Overview

"Tapping the experiences and wisdom of his career as a spiritual leader, Lawrence Kushner delights, surprises, challenges and inspires us. With his signature candor, 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. Lawrence Kushner's wisdom has illumined many topics over his forty-year career. Looking back now, in this retrospective volume of much previously unpublished thought, we discern a fabric woven with startling colors and lights. It warms us during the dark times of our own disbelief even as it brightens our quest for meaning, faith, identity, community and holiness."

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: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9781580234412

ISBN 10:   1580234410
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   28 October 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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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, 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

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

Author Information

Lawrence Kushner, author, lecturer and spiritual leader, is regarded as one of the most creative religious thinkers and writers in America. A commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, he has focused us on spiritual renewal with wisdom and humor. Through his books and lectures, people of every faith and background have found inspiration and new strength for spiritual search and growth. It has been said that some spiritual leaders blend religion and psychology to help us walk better on the ground, but Lawrence Kushner draws on the wisdom of the mystics to help us dance better on the ceiling. Kushner's acclaimed books include I’m God; You’re Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego; Honey from the Rock: An Easy Introduction to Jewish Mysticism; Invisible Lines of Connection: Sacred Stories of the Ordinary; The Book of Letters: A Mystical Hebrew Alphabet; Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians; and In God’s Hands, an inspiring fable for children, with Gary Schmidt (all Jewish Lights). Kushner served as rabbi at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, for almost thirty years; he is currently the Emanu-El scholar at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, and an adjunct faculty member at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. He is fascinated by graphic design and computers (designing most of his Jewish Lights books). He enjoys Mozart, hanging around sailboats, and making his granddaughters giggle.

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