Letters to a Buddhist Jew

by Akiva Tatz and David Gottlieb

Cultural Writing. Letters. Jewish studies. Buddhist studies. LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW is a collection of letters between a Jew drawn to Buddhism and an Orthodox rabbi. "In this extraordinary exchange, David Gottlieb, speaking from a Zen perspective, pinpoints the critical questions modern Jews are moved to ask of their tradition, and Akiva Tatz, with kindness, patience and consummate skill, answers with the voice of a fully developed spiritual Judaism...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568713568
• ISBN13: 9781568713564
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Targum Press
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 2.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Good Discussion, If an Obvious Conclusion

This book opens with the claim that it's not an argument between Judaism and Buddhism, but it totally is. And judging from the religious Jewish publisher on the spine, you can probably guess who wins. It follows the email correspondences between a Jewish practitioner of Zen Buddhism in Chicago and a rabbi (David and Akiva, respectively). The correspondences are not well-edited (Good job as always, Feldheim!) and contain some material about other events and correspondences that don't matter, but it's mostly a long argument that Rabbi Akiva wins. David starts because his wife is bothered that he is a practicing Buddhist. He opens with 15 questions, which are really refutations of Judaism as he sees it. He begins by explaining the superior Buddhist philosophy as it relates to Judaism. Akiva, in a traditional Talmud fashion, questions this by taking each sentence of David's paragraph and dissecting it over several pages, asking David to clarify on apparently self-contradictory points he has made, and bringing sources in to clarify how the rabbi feels and why he feels this way, beginning with the existence of G-d and how G-d might be important. David is unable to answer the key questions. His replies fall back on explaining Buddhist precepts that don't address the questions themselves, as if Akiva is more unfamiliar with Buddhism than he actually is, and eventually falls to Koans, or Buddhist statements that have no answer, like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Good to meditate on, but not so good when the rabbi has spent 10 pages discussing the nature of man's understanding of G-d and how it relates to Buddha nature. David brings up more points (mostly unrelated to previous ones) and Akiva asks more questions, and keeps circling back because he never got the answers to his original questions and only has more. David becomes more and more reliant on stories of Buddhist masters outsmarting other people, and his idealized version of Buddhism as it's practiced as a religion. Eventually, Akiva goes on offensive and David drops the pretense of taking the Buddhist position and begins attacking Judaism with the same questions any non-religious Jew who had a bad experience growing up has - Where is G-d? How do I know He's real? Could Sinai really have happened? Why are so many Jews I know hypocrites? Why weren't my Hebrew school teachers more inspiring? Akiva answers all of the questions, and at great length, asking David to seek out good Jewish teachers just as he sought out the best Buddhist teachers to learn meditation 20 years before. Eventually, David outright accuses Akiva of trying to convert him back to Judaism, which Akiva doesn't deny (in one of his weaker letters). Then David says he blew 20 years of his life and goes to study Torah. This book is not an argument between a great rabbi and a great Buddhist teacher. There are other books about such conversations, and these religious figures tend to look more for similarities than differ

Does Western Zen Buddhism Have Anything To Offer Orthodox Jews (and Vice Versa)?

First, I must say that this is a lovely book about Judaism that would appeal to anyone unfamiliar with Judaism's spiritual (as opposed to religious, intellectual or cultural) side. To enjoy this book you don't have to be interested in its relationship to Buddhism specifically. David Gottlieb is a Jew who grew up in a Reform Jewish community in the USA and was essentially uneducated about Judaism. In the course of his quest for a spiritual life, he was introduced to western Soto Zen Buddhism. This form of Zen is a uniquely western form, a form in flux that has not yet fully adjusted itself to life in the West. It focuses primarily on sitting meditation (zazen) and social action, while maintaining many of the Asian practices and forms inherited from Japanese Soto Zen Buddhism. Gottlieb's dedication to his Zen practice led to his taking formal lay-person's vows as a Zen Buddhist. His Jewish wife objected to his deepening Buddhist practice. Gottlieb turned to Rabbi Doctor Akiva Tatz for guidance in reconciling his Jewish background and Zen practice. Rabbi Tatz (an Orthodox rabbi and physician in the UK) and Gottlieb carried out an extended dialog via email. This book is the record of that dialog. This book is primarily about Judaism, not Buddhism. It is not a comparison of the two spiritual paths. Rabbi Tatz knows Judaism well. He has a good grounding in the traditional Jewish texts, commentaries and practices, both mystical and normative. He has an orthodox as well as Orthodox (with a capital "O") perspective. He's obviously used to dealing with more or less uneducated Jews who have strayed from Judaism, either to other religions or to an atheist, agnostic or secular life. And so he approaches Gottlieb in that way. The lion's share of this book is his presentation of Judaism with an eye to impress more or less uneducated Jews that Judaism already has everything they want from a spiritual path and more, so why forsake it in order to try and find it elsewhere? He doesn't seem to know much about Buddhism in general, Zen Buddhism in particular, nor western Soto Zen Buddhism specifically. Jews are taught to judge others leniently, so it would've been nice if Rabbi Tatz had not (as it seems he has) prejudged western Soto Zen Buddhism to firstly, be a religion, and secondly, a religion inherently antithetical to Judaism. Approached in that way, he might have discovered that the core of western Zen Buddhism is perhaps consonant with Judaism and perhaps even has something to offer traditionally observant Jews, specifically teachings about hitbo'd'dut (meditation), kavvanah (attention & intention), hishtavut (equanimity) and khessed (compassion) for all people. Rabbi Tatz takes the Judeo-centric perspective that anything that another religion has in the way of truth originated in Judaism and that (in the second Gerrer Rebbe's terms) it is Judaism's ultimate role to re-integrate those "sparks of holiness". For example, he notes that Abr

Awesome book

Akiva Tatz is brilliant in the way he explains Judaism. I think this book is deep and insightful and it made me think about Judaism in a way that I have never viewed before. I myself love learning eastern philosophy and wondered how it compares to Judaism. This book gave me alot of clariy on the topic. Plus I learned deep things about Judaism that I never knew. A+. But its for sure not an easy read each sentence makes you stop and think about the subject even more.

Compelling & Thought Provoking

This is a fascinating book. David Gottlieb is a Jew who has a strong interest in Buddhism, and he and Akiva Tatz engage in a great discussion about the overlaps and differences between Buddhism and Judaism. The book follows the course of their letters to each other. This book will definitely get you thinking and, if you're a Jew interested in Eastern thought like David Gottlieb is, it will give you some very concrete things to think about. Even if you're not a "Buddhist Jew," you'll learn a ton from these two great writers.