Wednesday, July 17, 2019

From JewishMediaReview


Mensch·Marks: Life Lessons of a Human Rabbi - Wisdom for Untethered Times.
Joshua Hammerman. HCI Books. Paperback. 252 Pages. $14.95.

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman has served his synagogue, Temple Beth El, in Stamford Connecticut, for over 30 years, with great distinction. Trained as a journalist and a rabbi, he has pursued both careers with great distinction.
Mensch·Marks creates a brand-new genre.  It is memoir as sacred story as how-to book, a series of personal vignettes in dialogue with one another over the span of decades, resonating with eternal ideas that span centuries.  It traces the author's own personal growth while providing a road map for people of all backgrounds seeking a life of moral vision.  The wisdom is shared not from a pulpit on high, but rather from an unfolding story of a fellow traveler, one who has stumbled, failed and persevered, struggling with the questions large and small, and through it all has tried to live with dignity and grace.

Hammerman’s new book is a delight to read. If Rabbi Hammerman has his way, the word mensch will become as popular as that other Jewish favorite, the bagel.