The Future of the Jewish People in Five Photographs

Educator and writer Temes (The Power of Purpose: Living Well by Doing Good) explores conceptions of the Jewish people’s future by reflecting on photos of the Behistun Inscription (oddly, a Zoroastrian monument); a Torah from the now extinct Jewish community of Kaifeng, China; the Eichmann trial; Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. marching in Selma; and the Torah scribe Rabbi Linda Motzkin. He pits a focus on Jewish survival and endogamy against the living dissemination of Jewish values—especially prophetic ones—and a kind of Jewish universalism. Coming down strongly for the latter, Temes notes at one point that “if there is only a single Jew left, but a deeply good Jew who... feels the depth of God’s presence..., then Judaism is as strong and meaningful as it could be.” Unfortunately, his meandering style can make arguments difficult to follow, as when he segues from a discussion of Israeli settlement policy to a passage in the Book of Numbers, and then discusses five possible interpretations of this passage. Perhaps most disappointing is the sometimes vague nature of Temes’s writing, such as his statement that the Jewish future “will come because of a Jewish toughness that sits in dialogue with Jewish virtue.” Those looking for guidance on the tough questions 21st-century Jews face—for example, the nature of Jewish education or choices in philanthropy—won’t find much of it in this intellectually murky book. (Nov)