How Judaism can shed its tribalism and become a blessing to the world

New book by renowned Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers a vibrant Judaism freed from patriarchy, outdated beliefs, and legalism.

Tribe: An aggregate of people united by a shared story

Tribalism: Mistaking story as history in service to the elevation of one tribe over all others

Judaism is often practiced as a form of tribalism that mistakes story for history, parable for revelation, myth for science, and metaphor for fact. This week, Monkfish Book Publishing Company announces the publication of a book that forcefully challenges this view. Judaism Without Tribalism: A Guide to Being a Blessing to All the Peoples of the Earth by Rabbi Rami Shapiro investigates Judaism at its best—and sanest—stripping away outdated and harmful beliefs that have accrued over the centuries and returning to essential truths too often ignored in favor of tradition, tribal identity, or the claims of the powerful. The result is a vibrant Judaism for the 21st century that draws deeply from tradition and scripture yet addresses the unmet needs of the present, and the future, a Judaism that is open and accessible to everyone.


“Judaism Without Tribalism is a blessing, a much-needed challenge, and a deep well of wisdom and sanity.” —Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones

“A compelling, progressive reorientation of an ancient faith.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Easy to read, yet deep and challenging in its wisdom, this book will become a bible for many who have rejected various Jewish orthodoxies but still know that there is a depth of wisdom in Judaism that they do not want to discard.” —Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun and author of the bestsellers The Left Hand of God and Jewish Renewal

Written by Rabbi Rami Shapiro, one of today’s most respected—and most unconventional—Jewish thinkers, Judaism Without Tribalism is a manifesto, an invitation to completeness, and a call for inner and outer spiritual revolution. It is also a deeply practical guide to living authentically, breath by breath and day by day.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an award-winning author of over three dozen books on Judaism, spirituality, comparative religion, recovery, writing, and other topics. Rami is the host of Spirituality & Health magazine’s popular podcast (https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/podcasts), the co–director of the One River Foundation (https://new.oneriverfoundation.org), the former editor of Humanistic Judaism magazine, and the 2020 recipient of the Huston Smith Award for Excellence in Inter-Spiritual Education. 

“Religions are like languages: no language is true or false; all languages are of human origin; each language reflects and shapes the civilization that speaks it; there are things you can say in one language that you cannot say or say as well in another; and the more languages you speak, the more nuanced your understanding of life becomes.” —Rabbi Rami Shapiro

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Contact:

Paul Cohen

Publisher, Monkfish Book Publishing Company

[email protected] 

845-417-6399

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.

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