Book Review: Torah Wrestling: Embracing the Marginalized in Jewish Sacred Scripture and Discovering Moral Wisdom for Today by Rabbi Roy Furman; Read the Spirit Books; (c) 2025; ISBN 9781641-802086, 164 pages, $21.
By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel in Chula Vista, California
In a deeply polarized age, when sacred texts are too often weaponized to divide or be dismissed as irrelevant, Rabbi Roy Furman’s Torah Wrestling is a refreshing, compassionate, and courageous contribution. At a concise 127 pages of main text, this thoughtful volume is a masterclass in honest engagement with the Torah.
Furman, a Reform rabbi with more than 50 years of congregational leadership, university teaching at DePaul, and dedicated study of ancient Judaism, invites readers to wrestle alongside him with the Bible’s most difficult stories. Rather than offering simplistic pieties, he lifts up the voices of the marginalized and draws out timely moral wisdom for our fractured world.
The book’s title beautifully captures its essence. Drawing on the foundational Jewish image of wrestling with the divine — from Jacob’s nighttime struggle at the Jabbok to the very name “Israel,” meaning “one who struggles with God” — Furman models a respectful yet unflinching dialogue with Scripture. He approaches the Torah not as an infallible divine dictation but as a profoundly human document shaped by historical context, one that still radiates divine sparks and enduring ethical power. This perspective grants him the freedom to question, reinterpret, and reclaim troubling narratives that have challenged readers for generations.
What distinguishes Torah Wrestling is its consistent, laser-focused attention to those pushed to the margins of the biblical story: Hagar, Dinah, the Amalekites, the generation of the Golden Calf, and many others who often receive harsh treatment in traditional interpretations. Furman refuses to leave them sidelined.
In one particularly moving chapter, he recenters Hagar, the Egyptian maidservant cast into the wilderness with her son. He portrays her not as a minor character but as a figure of profound resilience and direct divine encounter. This reading resonates powerfully with Muslim readers, for whom Hagar is a revered matriarch, and serves as a natural bridge for Abrahamic interfaith conversation.
Furman’s treatment of the Golden Calf episode is equally provocative and illuminating. Instead of the conventional condemnation of idolatry, he poses the searching question: “Was That Golden Calf So Bad?” He carefully highlights textual tensions and contradictions in the account, suggesting that the people’s desire for a visible, tangible symbol of God’s presence may reflect genuine spiritual longing rather than simple rebellion. In this light, Moses’ zealous response becomes more complex — a moment in which the drive for purity may have eclipsed compassion. Furman offers no easy resolutions; he creates space for nuance, empathy, and deeper moral reflection.
Throughout the book, Furman confronts challenging themes directly: divinely commanded violence, the treatment of outsiders, gender dynamics, power imbalances, and systems of exclusion. He is especially uncomfortable with passages that appear to authorize genocide, such as the commands concerning Amalek, and gently but firmly argues that these should not carry authoritative moral weight in contemporary life. In doing so, he stands within a long and respected line of Jewish interpreters who prioritize the Torah’s core ethics of compassion, justice, and human dignity over literalist readings of its harsher elements.
The book’s structure makes it exceptionally accessible. Each chapter functions as a reflective essay, perfectly suited for personal study, sermon preparation, adult education, or interfaith dialogue. Furman draws thoughtfully on classical rabbinic sources while weaving in insights from his background in clinical social work and his own lived experience. The tone remains warm, conversational, and engaging — as though sitting with a wise, trusted rabbi willing to share his honest struggles with the text.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its generous interfaith spirit. It features a foreword by Christian editor Jeffrey Munroe and an afterword by Muslim scholar Saeed Khan. Both contributors affirm how Furman’s centering of the “other” deepens and enriches their own traditions. This is no superficial pluralism; it is a model of serious, respectful engagement that demonstrates how honest wrestling with shared scriptures can build understanding rather than division.
Furman writes with clarity and warmth, never dry or overly academic. He addresses a wide audience: rabbis and educators seeking fresh material, lay readers navigating modern faith challenges, and people of all faiths (or none) concerned with ethics and social justice. Advance endorsements from respected voices such as Rabbi Laura Geller, Professor Benjamin Sommer, and ethicist David P. Gushee reflect the book’s broad appeal.
In an era marked by rising antisemitism and religious nationalism, Torah Wrestling offers a vital counter-narrative. It reminds us that the Torah’s deepest message is not tribal triumph but universal human dignity. By embracing the marginalized figures within its pages, Furman calls us to do the same in our communities — to see the “other” as bearing the divine image, to question exclusionary systems, and to choose compassion even when the text or the world seems to pull toward judgment.
This book will be especially valuable for those preparing Torah teachings, interfaith programs, or group study. A companion study guide from the publisher makes it ideal for discussion circles. Whether you are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or simply interested in biblical ethics, Torah Wrestling will leave you inspired, productively unsettled, and better equipped to live out the Torah’s moral vision in today’s world.
Rabbi Roy Furman has given us a genuine gift: a short, powerful invitation to wrestle honestly with our sacred inheritance and emerge stronger, wiser, and more compassionate. In a world hungry for moral clarity without dogmatism, Torah Wrestling is essential reading. Highly recommended.
*
Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista.