Contrary to most people's understanding of Judaism, the Torah's philosophy includes physical pleasures: that is, any experience that a person enjoys with one of the five senses. Either you smell it, touch it, taste it, see it, or hear it. Judaism views physical pleasure as central to living a good life. Hashem made a physical world not to frustrate us, but for us to enjoy. In fact, the tradition considers it a moral obligation to enjoy life's physical pleasures. For instance, consider the very first mitzvah of the Torah. What is the Torah's first mitzvah? It is not "Be fruitful and multiply." Nor is it "Do not eat from the tree of knowledge." Upon a close reading, the text plainly states that the very first mitzvah is"From every tree of the garden you must eat." However, the foundation of pleasure and the basis of Jewish spirituality is the discipline of mental control, of focusing the mind at will. To develop such a discipline requires a systematic development of mental focus, also known as meditation. This is the Art of Kavanah.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Alexander Seinfeld has two degrees from Stanford University and is an ordained rabbi. He founded Jewish Spiritual Literacy, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the ideas in this book. His blog and audio recordings are available at jsli.org.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer Beware,
By
This review is from: The Art of Kavana: How to Ignite Your Judaism and Your Life (Hardcover)
yes this book is a vey valuable rich description of kavanah BUT it is nearly identical to the author's previous book "The Art Amazement". Since I have this book I assumed this book would cover new material. Sadly except for minor additions it is the same book. I think the author should have noted that it was a revised version of his previous book. I even read an interview with he author where he describes it as a new book w/ new material.If you do not have the Art of Amazment, this book is a worth obtaining. If you have that book you are buying essentially the same book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating!,
By YS "Y S" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Art of Kavana: How to Ignite Your Judaism and Your Life (Hardcover)
Amazing book- will help anyone improve the quality of their life by following simple clear exercises designed to gain pleasure.Easy read and amazing concepts!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
