I knew this book was about Judaism, but I thought it was going to be a lot more memoir than it is. Sarah Hurwitz doesn't talk much about her personal journey out of Judiasm and then back after the very beginning (introduction or first chapter, I don't remember which). She tells the story of how she didn't vibe with the idea of a big man in the sky as a kid, didn't bother at all with religion for a long time, joined an Intro to Judiasm class to keep herself busy after a breakup, and found a version of Judiasm that actually held meaning to her. 

The whole rest of the book is basically a summary of what she learned. She describes Jewish holidays and rituals (often illustrating with her own experiences taking part in them), the Jewish holy texts and the Jewish understanding of them, conceptualizations of God and the divine (it is completely possible to be Jewish and also be what a Christian would consider atheist), ethics, rules, right actions, prayer, death, and community. It's basically an Intro to Judiasm book, mostly covering generalities across the religion and specific doctrines that Sarah herself believes, but also touching on different sects where they differ from Sarah's personal beliefs. 

I did actually find a lot of things about Judiasm that resonated with me personally. Nondualism is a conception of the divine that I could absolutely get behind. The concept of the weekly shabbat is one I really like, even though some of the rules seem unnecessarily restrictive. The Jewish rituals around death are especially poignant and almost made me wish I belonged to a Jewish community so I could have that kind of support when someone I care for dies. 

Growing up Christian, I was taught that Judiasm was Christianity Lite - basically the same, but with a bunch more rules because they didn't have Jesus to set them free from rules. I was pretty sure that was wrong, but it wasn't until reading this book that I finally grasped the full richness and meaningfulness of the Jewish tradition. If I was sure I could commit to a religion (I've been Christian, pagan, Helenistic polytheist, and Shinto by turns and abandoned all of them), I would consider converting to Judiasm. There are things in the religion (as is true for every religion I've looked at) that I don't like, but Judiasm has thousands of years of both tradition and reinterpretation and many parts that I find very appealing. If you're at all curious about the essence of Judiasm, this is a fantastic introduction to the heart and the essence of the religion.