ABSTRACT
Affluence and liberalism themselves become threatening to Jewish integrity, which is measured in numbers rather than any particular set of beliefs. Professor Neusner is worried about the division of labor in American life that has transformed the role of the rabbi from a traditional Jewish pedagogue into a typically Christian minister. The very emergence of choice in American Jewish life, the broad range of options and alternatives—from religious to secular organizational expression, from Jewish individuality to Jewish community—make writing on the history of Jews in the United States a risky proposition. Stephen J. Whitfield's book points to Jewish survival as a group, as well as Jewish penetration onto the American scene in an acceptable way. Whitfield's book points to Jewish survival as a group, as well as Jewish penetration onto the American scene in an acceptable way. Rosenberg presumes an equation of power with numbers, precisely the reverse of Jewish American history.
