Editing Harold Kushner (section)

== Views ==
Kushner, affiliated with Conservative Judaism, championed progressive concepts within the movement while deeply influenced by [[Mordecai Kaplan]], his teacher and the founder of [[Reconstructionist Judaism]],<ref name=":5" /> whom he regarded as the most influential thinker in [[History of the Jews in the United States|American Jewish history]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2OkrAQAAIAAJ&q=%22harold+kushner%22+%22mordecai+kaplan%22 |title=Jewish Book World |date=2000 |publisher=[[Jewish Book Council]] |volume=18 |pages=35 |language=en}}</ref> During a speech to the Rabbinical Assembly in 1980, he commented that the Conservative movement had faced an ongoing crisis regarding the authority of ''halakhah'' (Jewish law) since its inception.<ref>{{Cite book |author-link=John Rayner |last=Rayner |first=John D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0MpqJtWRfYsC&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22rabbinical+assembly%22&pg=PA66 |title=Jewish Religious Law: A Progressive Perspective |date=1998 |publisher=[[Berghahn Books]] |isbn=978-1-57181-975-8 |pages=66–67 |language=en}}</ref> He emphasized that the goal of Conservative rabbis was to demonstrate that leading a religious life in the modern era could be fulfilling, without imposing strict observance on less practicing Jews.<ref name=":5" /> Paraphrasing Jewish theologian [[Martin Buber]], Kushner also once stated that "people want less theology and more religion."<ref name=":14" /> He rejected the definition of religion "as an individual experience", emphasizing its communal aspect.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1989-12-12 |title=Author of 'When Bad Things Happen to Good People' Now Writes |url=https://www.dailypress.com/1989/12/12/author-of-when-bad-things-happen-to-good-people-now-writes/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

Informed by the teachings of Kaplan, Kushner was a proponent of Jewish [[religious naturalism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Barry L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SGnDEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22religious+naturalism%22&pg=PT54 |title=Open Judaism: A Guide for Believers, Atheists, and Agnostics |date=2023 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8276-1906-7 |language=en |quote="Mordecai Kaplan adopted religious naturalism when he created the Reconstructionist movement. Harold Kushner became its biggest proponent and surely struck a chord when he wrote the bestseller When Bad Things Happen to Good People."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dorff |first=Elliot N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vi9ZDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22religious+naturalism%22&pg=PT67 |title=Modern Conservative Judaism: Evolving Thought and Practice |date=2018-01-01 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |isbn=978-0-8276-1387-4 |language=en |quote="Both Rabbis Harold Kushner and Harold Schulweis, two more contemporary advocates of religious naturalism whose writings are excerpted here, studied with Kaplan and were very influenced by his thought."}}</ref> Discarding the notion of an omnipotent God, he proposed that God lacks complete dominion over the universe and is not culpable for evil.<ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Geoffrey Claussen |last=Claussen |first=Geoffrey D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3H5dEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22mordecai+kaplan%22&pg=PA181 |title=Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought |date=April 2022 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |isbn=978-0-8276-1350-8 |pages=181 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Mordecai Kaplan |last=Kaplan |first=Mordecai M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RY5EHLth6TQC&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22mordecai+kaplan%22&pg=PA41 |title=Communings of the Spirit: The Journals of Mordecai M. Kaplan, Volume. 1; 1913-1934 |date=2001 |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8143-3116-3 |pages=41 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Neil Gillman |last=Gillman |first=Neil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChgLGsMkyNoC&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22mordecai+kaplan%22&pg=PA212 |title=Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew |date=1990 |publisher=[[Jewish Publication Society]] |isbn=978-0-8276-0403-2 |pages=212 |language=en}}</ref> Within this Reconstructionist framework, he identified two core life forces: the randomness of nature and purposeful divine actions. He rejected the notion of God causing suffering as punishment, advocating instead for a God who shares in human pain, as evidenced by God's name "I am with you" in the [[Book of Exodus]].<ref name=":33">{{Cite web |last=Todd |first=Douglas |date=2008-05-03 |title=Famous rabbi says God's power is limited |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/famous-rabbi-says-gods-power-is-limited |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=[[Vancouver Sun]] |language=en-CA}}</ref> Viewing God as a source of empathy and love,<ref name=":02" /> Kushner once recalled being concerned that during [[Yom Kippur]], his synagogue's congregants focused too much on guilt and did not give themselves the chance to experience God's [[Repentance in Judaism|forgiveness]].<ref name=":14" /> His aphorism "forgiveness benefits us more than the person we forgive" was one of many adopted by religious leaders of various faiths.<ref name=":02" /> Drawing from the Reconstructionist tradition, Kushner asserted that God shouldn't be perceived as a distant entity in space, emphasizing that the question of God's existence doesn't necessarily revolve around the concept of a heavenly population.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=White |first1=James Boyd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=640kvnKQ70MC&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22reconstructionist%22&pg=PA142 |title=Law and Democracy in the Empire of Force |last2=Powell |first2=H. Jefferson |date=2009-12-18 |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |isbn=978-0-472-02442-1 |pages=142 |language=en}}</ref> 

Kushner's writing and ideas were popular among Christians, but traditional Jews held mixed opinions. He once expressed, "I always thought Judaism was at its best when it not only looked at text, but when it looked at people." Kushner's approach, rooted in a focus on human needs, occasionally led him to reinterpret Jewish theology for emotional solace. This resulted in some [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]] feeling defensive of traditional Jewish teachings and accusing him of promoting un-Jewish ideas. In ''When Bad Things Happen to Good People'', Kushner reconciled Jewish beliefs in God's omnipotence and benevolence constraining God's influence over random hazards in life. He likened God to a benevolent watchmaker who created the world and its natural laws. This perspective portrays God as taking pride in his creation while permitting it to operate within these established laws, including the occurrence of random challenges. This implies that God intentionally refrains from complete control over every aspect of life, enabling individuals to navigate and respond to various situations while supporting them only with his presence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doka |first=Kenneth J. |date=2013-04-23 |title=But Where Is God? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/but-where-is-god_b_3140880 |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=[[HuffPost]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kauffman |first=Jeffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ph6OC-GB-xEC&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22omnipotence%22+%22paradox%22&pg=PA51 |title=Loss of the Assumptive World: A Theory of Traumatic Loss |date=2013-05-13 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-45138-7 |pages=51 |language=en}}</ref> This view contradicts traditional Jewish teaching and led to criticism from Orthodox Jews, although Kushner himself acknowledged that he may have been wrong about God.<ref name=":33" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Ben |title=Honoring the human touch of Harold Kushner |url=https://www.jpost.com/arts-and-culture/books/honoring-the-human-touch-of-harold-kushner |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Literary critic and journalist [[Ron Rosenbaum]] was not convinced by Kushner's argument in the book, describing Kushner's position as "diminishing God to something less than an Omnipotent Being – to something more like an eager cheerleader for good, but one decidedly on the sidelines in the struggle against evil."<ref name=":02" />

In line with Kaplan's influence and Reconstructionist theology, Kushner perceived the Torah as a fully human creation that, while acknowledging its human origins, serves to commemorate significant religious experiences in life.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fahlbusch |first1=Erwin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ly4DgtT3LkC&dq=%22harold+kushner%22+%22mordecai+kaplan%22&pg=PA54 |title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity |last2=Bromiley |first2=Geoffrey William |date=1999 |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |isbn=978-0-8028-2415-8 |pages=54 |language=en}}</ref> He sometimes expressed doubt about the reliability of individuals who claim to have heard divine messages, and cited the [[Binding of Isaac]] as a problematic narrative that contradicts fundamental religious tenets. The story tells of [[Abraham]] going to sacrifice his son, [[Isaac]], as an offering to God in obedience to a divine directive. Although Kushner believed that Abraham heard the message, he was skeptical that God actually said it.<ref name=":4" />