Sex, God,
Christmas & Jews by: Gil Mann
January 15, 2008
Intimate Emails About Faith and
Life Challenges
Opinions are like pipiks,
everybody has one. Advice is not difficult to find and is
frequently offered even when it is not sought. Dear Abby, Anne
Landers, Miss Manners and countless other mavens of right and
wrong have been heaping advice on all of us for decades. Quite
frankly there is something so very white, middle class, and
almost Puritanical to all of their offerings. I am sure some
people must have wondered to whom they can turn for haimish,
down to earth, and plain spoken advice on subjects not generally
covered in the popular advice pages.
Enter Gil Mann.
Gil quit the business world
after receiving his degree in journalism and started writing and
producing TV news. He began to connect with his Jewish roots,
and was encouraged to create the Email of the Week column in
AOL’s Jewish content area. Gil became so involved with his
work in the online Jewish community that he decided to write his
first book, which he blessed with probably the longest title of
any book ever; How To Get More Out of Being Jewish Even If:
A. You are not sure you believe
in God.
B. You think going to synagogue is a waste of time
C. You think keeping kosher is stupid
D. You hated Hebrew school
E. All of the above
Contrary to the title, the book
was not at all flippant. It was the result of listening to 150
Jews in focus groups and interviews and dealt with serious
issues concerning the needs of all members of the Jewish
community.
Gil’s new book, Sex, God,
Christmas & Jews is an equally serious collection of letters
he received asking questions about all aspects of life, but with
a definite leaning towards Jewish values. He deals with subjects
not often spoken about publicly such as: to circumcise or not to
circumcise, or the truth behind Orthodox Jews having sex through
holes in the sheet, body piercing, the reasons for being Jewish,
generational differences and myriad other topics one might have
floating around the back of their mind.
Gil’s real talent is his
ability to speak to his correspondents in a sensible, sincere,
yet soft spoken manner. If he were a physician, one would
compliment him on his marvelous bedside manner. He never speaks
down to his questioners. He never treats a question, no matter
how unusual, as being unimportant or frivolous. His respect for
his readers is apparent in all of his responses. This, in my
opinion, is the reason so many people feel free to ask Gil
questions they might never bring up to anyone else. They know
they will be dealt with respectfully, and never be made to seem
foolish. On top of which, of course, they will get the
information they want.
I urge the members of our
Megillah family to get their hands on Gil’s book and to devote
some relaxing time to savouring the questions and answers
provided in Sex, God, Christmas and Jews. Not only will you
learn something, but you will feel as if you made a new friend.
Submitted by: Michael D.
Fein - Editor
