Essays address a myriad of topics for those in search of a more meaningful life
By: Menachem Posner
The Jewish library was recently enriched by a gem of a book, Eclectic Thoughts of Meaning, authored by Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan and published by Ktav. As its name suggests, the 416-page book contains a little more than 200 brief essays addressing topics of interest to the contemporary reader in search of a more meaningful life.
Having served as chief Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the state of Maryland since 1974, Rabbi Kaplan was responsible for the establishment of 33 Chabad centers, as well as a day school and advanced yeshivah. He serves as the spiritual leader of the Shul at the Lubavitch Center in Baltimore. The content of the book was culled from weekly emails that the author has been sending to a select group of supporters and congregants.
For 33 years, he hosted a popular radio show in the Washington, D.C., area and hosted an award-winning TV show for five years. He is known to Chabad.org viewers as the host of a popular series of classes on prayer and a well-received course on the same subject.
In this book, we see a more personal side of the rabbi—the father of eight, and grandfather of many who lives with his wife, Rochel, in Baltimore. Here, Rabbi Kaplan shares some of the genesis of the book, which has already been eagerly received by the public, as well as what he hopes it will accomplish for readers.
Q: What inspired you to create this book?
A: It began with my weekly emails. I often received feedback from my readers and saw how the messages had impacted them. Once I had around 250 emails to choose from, it just made sense to select the better ones and put them into book form.
Q: This is not your first book. How is this different from your past work?
A: My previous work, theSiddur Illuminated by Chassidus, is a scholarly endeavor, not the kind of thing you can read relaxing on the couch. Nor is my personality or voice seen there in a significant way.
This book is personal. Every essay is different, but a lot of them contain snippets of my life, what I was experiencing at the time I wrote them and how I perceive the world around us.
By the same token, this book—like the emails that birthed it—is directed at just about anyone, regardless of background or level of Jewish education, including non-Jews.
Q: What do we hope a reader will walk away with?
A: I want them to see a Torah view on everyday life and how everything leads to a purpose, a meaning and a lesson. I wrote these essays on whatever caught my attention at a particular time, something happening in my life or the world at large. But each time, I see it from the lens of Torah and relate it to Judaism.
Each essay is different, so it’s hard to say that reading them all will develop a person’s view on any particular topic, but if someone learns to view the world this way as well—looking to Torah for perspective on whatever they are seeing or experiencing—I will have accomplished my goal.
Q: How do you recommend someone enjoy this book?
A: Don’t read it all at once; it will drive you nuts. Each essay is a standalone thought that you need to think about. Give it a couple of days. Think about it. Then read another.
It’s like a dessert. Take a little bit and move on. If you stuff yourself, you won’t get the benefit.
One of the readers of my weekly emails told me, “I need to force myself to open your message every week since it makes me think, but once I do, I am always glad I did.” We are so used to casually reading, especially on the Internet, and moving on. My goal is to get people to continue to think about the subject, even after they finished reading. For that to happen, you need to pay attention.
Q: Can you share a little more about the format of the book?
A: The essays are all around 500 words since I know people will not read much more. Anyone can read 500 words. It literally takes a minute or two.
The style is conversational, as if I am speaking directly to the reader. I’ve been speaking to people, in person and on-air, for nearly 50 years, and this continues in that vein. I also tried to incorporate a little humor, just to keep things light and friendly.
The content is divided into sections, such as “True Education,” “Heal Thyself,” “Nature and Climate,” “Torah and Spirituality” and “Current Events.” Each entry in the final section (“Current Events”) is dated since it is necessary to appreciate the events the essays were written to address. Yet the lessons are all timeless and can be applied at any time to any person.
Q: Can you share an example of how an essay from this book changed a person’s perspective?
A: Here is an anecdote: I recently saw an op-ed in The New York Times by an academic calling for Islam to follow Christianity in reforming its approach to non-believers. I directed him to my essay (on page 261) on the Jewish notion of being the Chosen Nation. People often get uncomfortable about that idea since they interpret it as Jews seeing ourselves as superior to others. In the essay, I turn the notion on its head, explaining that chosenness, and not expecting everyone to be Jewish, actually means that Jews have no problem with people who are not Jewish. Thus, Judaism does not struggle with the legitimacy of outsiders in the way that Christianity and Islam do. In other words, the chosenness of Judaism is actually a most liberal and tolerant approach to religion.
It was gratifying to see that the essay gave him food for thought and will hopefully influence what he writes in the future.
Q: Do you have any final thoughts for our readers?
A: I wrote these essays as an expression of my personal experiences—to share this book is to share my thoughts and feelings with the public. To know that others are reading these essays and sharing my life journey with me is humbling and exciting.
