This book is a beautiful and concise discussion of Judaism s place in humankind, and the role of the individual Jew in contributing to the tapestry of Judaism. In every generation, Jews covenant with God as partners to be a shining example of righteousness, based upon the lessons of the Torah. The tapestry of Judaism represents the interweaving of all of the individual threads of Jews past and present who have used their God-given talents toward this end. Every Jew needs to weave his/her thread so that the tapestry s brilliance may continue to shine for all humankind. This book would be of interest to any Jew seeking a better understanding of Judaism s place in humankind and our place in Judaism.

Most books are like visitors. They come and go. This book can be a long-term companion and assistant as you weave prayer into the tapestry of your life. Weaving Prayer Into the Tapestry of Life pictures each of us as a weaver at a loom, creating in every moment our lifes tapestry. The transformative thread of prayer is always available to be woven into our lifes design. In this weaving, we experience in wonder the creative presence of God. The chapters of this book gives an overview of Christian understanding and practice of prayer. The author combines Scripture, voices and sources from the tradition of the church, poetry, stories, and accounts of personal experience to explore ten of the most familiar ways Christians pray. These are: centering, praise, confession, meditative reading of Scripture, petition, intercession, dedication, silence, and benediction. Nine sets of Prayer Prompts, one with each chapter, invite you to move from thinking to doing. They provide a framework for personal devotion that includes all of the dimensions of Christian prayer discussed in the chapters. Resources from Scripture, prayers of the church, and contemporary materials offer structure and stimulus for expressing the prayers of your heart. These Prayer Prompts are adaptable for repeated use. Members of a prayer group or spiritual growth group may enjoy sharing experiences with this book. Martha Rowlett deeply understands Christian thinking, Christian living, Christian prayer, and, dare I say it, God. She shares her wisdom with utmost simplicity. Those who use her book will find themselves becoming better Christians. John Cobb, professor emeritus, Claremont School of Theology

The Unknown History of Jewish Women—On Learning and Illiteracy: On Slavery and Liberty is a comprehensive study on the history of Jewish women, which discusses their absence from the Jewish Hebrew library of the "People of the Book" and interprets their social condition in relation to their imposed ignorance and exclusion from public literacy. The book begins with a chapter on communal education for Jewish boys, which was compulsory and free of charge for the first ten years in all traditional Jewish communities. The discussion continues with the striking absence of any communal Jewish education for girls until the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and the implications of this fact for twentieth-century immigration to Israel (1949-1959) The following chapters discuss the social, cultural and legal contexts of this reality of female illiteracy in the Jewish community—a community that placed a supreme value on male education. The discussion focuses on the patriarchal order and the postulations, rules, norms, sanctions and mythologies that, in antiquity and the Middle Ages, laid the religious foundations of this discriminatory reality.

Rabbi Cardin--writing as a religious leader, friend, neighbor, wife, mother, and daughter--guides us toward a fuller understanding of Judaism. She invites us to become weavers of tradition; to knit our personal stories together with those of our ancestors and our community; and to honor, savor, and celebrate the sacred in our lives. This important addition to the Jewish family library presents detailed explanations of each ritual, along with historical, cultural, and scriptural background. By describing traditional rites as well as contemporary innovations--the Passover seder and Miriam's Cup, baby-naming ceremonies and the practice of wrapping the newborn in a tallit--Rabbi Cardin shows how we can honor and add to our tradition. Supplementary margin notes offer: Examples of ethical wills Personal anecdotes Rabbinic stories, folk tales, and poetry Tips on addressing the December Dilemma Enhancing the volume are exquisite drawings by Ilene Winn-Lederer, a mini-prayerbook of blessings for home observance, and a 20-year calendar of Jewish holidays. Rabbi Cardin invites us to record details of our observance in Personal Weavings--favorite holiday recipes, family rituals, and prayers of the heart--so that the Jewish tradition may be renewed and enriched. The Tapestry of Jewish Time reflects a profound spirituality that inspires us all to contribute to the lush weave of Jewish life.

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The profound and revered religious and spiritual pathways of Judaism, Buddhism, Tantra, and Vedanta all grace the pages of this issue of Nectar of Nondual Truth with their simultaneously sententious yet congenial teachings, revealing anew and for our highest benefit the time-honored principle of Universalism. As my own guru has stated via powerful discourse, also contained within these pages: “The harmony of religions cannot be preached by any teacher who is exclusive, who is dualistic in frame of mind and in philosophy of life.” Therefore, with the advent of Advaita Vedanta in the West, mainly due to the work and presence of beings like Swami Vivekananda, it is time for the message of Universalism to be proposed, accepted, practiced, and realized on a wider scale so that true Peace will descend and enter the hearts and minds of living beings. Solace and Samadhi will be the welcome outcomes. Nectar of Nondual Truth leans decidedly towards a religious pluralism free of both the hypocritical sense of superiority and the problem of a complacent religious discernment. That is, equality based upon nonduality, combined with a tenacious scrutiny and inspection of all wisdom teachings, will ensure the vision and purity of the allimportant spiritual realm. Thus, the peoples of the world will forthwith be able to steer clear of the mistakes of the past springing from a lack of, distortion of, or misunderstanding of essential and eternal spiritual principles.

This book looks at two contradictory ethical motifs—the warrior and the pacifist—across four major faith traditions—Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and their role in shaping our understanding of violence and the morality of its use. The Warrior and the Pacifist explores how these faith traditions, which now mutually inhabit our life spaces, bring with them across the millennia the moral teachings that have traveled from prehistoric humanity, embedded in the beliefs, rituals, and institutions socially constructed by humans to deal with ultimate concerns, core aspects of daily personal and social life, and life transitions.

This is a story about the rites of passage of a young boy growing up in the Catskill Mountains before it became the Borscht Belt. The author shares his lusts and loves, his young hopes and dreams, his fears and feats of bravery. He writes of a time when there were no fancy hotels with elaborate meals and famous entertainers. It was a time of small entrepreneurs opening boarding houses to accommodate city folk who could not afford to vacation in hotels. It is also the story of a familys struggle to overcome poverty and to cope with neighbors who were sometimes hostile because of religious differences, and sometimes gracious despite religious differences. The author looks back nostalgically at the interdependence of siblings despite their rivalries, and the unquestioning love and cooperation within a family struggling to succeed through emergencies, catastrophes, and aggravations. It is a well-rounded history of love, hope and aspirations, and the down-to-earth experiences of dealing with life in the not so long ago past. Throughout our lifetime together, my husband shared many of these experiences with me. He is now sharing them with you. I am grateful to have been invited into his past. I hope you will be too. Mildred Bluming, BA, MA School Psychologist, Los Angeles Unified School District

The groundbreaking volume The Torah: A Women's Commentary, originally published by URJ Press and Women of Reform Judaism, has been awarded the top prize in the oldest Jewish literary award program, the 2008 National Jewish Book Awards. A work of great import, the volume is the result of 14 years of planning, research, and fundraising. THE HISTORY: At the 39th Women of Reform Judaism Assembly in San Francisco, Cantor Sarah Sager challenged Women of Reform Judaism delegates to "imagine women feeling permitted, for the first time, feeling able, feeling legitimate in their study of Torah." WRJ accepted that challenge. The Torah: A Women's Commentary was introduced at the Union for Reform Judaism 69th Biennial Convention in San Diego in December 2007. WRJ has commissioned the work of the world's leading Jewish female Bible scholars, rabbis, historians, philosophers and archaeologists. Their collective efforts resulted in the first comprehensive commentary, authored only by women, on the Five Books of Moses, including individual Torah portions as well as the Hebrew and English translation. The Torah: A Women's Commentary gives dimension to the women's voices in our tradition. Under the skillful leadership of editors Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Rabbi Andrea Weiss, PhD, this commentary provides insight and inspiration for all who study Torah: men and women, Jew and non-Jew. As Dr. Eskenazi has eloquently stated, "we want to bring the women of the Torah from the shadow into the limelight, from their silences into speech, from the margins to which they have often been relegated to the center of the page - for their sake, for our sake and for our children's sake." Published by CCAR Press, a division of the Central Conference of American Rabbis