American JewBu by Emily Sigalow is an academic (sociological) exploration of the influence Buddhism has had on American Jews. Sigalow makes some keen observations, but the book is marred by a great deal of repetition. She is constantly reminding us of what she is doing, showing us what she does, and then, recapping. This gets tedious.
She also turns away from two of her more radical (and interesting) statements. Toward the end she call the expropriation of elements of Buddhist practices by American Jews as whitening and colonial. She mentions it, but fails to pursue it further. This was a possibly interesting avenue of approach, but her study pursued it no further.
Certainly, if you are a Jewish person interested in Buddhism and want to see, in one place, how the intersections between the two religions started and developed, Sigalow’s book will be helpful. But a tightening up of the book’s many repetitions could have made this a far better read.
She also turns away from two of her more radical (and interesting) statements. Toward the end she call the expropriation of elements of Buddhist practices by American Jews as whitening and colonial. She mentions it, but fails to pursue it further. This was a possibly interesting avenue of approach, but her study pursued it no further.
Certainly, if you are a Jewish person interested in Buddhism and want to see, in one place, how the intersections between the two religions started and developed, Sigalow’s book will be helpful. But a tightening up of the book’s many repetitions could have made this a far better read.
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