The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinge
By Thomas Cahill
April 7, 2007
This book isn’t nearly as compelling nor as sublime as How the Irish Saved Civilization. But his attentiveness to the contributions of Hebrew culture to our worldview is the best part of the book. In the words of the author:
We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our best words, in fact — new, adventure, surprise; unique, individual, person, vocation; time, history, future; freedom, progress, spirit; faith, hope, justice — are the gifts of the Jews (241).
And it’s fun to watch Cahill unpack this for us.
Be forewarned: I disagree with many of his presuppositions about the Bible, such as dating and authorship. But it doesn’t take away from the main points of the book.
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