A wave of disease and death in his immediate family led Rabbi Anson Laytner to question much of what he had learned about the meaning of suffering, the value of petitionary prayer, and the role of God in human life. As he struggled to deal with his grief and doubts, he gradually found a way forward. His spiritual healing process took him from intense grief to a renewed appreciation of life–and resulted in this book, a work of creative theology some eighteen years in the making. Choosing Life After Tragedy is written for people who struggle with the subjects of suffering, divine providence, God, and prayer; people who are looking for honest, thoughtful, provocative–and occasionally humorous–theological reflections, but no easy answers. Laytner intersperses his penetrating theological reflections with pertinent episodes from his life because, for him, theology is personal and experience-based. Trained as a liberal rabbi, Laytner riffs on Jewish themes to offer a universal message of hope in the face of suffering and loss, and of mutual support based on humanity’s various teachings of loving kindness. This book will challenge you; it will sometimes amuse you; but you will not remain unmoved.
Reviews
“Rabbi Laytner approaches the problem of suffering with refreshingly personal and raw candor. As a pioneering scholar of the Jewish tradition of arguing with God, Laytner knows both the spiritual benefits and limits of expressing authentic anger in prayer. Whether it be discovering the Dao of Torah, hearing a personally transformative message in a Bob Marley song, or even fainting in synagogue, Laytner’s journey compels us to reflect on our own spirituality with naked honesty.”
—Daniel DeForest London, author of Theodicy and Spirituality in the Fourth Gospel
“In this beautiful and deeply personal set of reflections, Rabbi Anson Laytner not only does theology but offers us a model for how best to do it: with deep honesty and genuine humility. Rabbi Laytner shares his own journey through suffering and devastation in the hopes, I think, of illuminating and giving us courage to face our own. This is a book to be read slowly and savored, a spiritual testament from a rabbi and teacher who is, first and last, a seeker.”
—Shai Held, president and dean, The Hadar Institute
“With a rare combination of head and heart, Anson Laytner shares his struggle to make meaning out of both the Holocaust and the series of blows his family suffered. Eschewing traditional answers, he grounds his hard-won theological reflections in experience, pursuing a life-giving meaning with passion and integrity. Along the way he takes the reader on a spiritual journey from grief to protest to compassion and acceptance. To accompany him is a blessing.”
—Mary Lane Potter, author of Strangers and Sojourners
“Rabbi Laytner writes, ‘All theology is personal.’ That’s true because all suffering is personal, and without suffering we’d give no thought to God. But what if you could go beyond the personal? What if you could experience a Greater Reality that embraces and transcends the personal? What if God knew you because God was you? Bring these questions to Rabbi Laytner’s marvelous book, Choosing Life after Tragedy, and the answers you receive will astound you.”
—Rami Shapiro, author of Judaism without Tribalism