Overview

Tapping the experiences and wisdom of his career as a spiritual leader, Lawrence Kushner delights, surprises, challenges and inspires us. With his signature candour, wit and compassion, he helps us reconnect with the why and how of our spiritual lives. He encourages us to find new perspectives on the life-stuff that shapes them and gently reminds us of the Source of it All. These inspiring often startling insights will warm you during the dark times of your own doubts even as they brighten your quest for meaning, faith, identity, community and holiness. The goal of all spiritual life is to get your ego out of the way - outwit the sucker; dissolve it; shoot it; kill it. Silence the incessant planning, organising, running, manipulating, possessing and processing that are the ineluctable redoubts of the ego. Not because these activities are bad or wrong or even narcissistic ...but because they preclude awareness of the Divine. To paraphrase the Talmud, God says, There ain't room enough in this here world for your ego and Me. You pick.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rabbi Lawrence Kushner (Rabbi Lawrence Kushner)
Publisher:   Jewish Lights Publishing
Imprint:   Jewish Lights Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
ISBN:  

9781580235136

ISBN 10:   1580235131
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   26 April 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

"Introduction ⁄ ix 1. Rabbi Who Am I? ⁄ 3 We'll Wait Back Here ⁄ 8 The Calling ⁄ 15 My Other Father Died ⁄ 18 The Tent Peg Business ⁄ 22 The Human Pyramid ⁄ 30 The Rabbi Business ⁄ 38 Being Somebody Else ⁄ 47 The Last Gift ⁄ 49 2. Judaism Why I'm a Jew ⁄ 55 Filene's Basement ⁄ 59 Intermarriage ⁄ 61 Getting More Jews ⁄ 67 Customs as Sacred Text ⁄ 69 Two Jewish Mothers ⁄ 73 (Re)Thinking Shabbat ⁄ 75 Kosher ⁄ 78 The Life of Torah ⁄ 84 3. Family Visiting Your Children ⁄ 89 Understanding Your Parents ⁄ 91 Telling Kids the Truth ⁄ 99 Boompa ⁄ 101 And Unto Us a Child Is Given ⁄ 103 Babushka ⁄ 107 Turkey Shoot ⁄ 109 Generations ⁄ 111 4. World What Israel Means to Me ⁄ 115 My Lunch with Jesus ⁄ 117 Cardboard Sukkah ⁄ 120 Bill Novak’s Questions ⁄ 122 NYPD Blue ⁄ 143 Resurrection of Flowers ⁄ 145 5. Mysticism What Is Kabbalah? ⁄ 149 Reading Music ⁄ 156 Bosque del Apache ⁄ 159 Physician of Tsefat ⁄ 162 Spell-Checker ⁄ 170 Midrash as Hypertext ⁄ 174 A Kabbalah Lexicon ⁄ 175 6. Holiness Open My Lips ⁄ 189 Spiritual Greed ⁄ 191 Silent Prayer ⁄ 193 A Blessing for the Czar ⁄ 195 Biking with Pelicans ⁄ 197 The Zen of Airline Tickets ⁄ 199 Memory and Redemption ⁄ 201 Death without Dying ⁄ 210 The Band on the Titanic ⁄ 214 Afterword: ""Our Town"" ⁄ 217 Sources ⁄ 224"

Reviews

A window into the heart and soul of a man who models what it means to be a rabbi . You will be touched by [his] gentle, lighthearted and compassionate ... Truth. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, coauthor, Jewish with Feeling and A Heart Afire; author, First Steps to a New Jewish Spirit A wonderful collection of classic Kushner wit and wisdom. He has a gift for presenting profound ideas in phrase and story that speak to our lives. Rabbi Ellen Dreyfus, president, Central Conference of American Rabbis; rabbi, B'nai Yehuda Beth Sholom, Homewood, Illinois Larry Kushner experiences Jewish life with an extra measure of soul. Where we find closed doors, he finds open possibilities. Where we see endings, he perceives new beginnings. With love and humor, he invites us to see our Jewish lives through new eyes. Rabbi Edward Feinstein, editor, Jews and Judaism in the 21st Century: Human Responsibility, the Presence of God and the Future of the Covenant So witty and entertaining that you won't want to put [it] down. [Its] deep wisdom and clear insight sneak up on you while you re chuckling. Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD, author, Spiritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy

A window into the heart and soul of a man who models what it means to be a rabbi . You will be touched by [his] gentle, lighthearted and compassionate ... Truth. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, co-author, Jewish with Feeling and A Heart Afire;author, First Steps to a New Jewish Spirit A wonderful collection of classic Kushner wit and wisdom. He has a gift for presenting profound ideas in phrase and story that speak to our lives. Rabbi Ellen Dreyfus, president, Central Conference of American Rabbis;rabbi, B'nai Yehuda Beth Sholom, Homewood, Illinois Larry Kushner experiences Jewish life with an extra measure of soul. Where we find closed doors, he finds open possibilities. Where we see endings, he perceives new beginnings. With love and humor, he invites us to see our Jewish lives through new eyes. Rabbi Edward Feinstein, editor, Jews and Judaism in the 21st Century: Human Responsibility, the Presence of God and the Future of the Covenant So witty and entertaining that you won t want to put [it] down. [Its] deep wisdom and clear insight sneak up on you while you re chuckling. Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD, author, Spiritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy

Author Information

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner is one of the most widely read authors by people of all faiths on Jewish spiritual life. He is the best-selling author of such books as Invisible Lines of Connection; The Book of Words; Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians and co-author of Because Nothing Looks Like God; How Does God Make Things Happen?; Where Is God?; What Does God Look Like?; and In God's Hands. He is the Emanu-El Scholar at San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El and an adjunct professor of Jewish mysticism and spirituality at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

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