From Publishers Weekly
Part meditation manual, part exhortation, part explanation and part autobiography, this primer asserts a close linkage between New Age spirituality and Kabbalistic teachings. Originally educated as a social worker, author Ribner is now a psychotherapist in private practice who works as a "holistic and spiritual healer" using "meditation therapy." She also teaches her clients deep breathing, reviews their diets, urges them to exercise and to drink "lots of pure water." She frequently cites her favorite mentor, the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who awarded her "nonrabbinical ordination to teach Jewish meditation." For example, unable to find a satisfactory response to the issue of human suffering and, particularly, to the suffering of Jews in the Holocaust, Ribner quotes Carlebach: "Some questions do not have answers." But Ribner offers definitive answers to several issues. She believes in angels and in reincarnation; she advocates vegetarianism, religious observance, alternative medicine and holistic healing. Other topics she examines include self-help, repentance, love and sexual relations. Her explorations are preceded by a detailed review of Kabbalistic principles, and conclude with an insistent plea that Jews prepare for the coming of the Messiah through spiritual growth on "the path to God." This comprehensive guidebook may appeal to those who believe that the New Age is upon us. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Jewish meditation is not just a way to be centered of balanced. It is so much deeper. Melinda is one of the special human beings who never forgets there is one God. She has the privilege of bringing the deep teachings of the holy rebbes. So much holiness. Her meditations go straight to the heart of every person. It is a privilege to learn with her." --
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach of Blessed Memory"Many people will be surprised," writes Melinda Ribner, inthe introduction to "New Age Judaism," "to find that Judaism is fundamentally aligned with what we think of today as the New Age." Well, yes, we're surprised. Isn't Judaism among the world's
oldest religions? Doesn't it place an unusual emphasis on the Word, the Law, and the interpretation and re-interpretation of religious texts, to be a religion at its core based upon tradition and divine law? But sure enough, Ribner proves her case, mostly by using the Jewish mystics and the Kabbalah. She goes on to argue that rabbis are not taught to be "spiritual teachers, counselors and healers." When she was in yeshiva years ago, she was told not to heed her "intense spiritual yearning and desire for mystical experience." The result, she claims, is that thousands of modern Jews are "spiritually deprived." This collection of meditations is supposed to help heal them. What's most strange about it, though, is just how similar Ribner's book is to almost every other New Age manual; aside from a few Hebrew words scattered through the text, it's not quite clear what all this has to do with Judaism any more. (Beliefnet, June 2000) --
From Beliefnet"Melinda Ribner has written an exceptional book, intriguing, and elucidating. New Age Judaism delineates the true and ancient wisdom of the Torah, of Judaism in the context of its interrelationship with many of the precepts of New Age conceptualization. Ms. Ribner's knowledge of philosophical and metaphysical Judaism is extensive. She presents this knowledge in a sensitive and enthusiastic manner. This book should be considered a relevant and novel addition to many a library and collector, and should be especially useful to individuals interested in the world of theology and philosophy." --
Rabbi Mordecai Tendler, R.I.E.T.S, Yeshiva University"Melinda Ribner is an accomplished Mashpiya (spiritual guide and transmitter). She guides contemporary people by offering them tools to experience God and Judaism first hand. In her New Age Judaism she shows you an affordable and accessible path to your soul." --
Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi
