KABBALAH OF MONEY AUDIO [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Rabbi Nilton Bonder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1996

The Courage to Be Happy Sylvia Boorstein Where does happiness come from? How is it possible, in the face of suffering and loss, to remain responsive and compassionate toward all people? On The Courage to Be Happy, bestselling author and meditation teacher Sylvia Boorstein looks into core teachings of Buddhism and Judaism, and emerges with complementary truths about the happiness that is always available to us, despite external circumstances. Boorstein uses her "two vocabularies" – one Buddhist, the other Jewish – to tell how, after years of meditation and prayer, she came to know why the Buddha was called in his time "The Happy One." Fearless and challenging, The Courage to Be Happy is most of all, about the real meaning of this moment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

     The Kabbalah of Money: Insights on Livelihood, Business, and Other Forms of Economic Behavior by Rabbi Nilton Bonder is the most consistently spiritual and epiphanous book available on the ethical challenges of living in a material world. The Brazilian author presents rabbinical and mystical insights into an ecology of money involving exchange, transaction, and interdependence. In chapter after chapter, Bonder spins off fresh perspectives on the meaning of wealth, poverty, ownership, charity, competition, loans, fair exchange, tips, and presents. His Kabbalistic perspective enables him to show how study, prayer, and good deeds are integral to economic behavior. Since we are 'guests of God' in the world, gratitude and reverence are spiritual practices which enrich our knowledge of who we are and what is really important in our lives. And lest anyone think that The Kabbalah of Money is filled with abstractions, be forewarned that this dazzling little volume contains a treasure trove of wonderful stories by Hasidic masters. – Values and Visions Magazine , October 1996
      --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Sylvia Boorstein is an author, grandmother, and therapist. She is a cofounding teacher of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and is a senior teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1967, and has been teaching vipassana meditation retreats since 1985. Sylvia Boorstein is the author of the bestseller It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness; Don't Just Do Something, Sit There; and That's Funny You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Shambhala Audio; abridged edition edition (October 22, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570622655
• ISBN-13: 978-1570622656
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,386,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rabbi Nilton Bonder was trained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City and lectures regularly in the United States. Born in Brazil, he is a best selling author of eighteen books in Latin America. He leads one of Brazil most influential Jewish congregations and is also active in the civil rights and ecological causes. Some of his books have been translated in Europe and Asia and five of them in the US.
His last book published in the US has been selected among the best 20 books on Judaica on 2002 and has been included in the Best Jewish Writing of 2002 - organized by Tikkun Magazine.
Our Immoral Soul was adapted as a play and selected as the best brazilian play of 2007 by Veja Magazine, the most prestigious in the country. It has a version being staged in São Paulo (www.almaimoral.com) and another in Buenos Aires (www.elalmainmoral.com.ar). An English adaptation is to begin in 2011 in Australia.
A second play is scheduled to be staged in Brazil on his book "Heaven's Criminal Code".
His latest book "Taking off Your Shoes" on an expedition with Harvard University on footsteps of Abraham, has made the best selling lists in the country.
He has led workshops for main corporations like IBM, MCI, ABN-Amro, Globo Network Television, Brazilian Oil Company and delivered lectures at Boston University, New York Central Library, American Academy of Psychoanalysis, Blanton Peale Counseling Center, Open Center, San Francisco and New York, Nationaal Vakbodsmuseum, Amsterdam, Leiden University, Omega Institute, The Learning Anex, San Francisco, Libreria L'Ancora, Milão, State of the World Forum, Brandeis University, Jewish Museum, Praga, and United Nations Peace Conference.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Management and Ethics in the Marketplace, May 25, 2000

By 

Loren D. Morrison "amateur_reviewer" (Los Angeles County, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Kabbalah of Money: Insights on Livelihood, Business, and All Forms of Economic Behavior (Hardcover)

In many ways THE KABBALAH OF MONEY is more about time management than it is about money. A theme that weaves its way through the book is that the optimal use of one's time is to devote it to study and learning - not just any studying, however, but the study of the Torah. In Jewish tradition, time is to be divided between study, work, and physiological needs (eating, sleeping, elimination, and leisure). All of our free time, once our work and physiological needs have been met should be devoted to study.

In this book, Rabbi Bonder brings together his knowledge of the working of the "marketplace" with Jewish ethical teachings, Talmudic Interpretations, teachings of the Hasidic Masters, Jewish Mysticism, and logical analysis. Here, marketplace is variously described as: a market of exchanges and interactions which represents "the infinite quantity of small and great businesses that take place in the universe at any given minute" and as a place where "each individual's fitness to survive is in accordance with his or her own perception of what survival is."

In keeping with the time theme, one of the problems to be faced has to do with devoting one's time to amassing wealth. In other words, how much is too much? Time that is spent with the objective of accumulating wealth (beyond that which meets our own needs and is beneficial to others) represents a two pronged loss. First of all, the creation of this type of wealth creates an offsetting scarcity. Secondly it involves wasting time that could, and should, be better spent in study. In contemporary terms, the accumulation of excess wealth is not ecologically sound.

Another area of discussion is the relationship of God to the marketplace. Rabbi Bonder states that "when a person prays only for material gains his pleas and efforts are wasted. This is because a curtain is brought down between himself and God as a result of material things having been brought into the domain of the spirit.

This book has had an impact on the way I conduct my life. Before reading it, my standard reaction to anyone asking for a handout was a knee-jerk reaction that he'll probably just use it to get drunk. After reading Bonder's section on dealing with beggars and how these dealings affect the marketplace, I came to 2 realizations:

1. So what if he does use it for drink. He probably needs the drink more than I need the dollar.

and

2. Who am I to judge anyway.

I highly recommend this book. In spite of its brevity it's not an easy read. I have barely touched the surface of a few of the concepts of what the dust jacket refers to as "a broad and ethical view of economic behavior including all forms of exchange and human interaction, from how we spend our money to how we fulfill our role as responsible human beings in a global ecological framework."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kabbalah of Money-- A Critical Review, March 29, 2005

By 

Andre Lawrence (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Kabbalah of Money: Jewish Insights on Giving, Owning, and Receiving (Paperback)

The Kabbalah of Money is an essential book for anyone who's interested in increasing their personal wealth, improving the quality of life ("tikkun haOlom") or desires insight into the inner workings of successful living.

I've read and re-read this book multiple times since I bought in back in August, 2004. To say it is a business book "...Money" would indeed be a disservice to the reader and Rabbi Bonder. This book is about, first and foremost, understanding how one's behavior-- by thought, speech and action-- influences the environment for good or otherwise.

Let me also point out that it does address business issues, but it does so with ample does of Talmudic wisdom. And, to my pleasure, it is not overly heavyhanded in its scope.

The book does not teach the how to's of getting into business, but the ethical and spiritual aspects. So, for instance, if one is a fan of Mr. Donald "The Art of the Deal" Trump, it would behoove you to have a copy of this while you're watching The Apprentice. It's akin to The Power of Positive Thinking and/or Enthusiasm Makes the Difference by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, but with the obvious Jewish foundation.

I highly recommend this book, it is a gem and its rewards are hidden in its pages.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really liked it.., May 13, 2005

By 

Crown Vic (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kabbalah of Money: Jewish Insights on Giving, Owning, and Receiving (Paperback)

This is a book that you can read and re-read to make sure that its principles remain grounded within you. I found many of the Rabbi's writings on expending other people's time..speaking of others in disheartening ways..and the value of money and promise to be great reminders of what I should expect from others and what I should be expending myself. It's a great consicous watch-dog for me and I've enjoyed the book immensely.