NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.

Book Review: Rendezvous with God, by Rabbi Nathan Laufer 

Rendezvous with God, by Rabbi Nathan Laufer is a book that sets out to "reveal" the meaning of the Jewish holidays and their rituals. The premise this book works on is that the holidays are markers during the year that retell the story of the Jewish people, in a way similar to the stories of a family. The stories of a nation retell its narrative and contain its raison d'etre. He compares the Jewish holidays, in this sense, to the American holidays of Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Veteran's Day, and others.

In Rendezvous with God, Rabbi Laufer explores the holidays of Pesach, the Omer, Shvuos, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkos with Shimini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, Shabbos and Rabbinic and Modern Holidays (i.e. Yom Haatzmaut, Yom Hazikaron, etc).

The holidays actually tell a story, the story of what happened [mostly] during the honeymoon year after leaving Egypt, and run from one to the next in order, with the Jews first leaving Egypt, Pesach, and then Shvuos to the revelation at Sinai, Sukkos as they traveled through the desert in huts, etc...

I skipped around a bit to get a feel for the book and his premise, but I really wanted to start with the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkos, which I have been reading fully. I am very impressed with his thought process. Rabbi Laufer asks a series of questions that all touch on the basis of the holiday as is commonly understood and then goes on to offer his explanation of the holiday, in a way that all the questions are answered. The questions are not just answered, but the entire picture is understood and you wonder why you did not realize or think of that before.

I was truly impressed with Rabbi Laufer's explanations. In retrospect they seemed so obvious, but I had never before seen the holidays looked at and approached in this manner.

If you want to think about the holidays and consider a new way of looking at and understanding them, and thereby also get a full picture of how the holidays are not just rituals to commemorate specific experiences but a thread woven through the fabric of our nation and in essence our history, Rendezvous With God is a book you should pick up.


You can buy Rendezvous with God on Maggid Publications

You can buy Rendezvous with God on Amazon.com

NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.