What makes a belief or a lifestyle rational? How much evidence do you need
before deciding to act on a belief? If your religious beliefs are tightly bound up
with your particular experiences and upbringing, doesn’t that undermine their
reliability? All these questions, and more, come to the fore in Samuel Lebens’
A Guide for the Jewish Undecided. Bringing cutting-edge philosophy, science, and
decision theory into conversation with Jewish tradition, this book makes the
case that Jews today have cogent reasons to embrace Judaism and its practices.
Moreover, this embrace is the most viable way in which they can answer the call to human responsibility.
This groundbreaking work has an engaging style that makes it accessible to all readers, while not losing the clarity and rigor characteristic of analytic philosophy. It articulates a humanistic, outward-looking, and nuanced vision of Orthodox Judaism. It is sure to strengthen the faith of many, revealing Orthodox Judaism as a philosophically respectable and compelling option for contemporary Jews.
