Guide to the Perplexed Jew
This Substack is what happens when a fiction writer reaches late middle age (we don’t use the O-word) and realizes, to his chagrin, that non-fiction may be just the outlet he needs.
Outlet for what?
For figuring out just how he got from a Jesus-Christ-Superstar listening, lobster-loving Lutheran to a Shabbat-observing, fake-crab-eating Jew, who still thrills to “I don’t know how to love him.”
For recovering from the watered-down Marxist, postmodern, gender-bending indoctrination camp of 90s grad school.
For reflecting on a changing culture, for struggling with what to make of his evolving “relationship” with AI, and what that suggests about who he is and who you are. For remembering old friends like Tolkien and the Monkees. For dropping arcane references to obscure cultural artifacts like Galaxy Express 999 and Knight Riders.
For making sense of Nietzsche and nominalism.
For wrestling with Maimonides and Rashi, and the Lakewood kefirah crowd.
For wondering how to be a good dad in the twenty-first century.
For trying to make sense of what is, or soon will be, the fourth quarter of this game of his life. For trying to understand why he, so indifferent to sports, would use the metaphor of the previous sentence. . . .
Like the student to whom the great Jewish philosopher Maimonides addressed his Guide to the Perplexed, I am a believer who has trouble believing, a rationalist drawn to the irrational. A last-chance boomer (don’t be calling me “Gen Jones!”), raised as a Christian, voted in high school “least likely to become an Orthodox Jew,” I seek every day to understand what I’ve gotten myself into and why.
Expect an eclectic mix of Judaism, Christianity, late twentieth-century pop culture, philosophy, literature, commentary, thoughts on writing, and autobiography. Oh, and I’ll occasionally toss in some original fiction as well because, why not?
Why You Should Subscribe
Because you’ll get my posts delivered to your inbox.
Because you support independent writing.
Because you’re the gatekeeper in this new literary economy.
Because you like what you see—and want to see more.
And if you really like what you see, consider becoming a paid subscriber because even just a few dollars a month encourages, even obligates, me to keep writing. It’s the Scooby Snack that provides just that extra motivation. And it’s how you get to be a twenty-first-century Medici without all the Florentine intrigue.
Where to start
Wanna sampler from the Perplexed Jew? Here’s a suggested menu:
Faith, Doubt, and Jewish Identity
And So This Is Christmas—What does an Orthodox Jew tell his son about the music he once loved?
Don’t Ask If I Believe in Talking Donkeys—Reflections on rational Judaism and the Bible as God’s great poem.
Trust in God Ain’t So Easy—The bitch of bitachon (faith that God will do right by you)
Literature and Its Discontents
The English Department is Doomed—I prognosticate.
Et Tu, Alice?—I step into the separate-art-from-the-artist quagmire
Writers, Prophets, & Pundits—Good Dostoevsky/Bad Doestoevesky
Still a Fiction Writer
The Sensitivity Reader—A novelist finds himself on the wrong end of a shillelagh.
The People’s Coop—Looking for love in a world of parallel economies
Weighing in on Culture
I am Not a Zionist—Spock-inspired article opposing “isms.”
ChatGPT: The Idol that Feels Like a Friend—My buddy ChatGPT thought I should include this.
Thoughtful comments are welcome on all posts,
In the case of controversial posts, I will do my best to respond politely, patiently, and respectfully to disagreements. I expect the same from readers. Insults and personal attacks will be quietly deleted, and the writer may be muted, blocked, or banned. Please let me know if I’ve been disrespectful, and I’ll do teshuva.
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