Generation J - by Lisa Schiffman (Paperback)

About the Book

With wit, candor, and grace, Schiffman gives a provocative and personal account of her struggle to acquaint herself with the Jewish religion into which she was born. Includes a new Foreword by the author.

From the Back Cover

"I'm not alone. I am part of a generation of fragmented Jews. We're in a kind of limbo. We're suspended between young adulthood and middle age, between Judaism and atheism, between a desire to believe in religion and a personal history of skepticism. Call us a bunch of searchers. Call us post-Holocaust Jews. Call us Generation J."

Generation J is the ambivalent generation: unaffiliated seekers, men and women who have grown up questioning the bounds of organized religion. Lisa Schiffman is one of these seekers, and Generation J chronicles her journey through the contradictory landscape of Jewish identity. Moving from the personal to the universal, from autobiography to anthropology, from laughter to tears, Schiffman shows us the many ways in which one can be religious.

Whether dipping into a ritual bath, getting henna-tattooed with the Star of David, unravelling the mysteries of the kabbalah, or confronting what Jewish tradition has to say about gay marriage, Schiffman reveals the conflicts of meaning and connection common to all who try to chart their own spiritual path. And, through it all, with humor and sensitivity, she confronts the reasons for her own quest and begins to untangle some of the thorniest questions about identity, community, and religion in America today.

This engaging exploration of what it means to be Jewish is every bit as much a fascinating tour of the varieties of contemporary Jewish practice as it is an unusual personal quest. Smart, funny, and provocative, Schiffman brilliantly explores the problems and possibilities facing any spiritual seeker today.

Review Quotes

"With a blessedly light touch, Schiffman, formerly an editor with the "San Francisco Review" of Books and until recently a nonobservant Jew, relates her beginner's quest for a Judaism she can genuinely practice and believe...(a) delightful spiritual narrative. "-- "Kirkus Reviews""Lisa Schiffman writes with the daring audacity of language and bold observations usually the private preserve of novelists. She's a born writer and this is a terrific book."-- Kate Braverman, author of "Palm Latitudes" and "Small Craft Warnings"""Generation J" is the boldest book about the contemporary Jewish dilemma that I have yet to read. It explores and finally articulates the hidden contradictions between who we are and what we call ourselves. In doing so, it raises profound questions about not only the nature of Judaism in our wold today, but the nature of faith, God, and worship for all."-- Lauren Slater, author of "Welcome to My Country" and "Prozac Diaries""This is an important book about the condition of the American Jewish spirit...This book must be read as a challenge as well as a harbinger of hope by all who care about the Jewish future in America."-- Egon Mayer, Ph.D., director of the Jewish Outreach Institute and author of "Love and Tradition: Marriage Between Jews and Christians"A thoughtful, ironic, and piercingly insightful view on spirituality and Judaism from an informed and intelligent representative of "Generation J."..an ultimately readable treat not only for the titular generation of Jews, but for anyone who has ever examined a personal sense of spirituality and relationship with religion. Schiffman's quest to understand her identity as a Jew is both sincere and deeply spiritual. Yet,even in moments of profound spiritual awareness, Schiffman never takes herself too seriously, nor does she ever lose ther ability to see the deeply ironic, humorous aspects of her journey. It helps, of course, that Schiffman is an immensely talented writer. Beyond her facility with words, however, Schiffman demonstrates a certain courage in gently but insistently probing issues of ritual and belief which will surely generate controversy in the very religion she seeks to embrace. To publicly question faith, even if the qustioning is directed inward, is to leave oneself open to thorny criticism for there is possibly no topic that engenders such emotional extremes as that of religion. The fact that Lisa Schiffman is able to pose these questions while underlining their universality makes "Generation J" a triumph. -- "San Diego Union Tribune"Intelligent, curious and engaged, Schiffman makes an appropriate poster child for Generation J. Her honest portrayal of her intellectual and spiritual journey across a wide swath of the complicated terrain of American Jewry mirrors her generation's search for meaning...-- "Jewish Week "Seekers of the religious and spiritual, or those who are merely thoughtfully secular-minded, will find Schiffman's musings on her strenuous efforts to understand what it means to be Jewish in the "post-Holocaust" age provacative, insightful and funny.-- "Booklist"Lisa Schiffman's "Generation J" is a remarkable account of self-discovery and self-analysis of what it means to be a young, secular Jew in a post-Zionest world. Diaspora Jewry has become more and more aware of the complexities and difficulties of being Jewish--not as a religious practice but as a culturalidentity. Even the majority of Jews in Israel today are the mirror image of Lisa Schiffman--secular Jews who are conscious of thier Jewish identity but do not see it as a neccessary extension of any specific form of religious practice. Schiffman's voice is an important one.-- Sander L. Gillman, University of Chicago, author of "Difference and Pathology"A wonderfully entertaining exploration of what it means to be a secular Jew in America today. Schiffman asks all the relevant questions conveniently ignored by more conventional authorities and dares to go where they fear to tread.-- Robert Eisenberg, author of "Boychicks in the Hood" Bold, unabashed, engaging narrative...-- "Oakland Tribune"Dru Greenwood, director of outreach for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations--a Manhattan-based group that represents 870 Reform Jewish congregations in the United States and Canada--has read Schiffman's book. To her, the account is at times funny, even hilarious, and at times provocative. Overall, she says, it is a significant work.-- "Newsday"She has that charming, Anne Lamott-like ability to be spiritual and irreverent at the same time. This makes her a delightful guide into her own hand-wringing and soul-searching. ...Schiffman has created--a mini-talmud for her times.-- Jill Wolfson, "San Jose Mercury News."..poignant, hilarious, and wholly genuine. Her (Schiffman's) unpretentious candor makes this book refreshing. Her style is engaging and articulate, and her deft interweaving of her own story with statistics, important Jewish writings and anecdotes about the other Gen J-ers illuminates beyond the personal.-- "San Francisco Chronicle Book Review"Well written and entertaining...Schiffman'schronicle presents a moving and gently told portrait of youthful American Judaism setting out on a brand-new wilderness journey. -- Frederica Mathews-Green, "Los Angeles Times"An interesting sociological look at today's young Jews.-- "JUF News, Chicago"