Days of Awe

Compiled by one of the greatest Hebrew writers of the 20th century and first published in 1948, Days of Awe is the long-acknowledged classic companion to the High Holy Days prayer book. Here in one volume are readings and meditations from the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, and the Zohar, to deepen the spiritual experience of the holiest days of the Jewish year.

Entering the Temple of Dreams

This inspiring, informative guide shows us how we can use the often overlooked time at the end of each day to enhance our spiritual, physical and psychological well-being. Each chapter takes a new look at traditional Jewish prayers and what they have to teach us about the spiritual aspects of preparing for the end of the day, and about sleep itself. Drawing on Kabbalistic teachings, prayer, the Bible and midrash, the authors enrich our understanding of traditional bedtime preparations, and show how, by including them in our bedtime rituals, we can gain insight into our lives and access the spiritual enrichment the world of dreams has to offer.
Clear illustrations and diagrams, step-by-step meditations, visualization techniques and exercise suggestions for fully integrating body, mind and spirit show us the way to:

• Hashkivenu—Creating a safe space for sleep
• Hareni Mochel—Clearing our hearts through forgiveness
• Shema—Connecting to God in Love
• Bircat Cohanim—Experiencing the reality of blessing
• Hamapil—Thanking God for sleep and the illumination that comes in sleeps

This perfect nighttime companion draws on the power of Jewish tradition to help us enhance our spiritual awareness—in both our waking and sleeping hours.

Eyes Remade for Wonder: A Lawrence Kushner Reader

"When you see something that is broken, fix it. When you find something that is lost, return it. When you see something that needs to be done, do it. In that way, you will take care of your world and repair creation. If all the people in the world were to do so, our world would truly be a Garden of Eden, the way God meant it to be."

Lawrence Kushner has been dispensing the deep wisdom of sacred texts and Jewish spirituality for 25 years. As the author of nine volumes and the rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, he is a master of mystical theology, storytelling, and discovering the sacred in everyday life. Following an introduction and tribute by Thomas Moore, this paperback contains selections from Kushner's books, articles, and previously unpublished material.

Here the reader will find thought-provoking and soul stirring pieces on blessing as awakening, entrances to holiness, reverence, reciting psalms, ordinary people as messengers of the Most High, and the coming of the Messiah. Here's another sample: "At the end of Job, God says, in effect, I'm the whole kazoo. Not just sunshine and bluebirds, but even in the lions tearing gazelles, vultures eating carrion. Everything. Everywhere. God. God. God."

Filling Words with Light

Jewish mystics teach that every word a person utters in prayer should radiate light. Even the letters of the words of prayer carry sparks of the Divine that yearn to join together in holiness.
In this inspiring spiritual companion, Reform rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Orthodox rabbi Nehemia Polen join together to provide a window into the liturgy for people of all backgrounds by offering fresh insights and meditations that bring the traditional prayerbook to life. Drawing from the Torah, Zohar, and ancient and contemporary Hasidic masters, Kushner and Polen reflect on the joy, gratitude, compassion, mystery, and awe embedded in traditional prayers and blessings, and show how you can imbue these familiar sacred words with your own sense of holiness.
Insightful, fresh, and wise, Filling Words with Light will enrich your understanding of the prayer book and guide you on how to put more of yourself into the holy words of the Jewish tradition.

Your Word is Fire

The power of prayer for spiritual renewal and personal transformation is at the core of all religious traditions. Because Hasidic literature contains no systematic manual of contemplative prayer, the texts included in this volume have been culled from many sources. From the teachings of the Hasidic Masters—the Ba’al Shem Tov, the Maggid Dov Baer of Meidzyrzec, and their immediate disciples—the editors have gleaned “hints as to the various rungs of inner prayer and how they are attained.”
Hasidism, the Jewish revivalist movement that began in the late eighteenth century, saw prayer as being at the heart of religious experience and was particularly concerned with the nature of a person’s relationship with God. The obstacles to prayer discussed by the Hasidic masters—distraction, loss of spirituality, and inconstancy of purpose—feel very close to concerns of our own age. Through advice, parables, and explanations, the Hasidic masters of the past speak to our own attempts to find meaning in prayer.