|
|
September 7, 2001/Elul 19, 5761, Vol. 53, No.48
Books provide holiday food for thought
VICKI CABOT
Contributing Editor
It's that time of the year: pay the synagogue dues and make plans to mark the beginning of the Jewish year with festive gatherings of family and friends. But along with planning High Holiday menus, searching out delectable new recipes, inventorying the china and polishing the silver, it's also time for a similar spiritual reckoning.
Rosh Hashana falls in the seventh month, Tishri, and echoes the mood of contemplation and reflection of the Sabbath, the seventh day. The entire month of Elul, which precedes the holiday, is marked, traditionally, as a time for rethinking, study and self-examination. Fittingly, there is a vast array of new books that can revive jaded spiritual appetites just as new recipes for brisket or kugel tempt the taste buds. Following, three recommendations for holiday reading to help you ready for the Days of Awe and a fulfilling new year. L'Shanah Tova.
Jewish Lights Publishing adds two new offerings to its series "The Way Into..." that are highly appropriate holiday reading. "The Way Into Jewish Prayer" (Jewish Lights, $21.95 hardcover) by Lawrence A. Hoffman gives the reader with little or no background in Judaism an invitation and a road map to Jewish prayer. Hoffman, a Reform rabbi and professor of liturgy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, provides an easy-to-read overview of why, how and where Jews pray. He offers insights into to whom Jews pray, how prayer works, and what are the essential ideas of Jewish prayer. He explains the origins and history of the synagogue and the roots of communal prayer and also guides the reader's understanding of the place for personal contemplation and home observance in Jewish life. He seamlessly combines ancient scripture and contemporary reflection, deftly dealing with denominational difference and commonalities.
"We all aspire to much, and so we should," writes Hoffman. "The will to become prayerful is not usually represented in the self-help books that crowd our bookstore shelves. But there is very little that should rank higher in our set of expectations. We cannot hope to always avoid illness, but prayer can help us think differently about the illnesses we get. We can choose merely to hope to be good to others, or we can elect to pray about goodness and thereby become more likely to actually do the good that we intend. We can 'walk sightless among miracles' of everyday, or we can utter blessings that capture the moment and captivate the heart."
Hoffman's book makes fitting High Holiday reading, inspiring readers to "capture the moment" of High Holiday reflection.
A guided tour of Torah is what Norman J. Cohen provides in "The Way Into Torah" (Jewish Lights, $21.95 hardcover). Again, aimed at an audience with minimal Jewish knowledge, the book offers an entrance into the world of Torah and to its meaning in our lives. Divided into five chapters, the book opens with an explanation of the importance of Torah study, then goes on to describe the Torah's essential elements and the signal role in can play in self-discovery. It offers insights into the unending opportunities for interpretation and the activity of being part of a community of Torah learners. It also addresses serious contemporary questions such as the relationship of women to Torah study and the role Torah study plays in Jewish survival. "Accessible and basic, yet sophisticated and wise," is how Publishers Weekly described the tome. Cohen, provost of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where he also is a professor of midrash, has written widely and lectures frequently to audiences of many faiths. He was a participant in Bill Moyers' "Genesis: A Living Conversation" series on PBS.
"The Rabbis emphasize that it is never too late to begin Torah study," writes Cohen. The High Holiday season is an appropriate time to consider their exhortation.
On a slightly more esoteric level, and for those with a taste for the mystical, Tamar Frankiel provides an insightful guide to kabbalah. "The Gift of Kabbalah: Discovering the Secrets of Heaven, Renewing Your Life on Earth" (Jewish Lights, $21.95, hardcover) plots the evolution of Jewish mysticism, describes its essential elements and provides a look into how study of kabbalah can affect our lives. Frankiel begins with addressing common assumptions that kabbalah is "a hidden tradition. Esoteric, complicated, dangerous. Only a few could study it, and it was carefully guarded from the unlearned and outsiders."
She quickly dispels these notions, suggesting that the basic teachings of Jewish mysticism are available to the general public today - there are many basic guides to kabbalah and its complementary pursuit of meditation - and that the more recent explosion of interest is a reflection of real spiritual need.
"There is a rabbinic saying, 'God provides the remedy before the disease,' " she writes. "The appearance of kabbalah in public means that Jewish mysticism has something unique to offer, a power for healing the spirit as we move into a radically new future."
Frankiels book illuminates how kabbalah can reveal connections between everyday life and a higher spiritual awareness of the world. She gives the reader the essential vocabulary and basic tools, dealing with such subjects as the divine mind, divine energy, spiritual revelation and techniques for spiritual growth. She provides guidelines for affirming identity, deepening prayer and enhancing meditation. It is not a book for the mystical novice, but a serious discussion of Jewish mystical wisdom. Frankiel, a recognized scholar of Jewish mysticism, teaches history of religions at the University of California, Riverside, and is the author of many books, including "The Voice of Sarah: Feminine Spirituality and Traditional Judaism."
"Studying Kabbalah can profoundly affect your experience of life itself," writes Frankiel. "When you begin to take it seriously, you will find yourself looking beyond appearances, going beneath the surface of things. You will see yourself and others differently; you will discover that you are able to interpret what happens to you on many levels. Ultimately, you will begin to see yourself as a vessel for Divine energy, not only a reflection of the Divine image, but also a co-creator with God. And you will have practical methods to remind you of your own Divine potential."
Frankiel offers much food for thought during this season of contemplation.
|
