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The Special Times of the Jewish Year Can Be a Framework for Your Life as a Couple
"Through the holiday cycle we have seen that life is a complex weave of light and darkness, bitter and sweet, striving and surrendering. The twisted candle reminds us that as a couple our two lives have become intertwined as one. Two souls enter a partnership, interwoven yet always distinct, joined by a third strand, the Divine Presence. As we perform the ritual of Havdalah, we hold our hands up to the flame and catch the reflection of the last light on our fingertips. We pray that the light will continue to shine through our words and deeds, in our homes and in the world."
—from Chapter 9
More than just calendar commitments, the Jewish holidays carry with them a view of what is important in life, a set of assumptions that can challenge and deepen the way we think about relationships.
This inspiring and practical guidebook helps you to understand your life as a couple in the context of the themes of Jewish holidays (Yom Kippur, Purim, Pesah, Sukkot, Shabbat):
- Forgiving and Growing
- Playing, Laughing and Taking Risks
- Coming Home, Finding Freedom
- Blessing Bounty, Facing Impermanence
- Pausing to Bless What Is
- … and more
Drawing from ancient and contemporary texts, Jewish tradition and personal stories, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer and Rabbi Nancy H. Wiener provide creative exercises, rituals and guided discussions that help you make connections to tradition, community and each other. By experiencing the Jewish holidays as times to focus on your relationship, you'll find renewed meaning in these holy celebrations and new opportunities for spiritual growth all year long.
"For seekers of wisdom, for people of every faith and no faith, for insiders and outsiders, for novices and veterans. In an era of depersonalization, this is a humanizing guide to authentic relationships."
—Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, author of Godliness: Translating God
“More than theory … a guide for growing more connected to your own spirituality and hopefully closer to your partner in the process.”
—Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, author of The Creative Jewish Wedding Book
“A marvelous invitation to growth, both in relationship to a life partner and in connection to Jewish tradition. Skillfully draws upon the rhythms of Jewish life to enhance spiritual intimacy within couples.”
—Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, editor of Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional and Contemporary Sources
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
ONE Telling Our Story, Dedicating Our Space: Hanukkah
TWO Playing, Laughing, and Taking Risks: Purim
THREE Coming Home, Finding Freedom: Pesah
FOUR Covenantal Loving: Shavuot
FIVE Connecting with Community and with Each Other: Rosh Hashanah
SIX Forgiving and Growing:Yom Kippur
SEVEN Blessing Bounty, Facing Impermanence: Sukkot
EIGHT Committing to the Process: Simhat Torah
NINE Pausing to Bless What Is: Shabbat
Afterword
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading