THE GOD OF DANIEL S.

The ""God of Daniel S."" is, of course, Yahweh; but this book is not so much the story of the God of the Jews as it is the story of the search of Daniel S.--a fictive American Jew--for his identity. Using Daniel as his protagonist, the author explains what it means to be a Jew today, historically, ethnically, religiously, spiritually, and how the contemporary American, adrift from the traditions of Judaism, can arrive at an appreciation of the unique quality of the Jewish spirit: "". . .to be authentically Jewish, he must be twice born from the womb of his people. . . . To be Jewish means to belong to the Jewish people."" In that way, Daniel S. will inevitably be led to Yahweh, and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will become ""the God of Daniel S."" In this basically thoughtful book, the author cannot resist the temptation to poke sly fun at some of the modern manifestations of modern American Judaism--at the ""chic"" wedding canopies of Central Park South, for example--but it is all good-natured and serves to make a point: that Judaism is indeed a house of many mansions, with more than enough room for the skeptical Daniel S. as well as for the most devout of the Chasidim. The book is, in effect, an invitation for every Jew to find in that house the place that suits him best.