Overview

In this thoughtful and lucid exploration of the Jewish mystical tradition, leading scholars and teachers come together to share their favorite texts-many available in English for the first time-and explore why these materials are meaningful and relevant to contemporary life. The rich combination of classical texts and contemporary reflections will provide you with inspirational and thought-provoking materials for contemplation, discussion and action, whether you are well-acquainted with Jewish mysticism or encountering it for the first time.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lawrence Fine (Dr. Lawrence Fine) ,  Eitan Fishbane (Dr. Eitan Fishbane) ,  Or N. Rose (Rabbi Or N. Rose)
Publisher:   Jewish Lights Publishing
Imprint:   Jewish Lights Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9781580234344

ISBN 10:   1580234348
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   16 December 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
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

"Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Part One Discovering God in All Reality ""Pass Not Away"": Yearning for a Seamless Life of Connection Nancy Flam 3 Seeking the Sacred Self Jeremy Kalmanofsky 15 Yitro, (Neo-)Hasidism, and a New American Piety Shaul Magid 22 Part Two Spiritual Growth, Inner Transformation Approaching the Thick Cloud: Working with Obstacles in Our Spiritual Growth Sheila Peltz Weinberg 33 ""Who Am I to Go to Pharoah?"" Lawrence Kushner 39 The Cry of Redemption Judith A. Kates 46 ""All This and Maybe"": The Doubting Servant Mimi Feigelson 51 Rabbi Nahum of Chernobyl and ""Second Maturity"" Yehonatan Chipman 59 Part Three Embodied Spiritual Practice Taking in the Torah of the Timeless Present Gordon Tucker 67 Holiness in the Kitchen Chava Weissler 72 Eating as a Spiritual Ecosystem Joel Hecker 78 Loving God with the Evil Impulse Daniel Matt 86 Part Four Compassion, Loving Others “A Better Way of Being in the World, a Way of Compassion” Jonathan P. Slater 93 Rabbi Nahman's “OD”: An Ode of Human Redemption Everett Gendler 103 Spiritual Friendship: “Go Among People Who Are Awake and Where a Light Shines Brightly” Lawrence Fine 112 The Service of Love Ebn Leader 119 The Splendid Bird: Reflections on Prayer and Community Barry W. Holtz 129 Part Five Prayer, Repentance, Healing Praying from the Depths Melila Hellner-Eshed 137 The Tainted Produce: A Parable of Possibilities Neal Rose and Carol Rose 145 Spiritual Wounds Michael Fishbane 152 Sarah and Moses: God's Teachers of Compassion Or N. Rose 162 Crisis and Repair, Trauma and Recovery Haviva Pedaya 171 Part Six Torah, Halakhah, Mitzvot Shabbat Candle Lighting Eitan Fishbane 185 Why Do We Need the Mitzvot? Ron Margolin 192 Jacob's Remedy: A Prayer for the Dislocated Nehemia Polen 201 On Faith Beyond Perception: The Slonimer Rebbe Shai Held 209 Conclusion: Teyku—Because Elijah Lives On! Zalman Schachter-Shalomi 217 Suggestions for Further Reading 221"

Reviews

A dazzling collection that displays the concerns and insights that animate the [mystical and Hasidic] texts and traditions . A spiritual feast of religious meaning for those who enter its pages. Rabbi David Ellenson, PhD, president, Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion An illuminating and often moving collection that reflects the breadth and depth of contemporary interest in these texts as guides to Jewish spirituality and practice in our time. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, author, The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the BiblicalUnconscious A landmark collection that deserves to be read and reread. The diverse insights draw the seeker into the wisdom of Judaism in a way that may draw them into the community of practice as well. Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author, Hasidic Tales: Annotated & Explained and Ecclesiastes: Annotated & Explained Illuminates and probes deeply in multiple fields while speaking to engaged spiritual seekers and scholars. Studded with gems, often overflowing with learning and insights. All who want to grow spiritually, live more deeply, to both connect to tradition and renew it will find something to nurture their souls in this book. Rabbi Irving Greenberg, founding president, Jewish Life Network; founding president, Clal: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership An orchard of spiritual pomegranates, tended by some of today's most gifted Jewish scholars. A delight to read. Jay Michaelson, author, Everything Is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism and God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness and Embodied Spiritual Practice

A dazzling collection that displays the concerns and insights that animate the [mystical and Hasidic] texts and traditions . A spiritual feast of religious meaning for those who enter its pages. Rabbi David Ellenson, PhD, president, Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion An illuminating and often moving collection that reflects the breadth and depth of contemporary interest in these texts as guides to Jewish spirituality and practice in our time. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, author, The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the BiblicalUnconscious A landmark collection that deserves to be read and reread. The diverse insights draw the seeker into the wisdom of Judaism in a way that may draw them into the community of practice as well. Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author, Hasidic Tales: Annotated & Explained and Ecclesiastes: Annotated & Explained Illuminates and probes deeply in multiple fields while speaking to engaged spiritual seekers and scholars. Studded with gems, often overflowing with learning and insights. All who want to grow spiritually, live more deeply, to both connect to tradition and renew it will find something to nurture their souls in this book. Rabbi Irving Greenberg, founding president, Jewish Life Network; founding president, Clal: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership An orchard of spiritual pomegranates, tended by some of today's most gifted Jewish scholars. A delight to read. Jay Michaelson, author, Everything Is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism and God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness and Embodied Spiritual Practice

Author Information

"Lawrence Fine, Irene Kaplan Leiwant Professor of Jewish Studies at Mount Holyoke College, is author of Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship, and other books. Eitan Fishbane, PhD, a frequent scholar-in-residence and guest speaker at congregations across North America, is assistant professor of Jewish thought at The Jewish Theological Seminary; author of As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist (Stanford University Press); and co-editor of Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections (Jewish Lights). Eitan Fishbane is available to speak on the following topics: Shabbat Prayer Spirituality God and Theology Mysticism Ethics Torah Rabbi Or N. Rose is an associate dean at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. He is the coeditor of God in All Moments: Mystical and Practical Spiritual Wisdom from Hasidic Masters and Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice; Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections and Speaking Torah: Spiritual Teachings from around the Maggid's Table, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (all Jewish Lights). Yehonatan Chipman, an Orthodox rabbi, lives in Jerusalem, where he works as a professional translator of academic Jewish texts. He is currently writing his first book on Jewish religious thought. Reb Mimi Feigelson is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi. She is the mashpiah ruchanit (spiritual mentor) and lecturer in Rabbinic literature and Hasidic thought at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of American Jewish University in Los Angeles. She is the former associate director of Yakar in Jerusalem and is an international teacher of Hasidism and spirituality. Lawrence Fine, Irene Kaplan Leiwant Professor of Jewish Studies at Mount Holyoke College, is author of Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship, and other books. Eitan Fishbane, PhD, a frequent scholar-in-residence and guest speaker at congregations across North America, is assistant professor of Jewish thought at The Jewish Theological Seminary; author of As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist (Stanford University Press); and co-editor of Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections (Jewish Lights). Eitan Fishbane is available to speak on the following topics: Shabbat Prayer Spirituality God and Theology Mysticism Ethics Torah Michael Fishbane is the Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago. He is the author of numerous works on biblical and Jewish thought, including Biblical Myth and Rabbinic Mythmaking. His most recent book is Sacred Attunement: A Jewish Theology. Rabbi Nancy Flam is cofounder of the National Center for Jewish Healing and former director of the Jewish Community Healing Program of Ruach Ami: Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. She cofounded the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, was its founding director, and now serves as codirector of programs. She edited the Jewish Lights series of pastoral-care pamphlets, LifeLights, and writes and teaches widely on Judaism, healing, prayer, spirituality, and social justice. Rabbi Everett Gendler was ordained at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. After serving congregations in Mexico City; Rio de Janeiro; and Princeton, New Jersey, he was rabbi for many years at Temple Emanuel in Lowell, Massachusetts, while also serving as Jewish chaplain and instructor in philosophy and religious studies at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He has written widely on Judaism and the environment, nonviolence, social justice, and liturgical innovation. Joel Hecker is associate professor of Jewish mysticism at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He is the author of Mystical Bodies, Mystical Meals: Eating and Embodiment in Medieval Kabbalah and is currently preparing a translation of the Zohar on Song of Songs, Ruth, and Lamentations for volume eleven of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition. Rabbi Shai Held is cofounder, rosh ha-yeshiva, and chair in Jewish thought at Mechon Hadar in New York City. He is completing a doctoral dissertation on the religious thought of Abraham Joshua Heschel at Harvard University. He contributed to Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections and Jewish Theology in Our Time: A New Generation Explores the Foundations and Future of Jewish Belief (both Jewish Lights). Melila Hellner-Eshed is a professor of Jewish mysticism in the Department of Jewish Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, as well as a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. She is a member of the faculty of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and is active in Sulha, an Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation project. She is the author of A River Flows from Eden: The Language of Mystical Experience in the Zohar. Barry W. Holtz is dean of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary, where he is also the Theodore and Florence Baumritter Professor of Jewish Education. His books include, among others, Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts and Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer (Jewish Lights), the latter coauthored with Arthur Green. Jeremy Kalmanofsky is rabbi of congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City. He was ordained at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. His articles have appeared in a variety of Jewish journals, as well as in Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections and Jewish Theology in Our Time: A New Generation Explores the Foundations and Future of Jewish Belief (both Jewish Lights). He serves on the editorial board of Conservative Judaism, and is a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative movement. Judith A. Kates teaches Hebrew Bible and Jewish interpretive traditions at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College and in many programs of adult learning. She is the coeditor (with Gail Twersky Reimer) of Reading Ruth: Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story and Beginning Anew: A Woman's Companion to the High Holy Days. 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: Sacred Stories of the Ordinary; God Was in This Place & I, i Did Not Know: Finding Self, Spirituality and Ultimate Meaning; Honey from the Rock: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism; The Book of Letters: A Mystical Hebrew Alphabet; The Book of Miracles: A Young Person's Guide to Jewish Spiritual Awareness; The Book of Words: Talking Spiritual Life, Living Spiritual Talk; Eyes Remade for Wonder: A Lawrence Kushner Reader; I'm God, You're Not: Observations on Organized Religion and other Disguises of the Ego; Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians; The River of Light: Jewish Mystical Awareness; The Way Into Jewish Mystical Tradition; 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. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner is available to speak on the following topics: • Jewish Mystical Imagination • Rymanover's Silent Aleph: What Really Happened on Sinai • Zohar on Romance and Revelation • What Makes Kabbalah Kabbalah • Sacred Stories of the Ordinary: When God Makes a Surprise Appearance in Everyday Life Click here to contact the author. Rabbi Ebn Leader is director of the Bet Midrash and an instructor in Talmud, Jewish law, and Jewish mysticism at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. He is the coeditor of God in All Moments: Mystical and Practical Wisdom from Hasidic Masters , and has contributed to Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections (both Jewish Lights). Prior to coming to Hebrew College, he served for several years as an educator at Jewish secondary schools in Jerusalem and Boston. Shaul Magid, PhD, is the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Professor of Modern Judaism and professor of religious studies at Indiana University Bloomington. He is the author of Hasidism on the Margin: Reconciliation, Antinomianism, and Messianism in Izbica/Radzin Hasidism and From Metaphysics to Midrash: Myth, History, and the Interpretation of Scripture in Lurianic Kabbala, which won the American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Textual Studies category. Ron Margolin is associate professor of religious studies and modern Jewish thought at Tel Aviv University and a senior researcher at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He is author of The Human Temple: Religious Interiorization and the Structuring of Inner Life in Early Hasidism; and The Inner Religion: Phenomenology of Inner Religious Life and Its Manifestation in Jewish Sources (both in Hebrew). Daniel C. Matt is a leading authority on the Zohar and Kabbalah. He is the author of the best-selling The Essential Kabbalah (HarperSanFrancisco, translated into seven languages); Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment (Paulist Press); God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony Between Science and Spirituality; and Zohar: Annotated and Explained (Jewish Lights). He is also the author of the annotated translation The Zohar: Pritzker Edition (Stanford University Press). He has so far completed six volumes of this immense project, which has been hailed as ""a monumental contribution to the history of Jewish thought."" Formerly professor of Jewish spirituality at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Daniel C. Matt now resides in Berkeley. Daniel C. Matt is available to speak on the following topics: Shekhinah: The Feminine Half of God Raising the Sparks: Finding God in the Material World The Mystical Meaning of Torah The Zohar: Masterpiece of Kabbalah God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony between Science and Spirituality Click here to contact the author. Prof. Haviva Pedaya teaches Judaism and culture in the Department of Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She is the author of Vision and Speech: Models of Prophecy in Jewish Mysticism (Hebrew), Within the Eye of the Cat (Hebrew), and other works. Prof. Pedaya is also an award-winning Hebrew poet and musical director of the Yonah Ensemble, a project devoted to the revitalization of the liturgical and mystical music of the Near East. Rabbi Nehemia Polen is professor of Jewish thought at Hebrew College. He is the author of The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto and The Rebbe's Daughter, recipient of a National Jewish Book Award. He is also a contributor to the award-winning My People's Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries (Jewish Lights). Carol Rose is a writer, educator, and counselor. She holds an MA in theology as well as degrees in religious studies and cross-cultural education. Her publications include Behind the Blue Gate and Spider Women: A Tapestry of Creativity and Healing, coedited with Joan Turner. Rabbi Neal Rose is a family therapist and professor of theology at the University of Winnipeg and has studied and lived in the Bratslav community in Jerusalem. He has written about Martin Buber's presentation of Hasidism. Rabbi Or N. Rose is an associate dean at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. He is the coauthor of God in All Moments: Mystical and Practical Spiritual Wisdom from Hasidic Masters and coeditor of Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice; Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections and Speaking Torah: Spiritual Teachings from around the Maggid's Table, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (all Jewish Lights). Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi, the inspiration of the Jewish Renewal movement, is widely recognized as one of the most important Jewish spiritual teachers of our time. Professor emeritus at Temple University, he has contributed to Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections, and is the author of Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice, Davening: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Prayer, winner of the National Jewish Book Award; First Steps to a New Jewish Spirit: Reb Zalman's Guide to Recapturing the Intimacy & Ecstasy in Your Relationship with God, (all Jewish Lights); From Age-ing to Sage-ing; and Wrapped in a Holy Flame, among other books. Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin, was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and has a doctor of ministry degree from the Pacific School of Religion. He is the author of Mindful Jewish Living: Compassionate Practice and codirector of programs at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, as well as an instructor in meditation at the JCC in Manhattan and other venues. He contributed to Who by Fire, Who by Water—Un'taneh Tokef, We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism—Ashamnu and Al Chet and All These Vows—Kol Nidre (both Jewish Lights). Rabbi Gordon Tucker, PhD, is senior rabbi at Temple Israel Center in White Plains, New York, and adjunct assistant professor of Jewish philosophy at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he formerly served as dean of its rabbinical school. He is the editor and translator of Heavenly Torah: As Refracted through the Generations. Sheila Peltz Weinberg was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and has served as an educator, activist, liturgist, and congregational rabbi. She has helped introduce meditation into the Jewish world as a form that can enliven and illuminate Jewish practice. She is a founder and outreach director of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and the author of Surprisingly Happy: An Atypical Religious Memoir. Chava Weissler is the Philip and Muriel Berman Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Department of Religion Studies at Lehigh University. She is the author of Voices of the Matriarchs: Listening to the Prayers of Early Modern Jewish Women and is completing a book on the Jewish Renewal movement in North America."

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions