The Rituals & Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook for Personal Spiritual Renewal [Paperback]

Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky (Editor), Rabbi Daniel Judson (Editor), Vanessa L. Ochs (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

An Inspiring How-to Guide to Help You Understand and Participate in a Jewish Spiritual Life.

Across the spectrum of Jewish observance, people are seeking ways to give higher meaning to their spiritual lives-but how do you know where to begin, and what should you do first?

This easy-to-use handbook explains the why, what, and how of ten specific areas of Jewish ritual and practice. Each chapter provides you with guidance and background if you are just beginning to explore Jewish ritual and practice, and offers creative ways to deepen the meaning of Judaism in your daily life, even if you are experienced with ritual observance.

All of the chapters have personal stories of people who have taken on Jewish ritual, and will inspire you to consider how to infuse your life with the wisdom of Jewish tradition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A life marked by ritual was previously the province of traditional Jews, but today, more and more liberal Jews are adopting the practices of kippah (yarmulke), tallith (prayer shawl), tefillin (phylacteries), mikvah (ritual bath), daily blessings, prayer and Torah study as paths to living with greater purpose. Liberal Jews may observe these rituals not because of their "commandedness," but because they are "intensely poetic expressions of being Jewish," writes Vanessa Ochs in her foreword. Though this system of discipline might seem oppressive to an outsider, it can bring people closer to God and to themselves, the editors suggest. Each of 10 chapters by a different rabbi, educator or leader focuses on a specific ritual; each includes personal testimony, basic how-to information, transliterated and translated blessings, step-by-step instructions and a bibliography. The struggles, dilemmas and rewards inherent in religious practice are vividly portrayed through humorous and poignant stories of family, coming of age, journeys, searching, rebellion, return and connection. The authors present rabbinic perspectives alongside feminist voices and nontraditional ways of observance (for instance, observing Shabbat by gardening, which is traditionally prohibited). One quibble: where the authors offer others' personal testimony in the midst of their own, the layout can be confusing. However, that one drawback doesn't detract from this practical, accessible and fascinating guide for those who want to enter Jewish ritual or further enrich their own practice.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky is well-known for his inspiring books that bring the Jewish wisdom tradition into everyday life. He is executive director of the Jewish Outreach Institute and the author of many books on Jewish spirituality, healing, and Jewish religious practice, including Sacred Intentions: Daily Inspiration to Strengthen the Spirit, Based on Jewish Wisdom; Grief in Our Seasons: A Mourner's Kaddish Companion; One Hundred Blessings Every Day: Daily Twelve Step Recovery Affirmations, Exercises for Personal Growth & Renewal Reflecting Seasons of the Jewish Year; and Jewish Paths toward Healing and Wholeness: A Personal Guide to Dealing with Suffering (all Jewish Lights).

Rabbi Daniel Judson is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth David of the South Shore in Canton, Massachusetts, and is co-author of Meeting at the Well.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580231691
• ISBN-13: 978-1580231695
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #781,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy-to-follow, step-by-step, guidebook, November 9, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rituals & Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook for Personal Spiritual Renewal (Paperback)

Collaboratively compiled and edited by Rabbis Kerry Olitzky and Daniel Judson, The Rituals & Practices Of Jewish Life: A Handbook For Personal Spiritual Renewal is a straightforward and practical instructional guide to the origin, manner, and modern-day practice of ten areas of Jewish ritual: Upon Rising and Going to Bed; Covering the Head; Blessings throughout the Day; Daily Prayer; Tefillin; Tallit and Tallit Katan; Talmud Torah; The Continuum of Kashrut; Mikvah; and Entering Shabbot. Enhanced with an informative foreword by Vanessa L. Ochs, and illustrations by Joel Moskowitz, The Rituals & Practices Of Jewish Life is a useful and "user friendly", easy-to-follow, step-by-step, guidebook which is most especially recommended for readers who may have little to no understanding of the proper ritual performance and what it means, yet who want to incorporate more of the Jewish traditions into their daily lives.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Golden Bits and Pieces", September 14, 2002

By 

Richard A. KUlick (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rituals & Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook for Personal Spiritual Renewal (Paperback)

If any book better documents the increasingly halachic turn of the liberal Jewish movements in Norht America, I would be hard pressed to find one. The editors, who also have written articles in the text, do an excellant job of providing, perhaps for the first time in a few decades, a guide to daily Jewish religious practice from a liberal, or more accurately, Reconstructionist, point of view. They include solid use of classical Jewish sources and a good basic bibliography with each section.

They discuss all the most important basic subjects, such as daily prayer, the rituals of laying on tallis, kippah and tefillin, daily Torah study, the Jewish dietary laws, use of the Ritual bath and the celebration of Shabbat. Equally critically, they talk about the psychology involved in these ritual observances, and their benefits from a spiritual point of view.
For anyone new to Jewish religious practice, this book is the place to start.

However, as with many books of this type, there is no effort made to show how the various practices so effectively described, fit into a more complete whole. While the authors and editors make repeated references to Jewish mysticism here and there, there is no even brief description of what it is, or how Jewish ritual serves as the foundation for Jewish mysticism. In addition, the authors stress psycological/spiritual benefits to Jewish practice, when there are those among us who have experienced many practical gains as well.

In order to find the connection between these practices and Judaism and its mysticism as a totality, the reader should combine reading the above work, with this writer's own critical description of Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah, entitled "Jewish History and Divine Providence: Theodicy and the Oddyssey," available for purchase here on Amazon. This work, the only progressive, critical discussion of Jewish mysticism in English, unifies "The Rituals and Practices of a Jewish Life" with their most potent rationale, and in history as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview, September 5, 2011

By 

akitawoman (Boise, ID) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rituals & Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook for Personal Spiritual Renewal (Paperback)

This book has 1-2 paragraph stories from many Jews on why they resumed a particular ritual practice. I enjoyed hearing those and could relate to many. The book also explains how to perform the rituals.