respond to the criticism that this book is only for the "narrow Jewish community". I thought exploring various people's thoughts on what it means to be Jewish was an excellent idea. I am not Jewish and I felt the book was aimed at me as much as is it at Jewish people. Daniel Pearl's last words were "I am Jewish", so why not explore what this means? This was not intended as a biography - his wife has written a book, and there are others that deal with Daniel Pearl as an individual and in the larger context of his murder and terrorism. This seemed to me to be a very positive means of celebrating his life. I thought the stories were interesting and felt it did what it set out to do.