Amazing. Discover for yourself. I just ordered 20 copies which I will use in my classes. Yes this book is THAT important! Work the book and you’ll cross the bridge! The best how to book to encounter our own “burning bush.” It’s scope is far greater than the cover claims. Truly a gem and great find!
For the past 27 years I've been the Ritual Director in a major Conservative synagogue in the East Coast. My challenge - How to engage the "ordinary" person drowning in work and daily tasks to engage in regular disciplined religious spiritual activities? How to offer the greatest gift one can receive - the gift of the self, self discovery, and the possibility of radically changing your life? It can not be lectured. It must be experienced.
Only when a person experiences directly a deep life altering event that redirects and enhances one's complete being will there be an actualization of potential. A. J. Heschel calls it, "radical amazement." A. Maslow speaks of "actualization" of our human potential. The Buddha promises seeking humans the attainment of "nirvana and enlightenment."
EVERYONE is seeking to provide a path. All spiritual traditions and ideologies want your attention. Sounds harsh, but it's TRUE!
20 years ago, Eddie Attman, who lives in my heart, once told me in Yiddish, "As me'sheimt zich, haut men nisht kein kinder!" "If you are bashful, you won't have children." Nothing great is ever achieved without focus, intention, planning and discipline. My personal aim and life's work is to share the genius of the human/Divine spirit that's here for the taking. It is a redemptive obsessive pursuit for me because it’s the most noble goal and because I am a child of Holocaust survivors. I really have no choice.
This book is an exquisite tool and a game changer. It's a paradigm shift. This is a carefully meticulously crafted instrument that can pry open the most shuttered blinders to our spiritual eyes. I'm using it.
At Chizuk Amuno Congregation, in the main Sanctuary, there is a soaring majestic Torah Ark, Aron Kodesh containing 9 Torah scrolls. They're identical. I've read from them all. Yet they're all different. In the Ark above the scrolls there is an inscription in Hebrew that's about 2000 years old. Its intent is to inspire, uplift, to start the great wheel turning. The phrase is set to provide the spark to initiate ignition for "lift-off" to establish "escape velocity" from the mundane conventional understanding of life to a higher level of sublime vivid, vital and real existence. This is not idle theory or a metaphor. It is an affirmation of a concrete great Truth.
Consider the following. After receiving the great honor of coming up to the Torah for a reading, an aliyah, the honoree affirms by oath, holding on to the Torah the most sacred object in Judaism, that the Torah we received is True and that each one of us is implanted with Eternal Life. This is NOT a metaphor! It is neither negotiable nor conditional. It does not depend on our consent or understanding. It is. The spiritual tradition hopes that we "get it" but does not moderate its position. It is firm and non wavering.
We strive for insight. Actually it guarantees enlightenment. The Talmud insists (If you seek -you will find, BT Megillah 6b). This Truth is actualized when we experience it. The authors of the Declaration of Independence proclaim, "We hold these truths to be self-evident!" We are pressed to explore our being.
What do you believe to be True? What are you prepared to "Pledge your life your fortune and Sacred Honor" for?
The impulse to self discovery and actualization is the most fundamental act in life. This book opens the door to the road of a thousand mile journey which begins with one step. Buy this book, read it, make it yours and enter our life's destiny. Let's write that destiny!!
Oh, the inscription in the Ark is in Hebrew and demands that we all "KNOW BEFORE WHOM YOU STAND!"
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From the brand
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As the world's oldest and largest independent publisher of books for body, mind, and spirit, Llewellyn is dedicated to bringing our readers the very best in metaphysical books and resources. Since 1901, we've been a source of illumination, instruction, and new perspectives on a wealth of topics, including Paganism and witchcraft, astrology, tarot, wellness, magic and the occult, and the paranormal.
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From the Publisher
Writing What We Believe for Those We Love
Inspired by the centuries-old Jewish tradition of the ethical will, a forever letter is a perfect way to share your most precious possessions: your values, wisdom, and love with the people who matter to you most. And you don’t have to do it alone. Through empowering stories, sample letters, and writing tips, author Elana Zaiman serves as your companion on this journey of self discovery and deepening relationships.
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