Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

Susanne M. Batzdorff read the following book, reviewed it for the AJL Bulletin and donated it to the library.

Schulweis, Harold M. Conscience: The Duty to Obey and the Duty to Disobey. Woodstock , Vt. : Jewish Lights Publishing, 2008. 131p. $19.99 (ISBN-13: 978-1-58023-375-0, ISBN-10: 1-58023-375-9).

Through examples taken from Biblical, Talmudic and Midrashic sources, Rabbi Schulweis demonstrates how Judaism encourages questioning authority, even when it is the highest authority, i.e. God. Obedience should never be blind, and when moral rectitude and authoritarian law are in conflict with one another, a person must do what is right and not what is commanded. Abraham confronted God to reason with Him before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . Moses often reminded God of His covenantal commitment to give the people another chance. If God’s actions can be questioned by mortals, how much more should they stand up to fallible secular governments and other authorities. The author cites examples of righteous people who took risks in the name of justice and morality, particularly in the Holocaust. His final chapters describe ways in which we can rear children whose conscience is well enough developed to respond fearlessly to instances of injustice, racism, or bigotry. Listen to your children’s questions respectfully and answer them honestly. Teach them kindness and consideration. Judaism encourages questioning rather than accepting dictates from above. Protecting the stranger, the orphan and the widow, and pursuing justice are important Jewish values.

In a world where the weak are all too often crushed and might prevails over right, where the lessons of the Holocaust are not remembered, where genocides occur almost everywhere, the lessons contained in this book are urgent and very timely. This volume contains notes but neither bibliography nor index. The reviewer must mention one serious error. In writing about the Commandant of Auschwitz, the author calls him Rudolf Hess. Actually, it was Rudolf Hoess, an entirely different individual. This book is recommended for academic and synagogue libraries.