Harvard Law School Professor Noah Feldman’s essay, “Orthodox Paradox,” was selected for inclusion in this year’s anthology, The Best American Spiritual Writing.
In the essay, which originally appeared in the July 22, 2007, edition of the New York Times Magazine, Feldman, describes his personal journey from his early education in an Orthodox Jewish school to an adulthood that moved away from adherence to Orthodox Judaism. He uses his personal narrative to explore how faith is modernized—and what that means for the individual.
Writes Feldman: “Despite my intimate understanding of the mind-set that requires such careful attention to who is in and who is out, I am still somehow taken by surprise each time I am confronted with my old school’s inability to treat me like any other graduate. I have tried in my own imperfect way to live up to values that the school taught me, expressing my respect and love for the wisdom of the tradition while trying to reconcile Jewish faith with scholarship and engagement in the public sphere. As a result, I have not felt myself to have rejected my upbringing.”
Feldman is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. He is an expert in religion and constitutional law. He joined the HLS faculty in 2007.
Read Feldman’s essay.