Customer Reviews

With Roots in Heaven: One Woman's Passionate Journey into the Heart of Her Faith

5 star:		(9)
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2 star:		(1)
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I was born into a family of Holocaust survivors who had the "misfortune" (their perspective) to be born Jews at a time (pre-WW I) and place (Austro-Hungarian Empire) when anti-Semitism was official policy. They regarded Jewishness as a handicap - not to be denied but certainly not to be practiced or celebrated. My parents were raised as "Christmas-Tree Jews" ("It's for the maid, of course") and raised us the same way. I didn't set foot into a synagogue until I was well into my 40s.

After an intense relationship foundered on the rocks of religious differences, I decided to explore this religion that was getting me into trouble without any knowledge or effort on my part. (Coincidentally, my older sister embarked on the same search at about the same time, and independently of one another, we have wound up in the same place.) While my spiritual needs are nowhere near as intense as Rabbi Firestone's, and it never occurred to me to seriously explore other faiths, our individual searches led us both to the Jewish Renewal movement.

I approached this book expecting to read of a journey similar to mine, and was quite surprised to see how radically different it was! We both began with Judaism and wound up back there, but her search took her to places far beyond anything I ever seriously considered for myself. I was surprised to read of her search through the entire supermarket of New Age belief systems, and gratified to see how open she was to the influences of other faiths. I believe that there is something of value in every religion, and have tried to find a way to synthesize a practice that incorporates it all - hence the attractiveness of the Renewal movement, which I believe does so better than any other form of religious practice. And it's especially gratifying to know that this intelligent seeker came home again and found her place within Judaism. I hope our paths cross some day.

I found the book fascinating reading - she is articulate, insightful, and honest. That said, I must also say that I do not share her adherence to Jungian precepts, and found those passages slow going. But here again, she demonstrates her ability to assimilate what she needs and incorporate it into a system that works for her within the greater context of Judaism. That's nothing but good, and I am encouraged that she - and maybe also I - will continue to seek and find and create a belief system that meets her needs within the flexible framework of Jewish practice. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the general subject of spiritual searching.

I could really relate to this book in many ways. I was raised in a very traditional Jewish household, left that branch of Judaism, explored the New Age, and also still practice Judaism (I never really left it). I really love and admire this book. Firestone shows in sad detail what often happens when a child from a very religious background decides to head off in another direction - the parents, relatives, and community shun him or her. As I read along in the book, and I saw Firestone falling in love with her husband-to-be (a Protestant minister) I literally heard tense drumbeats in my head, as I knew her parents would cut her off from their lives. I also really appreciated the author showing her reaction, how distraught she was at her own wedding because her parents were so opposed to it, and her deep grief at her mother's refusal to even acknowledge her existence. Unfortunately, I have seen this "shunning" in the Orthodox community, as well as in other religious communities. This book also aptly explores the spiritual search a great number of Jews undertake - that is to what is commonly called "The New Age". Many Jews leave Judaism for good, but Firestone showed how she returned, and how she had to do it her way, in the Jewish renewal movement. This is a book that is courageous, honest, and very well-written. Anyone remotely interested in spiritual searching would love this book.

I recommmend this book to readers engaged in spiritual searching, who wish to travel beside another searcher as she describes her journey. The book challenged me to be more compassionate with myself, because the author had grown into compassion for herself in the process of her searching. Though I was raised in the Catholic religion, I grew up in the same historical context as the author. And though my searching took me into politically extreme, rather than spiritually extreme, experiences, much of the impulsiveness and experiences of self-neglect described in the early part of the book was familiar to me. I especially appreciated being admitted into a world that has felt so inaccessible and mysterious to me, the world of the Jewish religion. As a non-Jew, I have felt excluded from this world, and at the same time drawn to it. Having only recently understood that as a Christian I am historically and psychically tied to the Jewish tradition, I have hungered for ways to better understand Jewish history and experiece. In this book Rabbi Firestone offered me a very personal route to understanding the practical realities of being Jewish in this culture, at this time. Her willingness to speak so honestly about the dark side of Orthodox Judaism, and about her own faults and missteps in her journey away from and back to the Jewish religion, far outweigh the sometimes tedious detail she includes in the telling of her story. Just as her telling of events that are 20 years past are ripe with wisdom and perspective, her telling of more recent life events are, understandably, lacking in those qualities. At the same time, because I so appreciated encountering this book at this point in my own journey, I'm glad she didn't wait to tell her story. Firestone makes no attempt to gloss over the pain and difficulty of authentic soul-searching, of building interfaith bridges, and of facing whatever shortcomings are at the root of our own intolerance. I am especially grateful that she dared to tell it like it is, on so many levels. All of our great religions, as practiced, are deeply flawed. But the kind of courageous and thoughtful examination reflected in this book gives readers cause to hope that transformation of these flaws is possible. I look forward to the next book, at a later time, from this admirable and wonderfully human woman.

I was a little taken aback by some of the caustic reviews of Rabbi Firestone's book, claiming that it was "self-centered" and "narcissistic."

Well, duoh, folks --- it's a memoir! What else would it be about other than the author?

Also, some of the reviewers seem to be offended by Rabbi Firestone's portrayal of the dark side of Orthodoxy and make questionable claims about there being lots of tolerance for different viewpoints in the Orthodox community.

Based on my own experience --- my mother ran away from a dysfunctional Orthodox home --- I can attest to the truthfulness of Rabbi Firestone's depiction of the dark side of Orthodoxy.

Actually I thought it was a very courageous book. In an effort to help other people returning to Judaism, Rabbi Firestone unsparingly described her stormy journey from Orthodoxy to the New Age to marriage with a Christian minister to ordination as a Renewal rabbi with humor, tolerance, and kindness, using her own story as a way to do compassionate outreach to other Jews with dysfunctional families, intermarriages, flight from Orthodoxy, and alienation from Judaism.

Far from trying to aggrandize herself, Rabbi Firestone narrated many stories about her spiritual journey that someone more pompous or reputation-oriented would have gladly buried. There is a deep humility in sharing some of your worst stories in hopes that they might help others.

I have met Rabbi Firestone. She is not a perfect person --- are any of us? --- but the reviews questioning her sincerity and honesty are way, way, way out of line. She is a deeply spiritual person, with a strong sense of humor and warmth. I got the impression of a very human, but learned, spiritual and caring woman who still has many journeys ahead of her.

Admittedly, as a Renewal lay leader I would be biased towards Rabbi Firestone. But there are some Renewal books and teachers who do not "spark" me at all, and I don't post reviews about them, positive or negative.

I have shared Rabbi Firestone's book with members of my Renewal women's havurah on several occasions, and it has always interested them. They have always been truthful with me about books that they liked and didn't like, which I regard as the acid test of a book!

Regardless of whether or not you are Jewish, this book offers insight to the spiritual journey itself. For anyone who quests for the truth of who they are, their relationship to spirit, and how to serve in their world, this book offers a perspective and a context for the uniqueness of each spiritual journey. Especially profound for anyone who has struggled to find truth outside any prescribed social or religious structure. Highly recommended.

Rabbi Tirzah Firestone's memoir struck a chord in me, as a fellow Baby Boomer. So many of our generation -- especially
Jews -- are seekers, and have been dissatisfied with the Judaism we grew up with. It felt lacking in spirituality and rather rigid in its expectations and demands. Eastern religion has attracted many of us; witness JuBu's (Jewish Buddhists).
I have been on a similar journey, but without the original Orthodox roots, and without the extensive time spent abroad. I appreciate Tirzah's candor and willingness to open her heart, both in her life and in her book. Her dedication to building a Jewish Renewal community in Boulder, and in educating herself, is truly stunning. What startled me was the fact that her marriage to the minister, Evan, lasted as long as it did. It seemed too good to be true. Having married and divorced two Christians, I feel I can speak to the tremendous challenges and heartbreak inherent in interfaith marriages, especially when at least one person is observant (and fantasizing about having her partner participate). My only regret in the book was that she didn't tell us about her ultimate partner, who is briefly mentioned in the Introduction. Otherwise, I found it an inspiring and riveting book. Definitely recommended!

A lot of books come by my desk each season, and I approached this book lacking any great interest. But after the first few pages I was actually addicted. If an autobiography can be called suspenseful, this one is. This book scores as both a primer in spirituality and the story of a woman who flees her Orthodox upbringing in Saint Louis, studies New Age and eastern religions, marries a Christian minister, but then returns to her roots to study for the rabbinate. Rabbi Firestone, a colleague of Rabbi Zalman Schecter-Shalomi, is now a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement, and serves the Jewish communities of Boulder Colorado and the Intermountain area. I will try not to ruin the suspense of the book's story, but suffice it to say the following: The book opens when Rabbi Firestone, born Miriam Firestone in Saint Louis, walks into a Miami hotel for the wedding of her niece. Her brothers, sisters, and mother will be there; some of whom she has not seen in decades, some of whom view her as dead! We must wait for the epilogue to discover what happens at the hotel. Between this intro and the epilogue, we follow Tirzah and her family and friends as she yearns for and seeks out spiritual connections, and desires to learn her bashert in life. She must realize the true path of her heart and discover the inverted tree that descends from the heavens. Along the way we learn why New Age and Eastern religions have been so enticing to Jewish youth, we meet Jew-Bhu's, Hin-Jews, and gurus. The late Rabbi Shlomo Carlbach, a cousin to Tirzah, even makes an appearance in the book, as do beautiful people and seekers of all religions, as well as rogue and manipulative gurus and rabbis. Regretably, her honest portraits of some of the Orthodox leaders she meets along the way brings shame upon some in our community. It took a troubled Christian minister to help Tirzah realize that what she sought could be found in her birth religion of Judaism and in the writings of Heschel, Buber, and the Lurianic Kabbalists. I think readers will try to read faster only to find out in each succeeding chapter what will happen to Tirzah. How will she react to her family's belief that her older brother's suicide was due to a faulty mezuzah? Like Jonah, will she survive a sailing ordeal on the Pacific with a racist rabbi? Will her marriage kill her parents? Will she learn to trust her own heart and break her need to follow strong male spiritual leaders? Can she overcome her personal issues and fear of reconnecting with organized religion? Who is that Yiddish jokester inner voice that saves her in many instances? Surely, this book should be a contender for the Jewish Book Award. This book may actually change some of leader's opinions on officiating at intermarriages in the future.

I was amazed at this book. It should be required reading for all Jewish Sunday School students (and maybe non-Jewish, as well!) Like the author, I am also a Jewish woman, and I was raised with a tremendous exposure to Orthodox Judaism. I also have Modern Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox relatives on both sides of my family. And also, like Firestone, I left Orthodoxy and explored the "New Age". What astounded me most about her book is that it is the first attempt I have seen in non-fiction to show the dark side of the Orthodox World; that, like all rigid aspects of religion, it can be quite closed and unforgiving to those who stray beyond its bounds. My heart was pounding when I read about her romance to her soon-to-be husband, a non-Jew and a Minister, no less. I knew so well, from my own experience, that she would be surgically excised from her family for this. And when her mother treated her like dirt when they ran into each other in an airport, I began crying; that kind of pain is so renching. Also, her family would also never accept any spiritual searching outside of Orthodox Judaism. She was smashing all the carefully constructed codes of conduct. I admire her tremendously for the courage it took to follow her spiritual heart as an individual, to look deep into what she needed, instead of what her family had laid out for her. As she points out, many Jews (and non-Jews) are doing this. We are not all blindly following the religious roads our parents took. This book is an excellent example of that, and I hope there will be many others. Highly recommended.

Although the author's experience is in the Judaic tradition, she speaks with personal authority about universal spirituality. I would suggest that anyone who is searching, no matter what their tradition, can find meaning in this book. The author exhibits an amazing awareness about her own journey while at the same time capturing and explaining much about the universal journey of Self.

This book was one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. It truly opened my eyes to a new journey of Judaism by allowing me to see into someone else's life and their Jewish journey. It combines both Jewish and secular struggles in a way that makes sense to anyone of any sect of Judaism and especially any Jewish woman.