Customer Reviews

Inviting God In: Celebrating the Soul-Meaning of the Jewish Holy Days (Shambhala Pocket Classics)

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Rabbi David Aaron takes us on a soulful, intensely spiritual journey of the Jewish calendar year in this well written and finely crafted book. From Passover to Rosh HaShanah to Purim, this book explains the multi-faceted nature of God's role in our lives, both on a highly personal level and on a collective one as well.

We begin to understand God's love for us, His infinite compassion and kindness and His own unique ability to forgive us, despite our sins.

Rabbi Aaron does not write in a didactic or preachy fashion, but rather his style is a most refreshing one as he unravels spiritual mysteries with much simplicity while including personal stories that make this subject feel so real and tangible to the reader.

This book implores the reader to connect with God, to understand what our relationship with God is and how we can benefit from it. On each holiday we are taught what role God plays and what is expected of us. Leading a life that is devoid of God's presence and a spiritually bankrupt one, robs us of not only a genuine understanding of our great heritage, but of a unique and cherished bond that has sustained us as people and a nation.

There is a story told of a great Chassidic rabbi named the Kotzker Rebbe who lived in Europe in the 1800s. A child was once walking down the street. The Kotzker Rebbe passed by and motioned for him to stop. "Let me ask you a question, little boy," said the Kotzker Rebbe. "Where is G-d?" The youngster smiled. "Oh, that's easy," he replied. "G-d is everywhere." The Kotzker Rebbe looked at the boy for a moment. "No, my son," he answered gently. "G-d is only where you allow Him to enter."

Our holiday observance can only become more profound and meaningful by adopting a policy of inviting God into our hearts and homes. Rabbi Aaron's book will be a tremendous addition to our libraries as well as a significant contribution to the corpus of Jewish spiritual literature.

This short little book packs a lot of punch for its size. It never overwhelms the reader with preachiness, overly flowery language, or stiff boring academic prose. Instead it delivers neat compact messages that are deeply moving, inspirational, and thought-provoking. Rabbi Aaron starts with Pesach, since it occurs in the month of Nisan, which is supposed to be the real calendar beginning of the year, even though most people think of Tishrei and Rosh Hashanah as starting the Jewish year. He goes through all of the major holidays and fast days in chronological order (Pesach, Shavuot, Tisha B'Av, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukah, Tu B'Sh'vat, and Purim), and ends with a recap of all of these spiritual lessons. He assigns each holiday or fast day a theme relating to God and love, such as celebrating loss and sadness on Tisha B'Av, celebrating pleasure on Tu B'Sh'vat, celebrating unconditional love on Pesach, and celebrating accountability on Rosh Hashanah. Through these eye-opening lessons, he gives the reader the impetus to break out of boxes and old paradigms of looking at God, the holidays, the Torah, and the world. Although many Jews tend to shun the notion of having a personal relationship with God as being a Christian concept and not something rooted in their faith tradition, that's a very mistaken belief. We might not use the same language or examples to talk about it, and might not view it in the same way, but as Rabbi Aaron so beautifully illustrates, it's a very Jewish concept indeed. And though all of these themes he discusses are different, in the end, he points out, they're all centered around the concept of reciprocal and unconditional love, love of God, love of one another, and God's love for us. It becomes a lot easier to invite God in on these holidays and major fast days when one understands that all one needs is love.

Amazing book.
Rav David Aaron - is a master to put key concepts in the clear form.
I'm a kabbala teacher - use his books for my students.

This is the first of Rabbi Aaron's books that I read, and it left me eager to read all the rest. It is a treasure chest of beautiful and profound insights into what the Jewish Holy Days are all about. Whether the reader has little Jewish background or a lot, he will gain a new and deeper appreciation for these days. What is so wonderful about all his books is how the reader can come to believe and feel G-d's love for each and every one of us, and subsequently fall in love with G-d as well. These books have changed my world. AMAZING!

Adding this book to your collection is like the ribbon on a wrapped gift.ý
This book brings many concepts that Rabbi Aaron brings in his previous books. And will help one ýexecute his admirable approach to your Holy-days.ý

Rabbi David Aaron writes in plain conversational English, easy to understand. He stresses the importance of interconnectedness, and the concept of monotheism, that all people are one and God is within all of us. To live this truth people must be willing to give up self-centeredness and care about others. Aaron says that a possible bad effect of psychotherapy is that it focuses one on the self and can cause self absorption which is against the principles of Judaism. Overall the book is a joy to read, Aaron's words ring with truth.