Reb Chaim HaQoton- ר' חיים הקטן: Reviews around the Web of God versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry

In this post, I hope to cull from all over the internet various book reviews of my latest hit God versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry (Mosaica Press, 2018). You can click the links provided to see the full reviews, I'll just pull out some interesting points from each of them. You can also check out the book's Amazon page for more book reviews.

The esteemed Rabbi Israel Drazin wrote about my book on his blog (and in his Times of Israel blog) that my book is "filled with information on every page about Jewish history, ideology, God, idols, superstition, and mistakes made by the ancients.... even readers who dislike his approach will benefit by learning about the problems created when we try to understand biblical narratives, Jewish history, and why the ancients worshipped idols, and they will be prompted to think of their own solution to the problems that are raised." Kudos to him for taking the time to write about my work!

Aaron Rubin over at Mystical Paths writes quite enthusiastically about this book:

For several months now I have been reading the essays of Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein... His most recent work, 'G-d versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry', follows suit, resulting in a composition that is nothing short of groundbreaking. His analysis and compilation of sources is more than illuminating; it is inspiring, presenting a wealth of sources, both from the traditional, Jewish sources - from the Talmud to the Zohar to more recent commentaries - and from the secular, academic world.

If you are interested in biblical history, in the etymology of the various idols and pagan deities mentioned in the Torah, what they mean and how they impact the narrative, or in how the cultural milieu of the ancient Near East impacted on the lives of the Jewish people, from their genesis until the end of Tanach and beyond[!], you must read this book.

My book was mentioned by the Jewish Press in "Titles That Caught Our Eye" and then was later treated to a full-length book review by Ben Rothke (which also appeared on his Times of Israel blog). His conclusion reads:

This is a fascinating book that clarifies some of the most challenging topics in the books of the Prophets. Klein does a thorough job of detailing what was occurring, the drive to incorporate idolatry into the services, and the power of idolatry that was able to enrapture a nation.

As Alan Jay Gerber, the Kosher Bookworm, wrote in The Jewish Star: "Rabbi Klein’s teachings are staunchly traditional, coupled with a full appreciation for modern scholarship. As in his previous works, he carefully footnotes his sources, giving the reader a chance to research everything cited in this valued work."

The inimitable Rabbi Jack Abramowitz writes a glowing review of my book on the OU website. In a nutshell he says:

Idolatry and the people’s interactions with it are so integral to the Books of the Neviim that I daresay one cannot fully appreciate the narrative, nor the prophets’ continual exhortations, without at least an intellectual understanding of what it was that motivated so much of our history. This is where God versus gods comes in.

Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld, a close disciple of the late R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, wrote over at the Jewish Link NJ:

The subtitle of Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein’s remarkable study says a great deal about the immense task Rabbi Klein assumed in researching his fascinating book, “God versus Gods.” The subtitle, “Judaism in the Age of Idolatry,” sets an enormous challenge for anyone attempting to chronicle the role idolatry played in the religious culture and history of the Jewish people from biblical times until the destruction of the First Temple. With the Churban HaBayit, our sages teach that the worship of idols as an ancient cultic practice for all intents and purposes ceased. Over this lengthy time period, from mankind’s earliest days until some three and a half millennia later, Rabbi Klein offers an exhaustive and substantive account of how the Jewish people variously succumbed to and resisted, promoted and fought to eradicate this most pernicious of transgressions. Because there are few sins whose prohibitions are as many in the Torah as idolatry, and because this sin is the central focus of the prophets’ rebuke and chastisement in Neviim, the topic deserves careful and studious attention. Rabbi Klein’s work provides just that.

The Former Chief Rabbi of Australia, Rabbi Raymond Apple, wrote a comprehensive review of my book in the Jerusalem Post and at J-Wire where, inter alia, he notes:

In this new book, Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein tells the story through the eyes of the Oral Torah sources. His book is fascinating and is far more than it appears. Despite its title, it does not limit itself to the nature and influence of ancient idolatry. It looks deeply into the meaning of God in Biblical history, asks why anyone in their right mind would choose to worship idols, wondering whether ancient man could believe both in God and in idolatry, asking whether idolatry still exists, and tapping into the major problem of how we should read the Bible and what we mean by Biblical truth.

The one and only Rabbi Naftali Kassorla (Director of Kollel Toras Chaim and a Maggid Shiur at Yeshivas Tiferes Yisroel in Jerusalem) read the book and graciously offered his thoughts on Ari Enkin's blog Torah Book Reviews. Rabbi Kassorla wrote:

The Torah world can once again rejoice, as one of its rising stars, Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, the author of Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew has produced another impressive work in God versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry... Rabbi Klein does an immaculate job at presenting us with the different approaches to understanding the history of how the battle between idol worship and monotheism played out. It is worthy to be added to anyone’s bookshelf. I found his book enlightening, intriguing, and entertaining, and I strongly suggest it to others as well.

Dr. Reid Friedson offers a glowing review of my book on his Medium.com page. Here's a short snippet from his comments:

God Versus Gods is poised to become a celebrated classic in Judaic scholarship. Rabbi Klein explores history, archaeology, anthropology, comparative religion, cosmology, and the natural and applied arts and sciences. I absolutely loved this scholarly yet holistic approach to the study of religious studies and am very eager to read Rabbi Klein’s forthcoming Volume II. Rabbi Klein’s extensive world class research methodologies reveal this impressive volume this product of judicious and comprehensive investigative research into traditional and contemporary resources present for both the scholar and lay person while maintaining the kind of authoritative voice found in leading multi-disciplinary pedagogical commentaries. This volume is easy to read and well-organized in detailed and well annotated scholarly formulation.