New Age Judaism: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World »

Melinda Ribner is a well-known meditation teacher and psychotherapist. She has taught Jewish meditation and meditative kabbalah for over 16 years and incorporates many of these exercises into this book. In 1989 she formed The Jewish Meditation Circle which meets weekly in Manhattan. Her work draws on the teachings and practices of the Musar, Chassidic, and Kabbalistic schools within Judaism.

Many people will be surprised to find that Judaism is fundamentally aligned with what we think of as the New Age. Many of the things we associated with the New Age are not new but are part of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. New Age Judaism is not about Judaism modified to meet the needs of the moment, but rather it makes age-old Judaism, traditional and kabbalistic teachings accessible to the modern person in a new way.

New Age Judaism is a very practical guidebook to Jewish spirituality drawn from the insights and personal observations of the author, a well-known meditation teacher and psychotherapist. Melinda Ribner has taught Jewish meditation and meditative kabbalah for over 16 years and incorporates many of these exercises into her book.

About the Author:
Melinda Ribner is the director and founder of The Jewish Meditation Circle, which she formed in 1989 and meets weekly in Manhattan. She has taught Jewish meditation for more than 15 years at synagogues of all affiliations in the U.S. and Canada, at national conferences of Jewish learning, at respected New Age centers and more. She received a nonrabbinical ordination to teach Jewish meditation from the legendary Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach that was witnessed and signed by prominent Orthodox rabbis. Additionally, she is a certified social worker and a psychotherapist in private practice where she uses meditation as a treatment modality. She is the author of Everyday Kabbalah: A Practical Guide for Jewish Meditation, Healing, and Personal Growth. Her work draws on the teachings and practices of the Musar, Chassidic, and Kabbalistic schools within Judaism.

Publishers Weekly

Part meditation manual, part exhortation, part explanation and part autobiography, this primer asserts a close linkage between New Age spirituality and Kabbalistic teachings. Originally educated as a social worker, author Ribner is now a psychotherapist in private practice who works as a "holistic and spiritual healer" using "meditation therapy." She also teaches her clients deep breathing, reviews their diets, urges them to exercise and to drink "lots of pure water." She frequently cites her favorite mentor, the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who awarded her "nonrabbinical ordination to teach Jewish meditation." For example, unable to find a satisfactory response to the issue of human suffering and, particularly, to the suffering of Jews in the Holocaust, Ribner quotes Carlebach: "Some questions do not have answers." But Ribner offers definitive answers to several issues. She believes in angels and in reincarnation; she advocates vegetarianism, religious observance, alternative medicine and holistic healing. Other topics she examines include self-help, repentance, love and sexual relations. Her explorations are preceded by a detailed review of Kabbalistic principles, and conclude with an insistent plea that Jews prepare for the coming of the Messiah through spiritual growth on "the path to God." This comprehensive guidebook may appeal to those who believe that the New Age is upon us. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|