James Carroll
An illumination and a challenge, Common Prayers is a masterpiece of inter-religious meditation....[A] new phase of Jewish-Christian understanding.
Arthur Green
Cox has taken a closer and more sympathetic look at Judaism as actually lived than any other non-Jewish writer ever.
Library Journal
In Many Mansions: A Christian's Encounter with Other Faiths, Cox (divinity, Harvard) explored world religions. Here, he focuses on Judaism, and his perspective is quite personal: his wife, Nina Tumarkin (Russian history, Wellesley), is Jewish, and together they have raised a son who, at 14, has recently become "bar mitzvah" in the Jewish faith. Arranged as a journey through the Jewish year, this work guides readers from one Rosh Hashanah (New Year's Day) to the next, with several other milestones in Jewish life weddings, funerals, births, bar mitzvahs thrown in. Cox not only provides a clear guide to Judaism for "perplexed gentiles" but convincingly argues that "appreciating Judaism, both its history and its present manifestation, is essential to a full understanding of Christianity," lending "depth and resonance to all the ideas that are central to my faith: how I understand the nature of God, the purpose of human life, the significance of Jesus, and the meaning of faith." An important new book by a major theologian; highly recommended. Marcia Welsh, formerly with Guilford Free Lib., CT Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Christian theologian Cox reports on experiencing and embracing Judaism in his interfaith home. When Cox (Divinity/Harvard; Fire From Heaven, 2001, etc.) wed Wellesley religion professor Nina Tumarkin, it marked the beginning of his life in a Jewish household. After 14 years of marriage and participating in each other's rituals and traditions "as far as our consciences [would] allow," Cox here takes on the daunting task of serving as guide to a religion that is not his own. He succeeds with remarkable grace. Loosely organizing his book around the progression of the Jewish year, Cox leads the reader through holidays both great and small, as well as marriage, death, and bar and bat mitzvahs. Common Jewish practices that may mystify gentiles (sukkah booths, Yom Kippur fasting) are explained, and personal experiences with his family and spiritual advisors are relayed. Though he finds common ground with some Christian practices, Cox is a careful guide, cautioning against a wholesale appropriation of Jewish tradition as a mere adjunct to Christianity. Nor does he shrink from the hard issues. "Anti-Judaism is not peripheral to Christianity," he asserts, going on to discuss some grand old institutionalized traditions of anti-Semitism. This clear-eyed view is not reserved for Christianity; Cox examines some of the uglier points of Jewish history as well, including the violence of Purim and the myths of Chanukah. Serving as a broad introduction to Judaism, Cox's study also offers guidance to interfaith couples searching for ways to embrace the religious traditions of both spouses; his chapter on "December Madness" and his position on the great Christmas tree debate are particularly useful. Warmth,humor, and first-rate scholarship illuminate this elegant, thoughtful work, which should be of great interest to those considering intermarriage, and those (including Jews) who simply would like to learn more about Judaism. Author tour
