Group Writing: Seriously?!

 

Would you be my partner in this project?

 Those were the words that @iwe expressed in an email he sent to me almost three years ago, inviting me to co-write a book about Judaism. To say I was shocked, thrilled, and terrified at the prospect of working on this kind of project would be an understatement. In all fairness to you, the reader, I have to give you some background.

Several years ago, I decided to completely leave Zen Buddhism, which I had practiced for 20 years. I’d remained a Jew, but had never been religious, and never felt a strong affinity for my faith. Ironically, the more I meditated within the Zen framework, the more I felt a deep connection with G-d. (Zen doesn’t address G-d in its practice.)

So, when I left Zen (for a multitude of reasons that I won’t go into here), and was active on Ricochet at the time, I discovered the writings of @iwe. His love for Judaism was alive and intriguing, and in commenting on one of his posts, I asked him if he thought I should give Judaism another try. He not only suggested I do so but recommended I read his book.

I loved it.

Much later I realized I probably had not understood the depths of the ideas in the book, but I was still intrigued by an approach to Judaism that I would never have imagined. So I continued to read his posts and stayed in touch. When I asked him for a suggestion for a Haggadah for Pesach, he not only offered a couple of ideas but invited me to come to his family’s home for the holiday! Except for last year, I have joined the family and their friends for several years.

But I digress. How did we end up being writing partners?

For one, iwe came to know me, my writing style, and my delving into Judaism through my posts on Ricochet. One day he mentioned that he wanted to write a new book. Since I occasionally offer to help writers edit and/or proofread their books, I tossed out the idea of helping him in that role. The next thing I knew, he was inviting me to write the book with him. Me! He explained that his sophisticated understanding could limit his ability to reach the people he wanted to speak to: those, like me, who had never realized the profundity and richness of Judaism. So, I would represent in our work the person who simply “did not know.” Once we decided on the framework for the book, I read all of iwe’s posts and other essays published over the years (and there were a lot of them) to look for ideas that he had already shared, and tried to put them in the language of the Jewish novice. I learned a great deal and enjoyed the process of reviewing his work, discussing what I’d found helpful and meaningful, incorporating iwe’s additional ideas that were important to the context, and ultimately working to keep the project on track.

For those of you who don’t already know, @iwe is a Torah scholar, who is dedicated to tackling new approaches and understandings, especially with the Five Books of Moses (Chumash). In my efforts to reconnect with Judaism, I began studying the Chumash, was reading the commentary of Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks (at iwe’s suggestion) and found a Torah study partner through an organization called Partners in Torah. It took a few tries to find the right partner, but I’ve been working with Alizah the last few years, and we have a great time. We share a self-deprecating humor, love of Judaism and are dedicated to Torah. And besides, she’s a Conservative! A match made in heaven! It didn’t take long, however, to realize that her approach to Judaism, as a Chasidic Jew, was quite different from iwe’s. I learned that keeping my discussions with both of them separate was the best path, particularly because I had the opportunity to hear sometimes divergent points of view with the freedom of deciding on my own whether to reconcile them or hold them both within my own beliefs.

My own Jewish practice has become enriched through my relationships and my study. Iwe and I ended up working on two books together (this one and this one ), and when they were completed, we naturally evolved into studying the weekly parshah, so now I have two study partners!

At first, I was intimidated by contributing to the parshah discussion with iwe. Although I knew some Hebrew, my vocabulary was limited. But we worked on Zoom, with iwe projecting the Sefaria website where not only the weekly parshah was available in Hebrew and English, but we also had access to a search engine to explore particular words and phrases; my Hebrew vocabulary has also grown. We have made the most amazing discoveries! Some of you who have read the posts where iwe writes, “An @iwe and @susanquinn production,” he is telling you that we worked on that parshah together and both contributed ideas; he has expanded his Torah study to working with another young man and two of his sons. Sometimes we all have the chance to offer input to a particular topic. It is a joyous and fascinating collaboration.

I am always amazed that my ignorance coupled with curiosity is actually helpful. I have few preconceived ideas about the meaning of the text, so my questions can take us in a very different direction. I am delighted when @iwe says, “I’ve never thought of that before!” My question with the research we do together may not yield a new idea, but we never know where the exploration will take us. Each journey may be a dead-end or a goldmine, and we never know what we will discover.

For a while, I let my insecurity about doing such special work intimidate me: could I really make a contribution? Would I be a helpful partner?

Iwe has finally convinced me, and I have come to believe myself, that G-d has blessed our work.

Published in Group Writing
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 13 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    A number of people may come away with a number of questions after reading this post. Please feel free to ask me anything!

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    A number of people may come away with a number of questions after reading this post. Please feel free to ask me anything!

    What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?

    • #2
  3. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    A number of people may come away with a number of questions after reading this post. Please feel free to ask me anything!

    What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?

    Very funny!!  ;-)   

    17.2 MPH

    • #3
  4. KCVolunteer Lincoln
    KCVolunteer
    @KCVolunteer

    It seems you ask a lot of questions…and your sometimes right. A paraphrase of a comment my direct boss said to management during an employee review session. From him, and me, it’s a compliment.

    • #4
  5. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Susan Quinn: I am always amazed that my ignorance coupled with curiosity is actually helpful.

    Actually it is. “Knowledge bias” is a real thing and it causes anyone — a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a rabbi — to fail convey a key predicate concept that will aid the student, patient, client, or parishioner, in understanding something that relies on the predicate. 

    • #5
  6. Ole Summers Member
    Ole Summers
    @OleSummers

    I would like to add my encouragement, not that it is needed. The insight and clarity that both you and Iwe provide into your faith and its path, as well as the ability you both have to express it,  is always a matter of growth and insight in my wandering Christian journey. I am sure this is true for plenty of others as well. I am looking forward to what is yet to come, both individually and jointly. 

    • #6
  7. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Ole Summers (View Comment):

    I would like to add my encouragement, not that it is needed. The insight and clarity that both you and Iwe provide into your faith and its path, as well as the ability you both have to express it, is always a matter of growth and insight in my wandering Christian journey. I am sure this is true for plenty of others as well. I am looking forward to what is yet to come, both individually and jointly.

    @olesummers, what a kind thing to say. We all enjoy the process, and that makes it so special for us, too!

    • #7
  8. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    This post is part of October’s group writing theme: October Surprise. Join in with your own expression of surprise, good or bad, mild or great.

    You are invited to play off of “surprise,” “October,” or both. Stop by today to reserve a day. Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.

    • #8
  9. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Well good luck to both of you on this project.  Who knows, maybe I’ll buy it myself when it’s published.  ;)

    • #9
  10. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Manny (View Comment):

    Well good luck to both of you on this project. Who knows, maybe I’ll buy it myself when it’s published. ;)

    It will be worth it.

    • #10
  11. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Manny (View Comment):

    Well good luck to both of you on this project. Who knows, maybe I’ll buy it myself when it’s published. ;)

    Actually, there are no other books in the works; the links of the two books we’ve completed are in the post. But @iwe also has a blog.

    • #11
  12. Lilly B Coolidge
    Lilly B
    @LillyB

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    A number of people may come away with a number of questions after reading this post. Please feel free to ask me anything!

    What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?

    Very funny!! ;-)

    17.2 MPH

    The correct answer is actually: “African or European?”

    • #12
  13. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    correct answer is actually: “African or European?”

    Darn! Final answer!

    • #13
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.