Klinghoffer, David 1965–

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Klinghoffer, David 1965–

PERSONAL:

Born October 31, 1965, in Santa Monica, CA; son of Paul and Carol Klinghoffer; biological son of Harriet Lund. Education: Brown University, A.B. (magna cum laude), 1987; also attended the Jewish Theological Seminary. Politics: Democratic Socialists of America. Religion: Judaism.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Mercer Island, WA. Office—Forward, 45 E. 33rd St., New York, NY 10016. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. National Review, New York, NY, editorial assistant, 1987, assistant book editor, 1987-89, literary editor, beginning 1992, later became senior editor; Washington Times, Washington, DC, film and television critic, 1990-92; Forward, New York, NY, columnist. Discovery Institute, senior fellow.

WRITINGS:

The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy, Free Press (New York, NY), 1999.

The Discovery of God: Abraham and the Birth of Monotheism, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2003.

Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2005.

Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2007.

How Would God Vote? Why the Bible Commands You to Be a Conservative, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2008.

Contributor to periodicals, including Commentary. Author of blog, Jewcy.

SIDELIGHTS:

A columnist for the Jewish daily newspaper Forward, David Klinghoffer's first work is a chronicle of his search for religious identity in The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy. The book is an "intimate and classic tale of spiritual self-discovery," wrote John J. DiIulio, Jr., in the National Review.

As an eighth grader, Klinghoffer discovered that halakha—traditional Jewish laws—classify him as a non-Jew because his birth mother is not Jewish, even though his adoptive parents were Jewish. Later, a young Klinghoffer recircumcised himself in the hopes that the symbolic action would make him a Jew. In The Lord Will Gather Me In, the author writes that he entered Brown University as a "secular Jew and a political liberal." Still seeking his spiritual identity during his college years, Klinghoffer met religious Christians and Jews who influenced him.

After college, Klinghoffer began searching for his birth mother. He discovered that his biological mother is a Swedish woman who was abandoned by Klinghoffer's biological father, a man from Kansas. Klinghoffer's birth mother told him that one of her maternal great-grandfathers was a Jew. This statement elated the author, who writes that he realized that "if this was true, I was part Jewish by blood." Klinghoffer then traveled to Sweden to study his Jewish ancestry. Gaining a better sense of his religious heritage, he became an Orthodox Jew.

The author's depiction of "this rebirth as a Jew is barbed at times, poignant at others," stated Richard Bernstein in a New York Times Book Review discussion of The Lord Will Gather Me In. Klinghoffer's book documents a "spiritually challenging journey," observed DiIulio. Occasionally, the author's writing "takes on an annoyed, uncharitable, unkindly tone," commented Bernstein. In his discussion of The Lord Will Gather Me In, National Review contributor DiIulio found that the author's "zeal-of-the-convert tone" will most likely offend readers.

In The Discovery of God: Abraham and the Birth of Monotheism, Klinghoffer offers a biography of the biblical figure said to be the father of three of the world's major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Using the books of the Old Testament as his starting point, Klinghoffer fills in missing material about Abraham by using stories told in the traditional Jewish oral compilations of the Talmud and the Midrash, which serve to "render Abraham as a vivid, compelling human being," noted Michael Medved in a National Review article. Charged with the task of spreading belief in one divine figure, rather than the panoply of gods commonly worshipped in the Mesopotamian region, Abraham was to be rewarded with having numerous descendents through his obedience to God. In explaining how Abraham fulfilled his role to God, the author is skilled at clarifying and organizing the numerous, "often conflicting interpretations," remarked a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Describing Klinghoffer as a "master storyteller," a Publishers Weekly reviewer claimed The Discovery of God offers readers an "engrossing account" of the life of an extremely important religious figure. Medved concluded his review by calling The Discovery of God "one of the most memorable [books] ever written" about a religious figure.

Klinghoffer presents an unusual theory in his next work, Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History, published in 2005. The author suggests that Christianity would have remained a small element in Judaism if Jews had accepted Jesus as their messiah. Klinghoffer claims that preserving the teachings, laws, and rituals of Judaism, particularly male circumcision, would have limited the appeal of Jewish Christianity. The rejection of Jesus by Jewish religious leaders freed Christianity from the confines of traditional Jewish practices, allowing the new religion to reject elements that might present obstacles to the conversion of nonbelievers.

Writing in Booklist, Ilene Cooper called Why the Jews Rejected Jesus "provocative reading." Other reviewers thought the volume would appeal to followers of both religions. "It provides an impressive apologia for the Jewish faith" for Jewish readers, claimed National Review critic Michael Potemra, who suggested Why the Jews Rejected Jesus would make a thoughtful gift for a child's bat or bar mitzvah. Potemra also thought the book would appeal to Christian readers, as the author "has created a window into the Jewish mind." Describing Why the Jews Rejected Jesus as a "soundly reasoned book," Library Journal reviewer Steve Young considered the volume important for all Christians and Jews who care "about the relations between the two faiths."

Klinghoffer's next book was 2007's Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril. In this work, the author focuses on how he believes Americans are sinking further into immorality and ignoring the Ten Commandments as a guide to living a moral life. He uses his own hometown as a case study of this, demonstrating what he believes are examples of Seattle's growing lack of morality and secularism. Shattered Tablets is divided into ten vignettes that relate to the commandments. Klinghoffer also argues that from the very structure of the Ten Commandments, they demonstrate that people cannot truly "love thy neighbor" without first having a connection with God. There were mixed reviews to Klinghoffer's book, with some critics writing that the author does not substantiate and footnote his claims and arguments sufficiently. Dann Wigner, writing in Library Journal commented that Klinghoffer "presents interesting insights, but his work falls short on many counts." Others appreciated Klinghoffer's passion for the subject and call for modern society to reconsider their level of morality. The author "is genuinely concerned with the moral state of the union," noted one Publishers Weekly contributor. Some reviewers also appreciated Klinghoffer's look at an important component of the Old Testament. Shattered Tablets functions as a "guided tour of the commandments themselves," wrote Yuval Levin in a review for the National Review.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Klinghoffer, David, The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy, Free Press (New York, NY), 1999.

PERIODICALS

Adventist Review, October 18, 2007, Mark A. Kellner, review of Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril, p. 52.

American Jewish Life, September-October 2007, Janis Siegel, review of Shattered Tablets.

Booklist, February 15, 2003, Bryce Christensen, review of The Discovery of God: Abraham and the Birth of Monotheism, p. 1021; February 15, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History, p. 1039.

Christianity Today, June, 2005, S.T. Karnick, "The False Messiah: Errors Undermine Attempt to Enhance Jewish-Christian Understanding," p. 63.

Commentary, March, 2003, Noah Millman, "The First Convert," review of The Discovery of God, p. 82; June, 2005, Hillel Halkin, "Jews for Jesus—and Vice Versa," p. 66.

First Things, August-September, 2003, review of The Discovery of God, p. 57; February, 2005, Richard Neuhaus, "Why the Jews Did or Did Not Reject Jesus," p. 58; February 1, 2008, Kristen Scharold, review of Shattered Tablets, p. 52.

Jewish Review, May 5, 2008, Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett, review of Shattered Tablets.

Jewish World Review, August 22, 2007, Rob Dreher, review of Shattered Tablets.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2003, review of The Discovery of God, p. 128; December 15, 2004, review of Why the Jews Rejected Jesus, p. 1184.

Library Journal, March 1, 2003, Gary P. Gillum, review of The Discovery of God, p. 94; January 1, 2005, Steve Young, review of Why the Jews Rejected Jesus, p. 118; August 1, 2007, Dann Wigner, review of Shattered Tablets, p. 93.

National Review, December 21, 1998, John J. DiIulio, Jr., "The Jewish Question," p. 57; June 2, 2003, Michael Medved, "Founding Father," review of The Discovery of God; March 28, 2005, Michael Potemra, "Defender of the Faith," review of Why the Jews Rejected Jesus, p. 45; September 10, 2007, Yuval Levin, review of Shattered Tablets, p. 48.

New York Times Book Review, December 16, 1998, Richard Bernstein, review of The Lord Will Gather Me In.

Publishers Weekly, February 10, 2003, review of The Discovery of God, p. 182; January 24, 2005, review of Why the Jews Rejected Jesus, p. 238; June 25, 2007, review of Shattered Tablets, p. 52.