Study Document
In striving to be inclusive, Malkin may run the danger of excluding significant minorities of the Jewish community, those who cannot celebrate the text of the Bible as a literary feat, but see it as holy writ and are offended by literary interpretations and reverence for the Torah.
There is a final problem that will likely become even more contentious in the future, that of the question of the policies of the Israeli government in relation to Jewish national identity. One can certainly love America and not support the policies of the current administration, but support for Israel's ruling party is often conjoined with supporting Israel in the popular imagination, because of Israel's threatened identity in the Middle East. Defining Judaism in terms of support for Israel can be a slippery slope as well. Even defining Judaism in terms of social justice and liberal political values can itself be alienating to many Jews who self-identify as conservatives, politically.
Perhaps this book is interesting, not as the final answer to how to define Judaism for all time, but the illustration of the need to ask questions within the Jewish tradition about identity and nationality. Seeing Malkin work through these questions is an interesting exercise, even if one does not agree with all of his answers. Malkin's determination to make scrutiny and self-examination part of the Jewish tradition and Israel's national identity is profoundly spiritually inspiring, even when done in the spirit of secularism.