This was a really important book for me; it was one of the first non-fiction books I had read at the end of high school/early college and it was one of the books that allowed me to discover not only a love of reading for the first time, but also insight to the complexities of the Jewish relationship to God. I felt validated in my own relationship with God by the struggle Wouk depicts with his own version of God. ( )

A fine summary and history. Dated. And, oddly I know, not personal enough. I'm usually complaining about the opposite. But I wanted more of the feeling that comes through Sacks' books.

Religion is a complex thing. It is personal, but necessarily defended at some points. And that is often through logic. But, this time, I wanted his inexplicable emotions. And I didn't seem to see them. ( )

https://www.librarything.com/work/29539/edit/61467846# ( )

It’s mostly centrist, albeit in a post-Victorian (1959) kind of a way. He does have opinions, of course, but it’s not really an Orthodox polemic. It tends that way, just enough to be perceived, but mostly it’s just a useful popular introduction to someone without any formal background in the subject.

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One doesn’t know how Greek one is, until one studies the Jews.

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Something more than your own little pleasures.

.... Because it’s not for nothing.

Herman Wouk's introduction to modern Orthodox Judaism is a contemporary classic in Jewish writing. Written with the same consummate style that graces his fiction, This Is My God is one of the best introductions to Judaism there is. It lacks the scholarly writing and detail that is so often found in books by modern Rabbi's, it isn't a how-to or a guide to Judaism, but rather it is a book that shares the great Abrahamic faith like a fireside conversation. It is an explanation by an educated layman. Herman Wouk writes about his faith from a place of great passion, he clearly loves his faith, his people, and his God, and it shows in his writing. ( )