Authors: Michael Strassfeld
ISBN-13: 9781580232470, ISBN-10: 1580232477
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
Date Published: January 2006
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Michael Strassfeld, coauthor of the historic Jewish Catalogs, provides a fresh, innovative guide to recapturing Jewish spirituality. For all the cycles of life from waking in the morning to retiring at night, from the weekdays to the Sabbath and holidays, from the beginning of the year to its close, from birth to death Rabbi Strassfeld presents traditional Jewish teachings as a guide to behavior and values. Where the tradition is replete with rituals (for example, the Sabbath), he describes them and shows us how they can enrich our spiritual life. Where rituals are sparse or nonexistent (for example, returning home at the end of the workday), he suggests new ones gleaned from his own study and experience.
Rabbi Strassfeld also brings the principles of insight meditation to Jewish life, using this practice to recover and reconstruct Judaism s spiritual dimension. He describes a Judaism that encourages within us a spiritual awareness as we participate in both traditional Jewish practices and the mundane activities of daily life. By engaging with Jewish tradition in ways that recapture its original kavanah, or intention, we will, Rabbi Strassfeld maintains, achieve the two fundamental goals of Judaism, which are to make us better human beings and place us in the presence of God.
Rabbi Strassfeld has set a sumptuous table for students of Judaism in his Book of Life. Paying equal attention to ethics, spirituality, and ritual, Strassfeld gently guides readers through the practices of Judaism that lead to a mindful Jewish life. This book is perfect for congregations, for undergraduate courses, for conversion classes, and for searchers from every walk of life.
Acknowledgments | ||
Introduction | ||
Pt. 1 | Awakening to the Day | |
Dawning | 3 | |
Speech | 22 | |
Work | 37 | |
Eating and Food | 66 | |
The End of the Day | 94 | |
Shabbat: A Day for Walking Softly Through the World | 103 | |
Pt. 2 | The Three Paths | |
Torah: The Path of Study | 139 | |
Avodah: The Path of Prayer | 176 | |
Gemilut Hesed: The Path of Loving-kindness | 206 | |
Pt. 3 | Living Through the Year: The Festivals | |
The Festivals | 227 | |
The Jewish Calendar | 229 | |
Pesah/Passover | 231 | |
The Omer | 244 | |
Shavuot | 253 | |
The Three Weeks and Tisha be-Av | 256 | |
High Holidays: Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur | 260 | |
Sukkot | 274 | |
Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah | 281 | |
Hanukkah | 284 | |
Tu Bishvat | 290 | |
Purim | 293 | |
Pt. 4 | Living a Life of Holiness | |
Genesis/Bereishit: Beginnings and Birth | 304 | |
Genesis/Bereishit: Conversion | 324 | |
Genesis/Bereishit: Parents and Children | 337 | |
Exodus/Shemot: Bar/Bat Mitzvah | 345 | |
Exodus/Shemot: On Being a Mentsch | 353 | |
Leviticus/Va- Yikra: Relationships and Sexuality | 357 | |
Leviticus/Va- Yikra: Marriage | 373 | |
Numbers/Be-midbar: Living in the Desert | 396 | |
Deuteronomy/Devarim: Aging | 425 | |
Deuteronomy/Devarim: Death | 440 | |
Pt. 5 | After Deuteronomy: Living in the Promised Land | |
Israel: Toward a Torah of Zion | 467 | |
Ecology | 475 | |
After the Words: God | 487 | |
A Note on Sources/Glossary | 505 |