Book Description
Every human being is presented with the “human challenge”:
How do I grow?
How do I become wise?
How do I sanctify the world around me and make it a better place?
How do I work on my character?
How do I integrate work and food and intimacy into my life’s goals?
This volume is an attempt to answer these questions for the intelligent and sensitive adult reader. It draws significantly on deeper Jewish thought, balancing brevity with profundity. The Human Challenge provides a rich and exciting entry point for those who are at the early stages of their relationship with Judaism as well as significant benefit to those with an extensive background, as it provides a methodical and sourced overview of topics that may otherwise remain as fragmented insights.
[T]he Midrash says: “God looked into the Torah and created the world.” Every human being is an entire world — a world of hopes and dreams, aspirations, concerns, and perspectives. This book provides an inspiring picture of how Torah can be a force of personal transformation in everything we do.”
Rabbi Warren Goldstein
Chief Rabbi of South Africa
Rabbi Edelstein has done it again… He has had to answer the questions that so many of us ask and had no one who was both erudite enough and sensitive enough to provide us with answers that are both genuine and articulate… This book will be a source of ideas, answers, and, most of all, insights — not only for beginners but for anyone with a mind that seeks more clarity and more depth in their understanding of Judaism’s very foundations.
Rebbetzin Tziporah (Heller) Gottlieb
International Torah lecturer and author
[This book is a] fresh perspective on how purpose, holiness, and wisdom can recalibrate our noisy post-modern lives.
Yaakov Lehman
Founder, Chief Executive Integrator, Wisdom Tribe
How does one create a readable overview to 3,000 years of Jewish wisdom? How does one introduce Judaism without dumbing it down and over-simplifying it? The Human Challenge manages to do just that!
Miriam Kosman
Author of Circle, Arrow, Spiral and popular lecturer
Becky –
A clear, concise, and simultaneously ultra profound exploration of the many practical and spiritual corners of Judaism. As a student and seeker of Judaism and all things Truth, this book has been a wonderful companion. Each chapter is its own unique topic and exploration, and while each chapter builds one upon the next, they can be ready sporadically. Truly such a gem, Rabbi Edelstein has a unique power to distill such rich depth into easy to read prose. Inspiring and exciting! I’ve already sent this book to numerous friends and family members!
Steven C. –
I haven’t yet finished this, but wanted to say that this is an amazing book. I’m learning something on every page, all of which are extensively footnoted so the reader has additional information and references. I’ve read over 200 Jewish-related books over the last about 4 years. This is the best and so worth the time to read. I bought a second so each of my kids can have one when they inherit my library one day. Every Jew should read this; and non-Jews would also learn a lot.
akiva rutenberg –
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of Judaism. There is no book that I know of that explains Jewish concepts with such clarity.
Simcha –
Rabbi Edelstein has succeeded in making complex concepts understandable to beginners-a challenging task. But make no mistake, the advanced reader can and will learn from this. This is the type of book you always come back to.
Well done