Simple Words: Thinking about What Really Matters in Life

In the tradition of Harold S. Kushner (When Bad Things Happen to Good People, 1981), Jerusalem-based talmudic scholar Steinsaltz expounds upon simple words to embrace both Jewish and non-Jewish readers. Steinsaltz, well-known for his popular translation of the Talmud, here offers a homespun presentation of disparate subjects: words, nature, spirit and matter, faith, good deeds, sex, death, envy, Hollywood, masks, friends, family, love and God. Steinsaltz uses elementary language and anecdotal homilies to explain these topics for readers who may or may not be religious. Several of his observations are insightful, especially his argument that envy is not necessarily bad; it can lead to rivalry, which in turn can foster creativity and intellectual growth. Many times, however, ""simple"" descends into the simplistic, as when he overstates that Hollywood's dream world as depicted in foreign-run movies may have ""played a more powerful role in destroying the Soviet regime than all the military vehicles of the United States."" Overall, the chapters are a series of missed opportunities: while Steinsaltz notes that ""the hidden wisdom of commonplace words is sometimes startling,"" for example, his opening discussion of words disregards the idea that language not only expresses our ideas but also helps to shape them. In his determination to demystify complex phenomena, Steinsaltz oversimplifies ideas that require a more nuanced, sophisticated approach. (Oct.)