List Books » This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation
Authors: Alan Lew
ISBN-13: 9780316739085, ISBN-10: 0316739081
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Date Published: August 2003
Edition: First Edition
There are moments in life when one is caught utterly unprepared. Drawing on both his rabbinical training and his scholarship in Buddhism, Lew leads readers on a journey from confusion to clarity, from doubt to belief, as he opens a path to self-discovery that is accessible to readers of all faiths.
Lew's exploration of the Days of Awe begins not with Rosh Hashanah-which is not featured until chapter six-but with Tisha B'Av and the month of Elul. These observances, Lew feels, set a tone of rigorous introspection in the Jewish calendar. He follows the story through Yom Kippur and Sukkot, drawing on Jewish tradition, his own experiences and a few Buddhist stories (Lew is a self-described "Zen rabbi") to take the reader on a journey of spiritual transformation-"from birth to death and back to renewal again." Lew is far more concerned with inner motivations and awareness than with external rituals, a refreshing and sometimes startling perspective. He is a perceptive thinker and a highly skilled writer, making this book a hard-hitting yet compassionate cry for spiritual renewal during the High Holy Days as well as the rest of the year. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
1 | The Soul Stretches Out to Contain Itself: A Map of the Journey | 3 |
2 | Everywhere He Went, He Was Heading for Home: Teshuvah | 19 |
3 | I Turned, the Walls Came Down, and There I Was: Tisha B'av | 35 |
4 | The Horn Blew and I Began to Wake Up: Elul | 64 |
5 | This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: Selichot | 93 |
6 | The Horn Blows, the Gates Swing Open, and We Feel the Winds of Heaven: Rosh Hashanah | 113 |
7 | What the Soul Does While the Gates Are Still Open: The Ten Days of Teshuvah | 151 |
8 | The Soul Hears Its Name Being Called: Kol Nidre | 176 |
9 | Death and Yom Kippur Atone | 212 |
10 | The Gates Clang Shut: Neilah | 256 |
Epilogue: The Stars Are Shining on My Head: Sukkot | 263 | |
Acknowledgments | 275 |