November 21, 2003

Being a Scholar and a Jew

To the Editor:

My first reaction to Naomi Schaefer's "How to Be a Jew Now" (The Review, October 10) was one of confusion. I find no contradiction in my life as a faithful Jew and a modern scholar. I believe in God, I find meaning in the ritual and laws of Judaism, and the practices of the religion serve as a moral guidepost for my everyday life. As a Jew and as a historian, I have grown comfortable with complicated truths. Many 20th-century Jewish scholars write extensively about the