The Second Jewish Book of WHY

Having loved the precursor to this book, I was looking forward to a more in-depth dive into Jewish customs and practice. However, while it covered many moral dilemmas of this modern era, it was still a little homophobic, which is not something that I'd expected, seeing as its precursor was quite reform-friendly. All that aside, it is still a good volume to have on hand to answer burning questions.

Kolatch follows up on his nicely readable BOOK OF JEWISH WHY with this second edition on Jewish practices, laws and traditions. Readers also learn about several controversial subjects such as abortion, homosexuality, and why having a Jewish mother (but not father) determines whether or not one is considered a Jew. Kolatch uses the same question-and-answer format that makes this book so informative and easy to read. This book is nearly as good as its predecessor, which also made great reading for both Jews and non-Jews. Perhaps we could use similar books on Catholics, Baptists, Buddhists, and other religious traditions.

Authoritative, covers topics Jews and others would focus on, well-written.

This is a great book. Not as goos as the first, but well worth the money.