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Leading scholars and teachers share their favorite texts of the Jewish mystical tradition—many available in English for the first time—and explore why these materials are meaningful and relevant to us today.
In this unique volume, some of Judaism's most insightful contemporary thinkers bring the words of sages past to bear on the present. They explore how we can become closer to God through our relationships with others, our observance at home and our actions in the world, asking:
- What do mitzvot have to do with mysticism?
- Is spirituality selfish?
- Can mysticism enhance community?
Organized thematically, each section focuses on how mysticism engages and complements the dimensions of religious life, including studying Torah, performing mitzvot and observing halakhah.
Contributors:
Yehonatan Chipman • Mimi Feigelson • Lawrence Fine • Eitan Fishbane • Michael Fishbane • Nancy Flam • Everett Gendler • Joel Hecker • Shai Held • Melila Hellner-Eshed • Barry W. Holtz • Jeremy Kalmanofsky • Judith A. Kates • Lawrence Kushner • Ebn Leader • Shaul Magid • Ron Margolin • Daniel Matt • Haviva Pedaya • Nehemia Polen • Neal and Carol Rose • Or N. Rose • Zalman Schachter-Shalomi • Jonathan P. Slater • Gordon Tucker • Sheila Peltz Weinberg • Chava Weissler
"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 Biblical
Unconscious
“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
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