If God Is Good, Why Is the World So Bad?

Benjamin Blech is an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, author and lecturer. He is the author of seven highly acclaimed and bestselling books, with combined sales of well over 150,000 copies, including three as part of the highly popular Idiot's Guide series. Several of his works have been translated into other languages. Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed was chosen by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations as the single best book on Judaism today. Together with an accompanying video, filmed by the producers of 20/20 and featuring Blech, it is presently being used as the basis for study groups in numerous synagogues and universities around the country. In a national survey (see www.jewsweek.com), Blech was ranked #16 in a listing of the fifty most influential Jews in America. A recipient of the American Educator of the Year Award, he has been an associate professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University since 1966. Blech is Rabbi Emeritus of Young Israel of Oceanside, New York, where he served for thirty-seven years. A tenth-generation rabbi, he has formed thousands of student-teacher relationships through his warm and caring style. Blech is known for his ability to present complicated ideas in a clear and entertaining manner. A past president of both the National Council of Young Israel Rabbis, as well as the International League for the Repatriation of Russian Jewry, Blech has also served as officer for the New York Board of Rabbis as well as the Rabbinical Council of America. Blech is a frequent lecturer in Jewish communities as far-flung as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Israel. Closer to home, he has served as Scholar-in-Residence at hundreds of synagogues throughout the United States and Canada, and has been active on behalf of countless Jewish causes. His lectures on tape have an international following and are among the most popular from among the thousands made available on the Web through Aish Hatorah (www.aish.com). Blech has appeared on national television (including Oprah); hosted a popular weekly radio program in New York; and written for Newsweek, The New York Times and Newsday, in addition to a wide and varied number of scholarly publications. Blech is an unusually eloquent and gifted speaker, as well as a profound contemporary theologian and religious spokesman who has made a major impact on the many thousands of people he has addressed. His Web site is www.benjaminblech.com.Blech, Benjamin is the author of 'If God Is Good, Why Is the World So Bad?' with ISBN 9780757301230 and ISBN 0757301231.