This author does a fantastic job of bringing out the deep meanings of Judaism. I find him profound and yet profoundly easy to read. He blends traditional Jewish theology and thought with modern philosophy. I particularly enjoyed his dialog with Christianity throughout the book. While making distinctions between the two faiths he also brought out deep similarities. Highly recommended for the Jew who wants to understand his faith more deeply and for the Christian to get a good understanding of Modern Orthodox Judaism and the role of Israel in the history of God's redemption!

Wyschogrod's enterprise is Jewish thought, the six chapters of this book being entitled 1) A Partial Knowledge, 2) A Chosen Nation, 3) The Personality of God, 4) Created Being, 5) Ethics and Jewish Existence and 6) The Unrealised. Wyschogrod first explores the role of reason in Judaism and the potential for and limits of a Jewish theology. Wyschogrod explores the potential for and limits of any relationship between Western philosophy and Judaism, comparing this with and contrasting this to the relationship between philosophy and Christianity. In fact, Wyschogrod insightfully and sensitively compares and contrasts Judaism and Christianity frequently, and so while directed primarily towards a Jewish audience, this book should be of interest to many Christians. Of the other subjects explored in this book, of most interest to me was Wyschogrod's interpretation of Israel's chosenness and his description of the personality of God. With respect to the former, Wyschogrod describes the corporeality of Jewish election, explaining why God did not choose a community of faith but rather the seed of Abraham. Wyschogrod also offers a wonderful and convincing argument for the miraculous nature of conversion in Judaism. With respect to God's personality, Wyschogrod focuses on the concreteness of the Biblical God, His personality and the relationship between God and Israel. Wyschogrod "moves in a non-Maimonidean direction". According to Wyschogrod, the Rabbinic dictum, "the Torah speaks in the language of man", is not a warrant for ignoring the plain sense (peshat) of Scripture and forcing Scripture to fit into a philosophic framework derived from non-Jewish sources, whether Neoplatonic or Aristotelian. Wyschogrod points to the equally important Rabbinic remark, "a biblical verse never leaves its plain meaning." While never falling into simplistic literalism, Wyschogod advocates a cautious return to a mild anthropomorphism and his arguments are very powerful. Wyschogrod also explores the role of the ethical and the Law in Judaism. In the final chapter in particular, many contemporary challenges facing the Jewish people receive Wyschogrod's attention. Of the book's chapters, I found the fourth, on created being, the most difficult. One must be quite familiar with the questions of ontology in order to appreciate this chapter, but I don't think that it's the most important chapter at all. There's alot in this book, a reader probably won't agree with everything Wyschogrod has to say, and some parts of the book I found more interesting than others, but ultimately I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Jewish thought.