In this uneven contribution to the literature of Jewish-Christian relations, minister Kendall (Out of Your Comfort Zone
) and Rosen, former chief rabbi of Ireland, gather together their 2005 epistolary conversations, in which they discuss topics ranging from Jesus and salvation to Zionism. Rosen is the more nuanced, subtle thinker, and Kendall seems a bit out of his league by comparison. Rosen knows more about Christianity than Kendall knows about Judaism, and is thus able to tease out important differences between the two traditions, such as how they interpret the role of Messiah. Unfortunately, Kendall's evangelistic zeal—he pleads with his friend to "look carefully" at certain passages of Hebrew scripture, "honestly examine" them, and thus "accept Jesus... as your own Messiah"—dictates the shape of the book. Rosen is too often forced to explain Judaism on Christian terms (e.g., Jews don't believe in original sin), rather than on its own terms. Rosen remains generous and gracious throughout, stating that though he finds concepts like the Trinity baffling, he nonetheless respects Kendall's views and has no wish to disabuse him of them. (Jan. 3)
