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.
Topics include: * Speech * Eating and Food * Study * Prayer * Lovingkindness * Holy Days * Relationships * Aging * Israel
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Good book for Conversion Students:
This book was very helpful in preparing me for the life cycle events in the jewish faith. I am a conversion student and needed a book that could assist me in the overview and depth of understanding of the high holy days, etc.
Less than it promises:
Though "A Book of Life" promises a new approach to invest the spiritual into routine Judaism, it ends up being just another "Intro to Judaism" book. The opening chapters on daily prayer routines are good, but later chapters on life cycles and holidays have been done better by others (including Strassfeld himself in an earlier book on the holidays).
The book a lot of us have been waiting for!:
This is, quite simply, a wonderful, wonderful book. You might think that a book subtitled "Judaism as a Spiritual Practice" might focus dogmatically on the narrow realm of "how can everything be relevant for me", but the author--steeped in knowledge of traditional sources and practices AND himself a spiritual seeker and teacher--has produced a book which is eminently readable, is full of both information and inspiration, and successfully weaves together ancient and contemporary insights. His gentle teaching... more info
Serious Seeker's Guide:
I am awed by the depth of this book.This is a book for the serious seeker.It presents the traditional thinking from the Torah, Midrashim and Talmud,but it has the added spiritual dimension which has become so important in our contemporary Jewish life. The author takes us through the day from dawn to dusk,through the three paths of Judaism,Torah study,prayer and the path of loving kindness.giving us the traditional laws and customs for each of these and also the method by which to enhance these... more info
