BOOKS: Jewish with Feeling by Rabbi Zalman Shacter-Shalomi

 Jewish With Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



 

This was a nice book. I was curious about the Renewal Movement and I'm glad I read this. My favorite parts?

1. WRESTLING WITH BIG QUESTION

pg. 33  "The Jewish path toward answers, as we know, lies in asking more questions. Not just any questions, but the big questions, the ones that are nearest our hearts............Asking important questions is far more important than answering them, and of course no one can ask your questions for you, far less answer them. For the searching soul any answer sooner or later begins to stale anyway. What I will try to do in this book is to suggest ways in which Judaism.....might help you wrestle with your questions---after all, we Jews have been wrestlers since our forefather Jacob took on the angel---and help you, too, to deepen your quest and fill it with joy."

I loved the part about Jacob wrestling with the angel and relating that to our wrestling with questions. That idea really clicked with me. It's kind of validating to know that it's ok to ask questions. It's even to better to think that the questions might be more important than the answers. This next quote is a good follow-up on the first.

pg. 192  "In our daily and democratic grappling with our sacred texts we were never content to leave divine revelation up to heaven; Torah, for us, belongs here on earth. Unlike Islam, which comes from the word for surrender, Jews surrender nothing to God. Our ancestor Jacob received the name Israel because he wrestled with God (Genesis 32:28): that is what yisra-el means."

2. THE SABBATH

pg. 36  ".....if you want to get more Judaism into your life, start with some form of Shabbos practice, maybe just twenty minutes or an hour at first, but ultimately building toward taking a day of rest each week to reconnect to more natural rhythms."

pg. 62  "Spiritual gains should not come at emotional expense. Trying any new activity can rock the family boat at first. Discuss these issues beforehand to prepare the ground, and start small. Go at a pace that everyone can handle. Developing re-ensoulment skills takes time."

I liked the idea in the chapter of slowly making the Sabbath more meaningful to us. I also like the emphasis on the family's well-being, not just an individual's.


3. WHY BE JEWISH?

pg. 196  "The answer we have offered to "Why be Jewish?" then, is that Judaism has many deep teachings to offer that we still need today:

• Judaism reminds us to recalibrate ourselves by nature's clock.
• Judaism teaches us conscious consumption.
• Judaism urges us to maintain a living dialogue with the texts that are the beating heart of our culture.
• Judaism demands here-on-earth spirituality.
• Judaism helps us maintain faith and a connection to God despite powerlessness and uncertainty.

These treasures are the birthright of each and every one of us. For all these reasons, we can be proud of our heritage and feel that it is still something that the world needs."

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