Deep feelings of depression and giving up hope are often part of the human experience. Second Chances explores strategies that serve as models for a more positive and optimistic life, transforming tragic cirÂcumÂstances into a force for healing. Drawing upon years as a clinical therapist and spiriÂtual chaplain, Rabbi Levi Meier (author of the best-selling book, Ancient Secrets) paints a fresh approach to the Bible and draws relevancy and sage advice from an ancient text.
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As a contemporary analyst of the Bible, Meier contributes the insightful perspective of his own experience as chief chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and as a clinical Jungian psychologist.
His book is both an informative retelling of the story of Ruth and an ongoing extrapolation from it: Throughout his account, Meier will tell about an incident in Ruth's life and then relate it to common life problems.
The way to transform bitterness and pain to hope, Meier writes, is through personal acts of generosity and kindness. The most important, and the hardest, are acts of kindness within one's own family.
Some ideas in this profound book came to Meier while he was teaching a monthly Torah class to Hollywood writers. I was privileged to be among them; Rabbi Meier is a gifted teacher.
'Second Chances,' like his teaching, is full of readily applicable observations. Using anecdotes from his clinical and life experiences and relating them to the story of Ruth Rabbi Meier personalizes his insights, giving encouragement and strength to those readers who would make the most of their own second chances. --David Brandes, LA Jewish Journal
Rabbi Levi Meier, the Jewish Chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and a clinical psychologist, uses his extraordinary insights to explore the Book of Ruth in an attempt to understand the enigmatic world in which we live. Ruth and Boaz met and ultimately changed the course of history since it is from their progeny that King David was born, and it is from King David's line that the Messiah is destined to come.
From the Book of Ruth we learn how to cope with human suffering, to understand the basic nature of man and woman and their relationship to each other, and why the Messiah will be the product of a ancestry that involved incest and sexual deception. Through this book Rabbi Meier shows us how to overcome our past traumas to tap into a reservoir of hope and reassurance in our future. As with his other works, this is an important contribution to Jew and Gentile alike. --Alex Grobman, Lifestyles Magazine
The beautiful story of Ruth comes alive in this newest book by Rabbi Levi Meier. Gounded in his Biblical scholÂarship as well as in the writings of Viktor Frankl and Carl Jung, Rabbi Meier presents a model for what real second chances can be. Using anecdotes from clients he has enÂcounÂtered in his role as chaplain and clinical psychologist, he insightfully reveals how the past need not necessarily preÂdict the future. With hope, commitment and a living reÂlationship with God, a second chance can be used to achieve anything even something that is seemingly fixed, closed and impossible. --Professor Kathleen M. Wulf
Well-crafted and accessible, Second Chances offers deep spiritual insight combined with practical wisdom. This is a book that will be appreciated by anyone interested in individual change as it relates to the principles of the Torah. --Barbara S. Cohen, Jewish Book World
As a contemporary analyst of the Bible, Meier contributes the insightful perspective of his own experience as chief chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and as a clinical Jungian psychologist.
His book is both an informative retelling of the story of Ruth and an ongoing extrapolation from it: Throughout his account, Meier will tell about an incident in Ruth's life and then relate it to common life problems.
The way to transform bitterness and pain to hope, Meier writes, is through personal acts of generosity and kindness. The most important, and the hardest, are acts of kindness within one's own family.
Some ideas in this profound book came to Meier while he was teaching a monthly Torah class to Hollywood writers. I was privileged to be among them; Rabbi Meier is a gifted teacher.
'Second Chances,' like his teaching, is full of readily applicable observations. Using anecdotes from his clinical and life experiences and relating them to the story of Ruth Rabbi Meier personalizes his insights, giving encouragement and strength to those readers who would make the most of their own second chances. --David Brandes, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
His book is both an informative retelling of the story of Ruth and an ongoing extrapolation from it: Throughout his account, Meier will tell about an incident in Ruth's life and then relate it to common life problems.
The way to transform bitterness and pain to hope, Meier writes, is through personal acts of generosity and kindness. The most important, and the hardest, are acts of kindness within one's own family.
Some ideas in this profound book came to Meier while he was teaching a monthly Torah class to Hollywood writers. I was privileged to be among them; Rabbi Meier is a gifted teacher.
'Second Chances,' like his teaching, is full of readily applicable observations. Using anecdotes from his clinical and life experiences and relating them to the story of Ruth Rabbi Meier personalizes his insights, giving encouragement and strength to those readers who would make the most of their own second chances. --David Brandes, LA Jewish Journal
Rabbi Levi Meier, the Jewish Chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and a clinical psychologist, uses his extraordinary insights to explore the Book of Ruth in an attempt to understand the enigmatic world in which we live. Ruth and Boaz met and ultimately changed the course of history since it is from their progeny that King David was born, and it is from King David's line that the Messiah is destined to come.
From the Book of Ruth we learn how to cope with human suffering, to understand the basic nature of man and woman and their relationship to each other, and why the Messiah will be the product of a ancestry that involved incest and sexual deception. Through this book Rabbi Meier shows us how to overcome our past traumas to tap into a reservoir of hope and reassurance in our future. As with his other works, this is an important contribution to Jew and Gentile alike. --Alex Grobman, Lifestyles Magazine
The beautiful story of Ruth comes alive in this newest book by Rabbi Levi Meier. Gounded in his Biblical scholÂarship as well as in the writings of Viktor Frankl and Carl Jung, Rabbi Meier presents a model for what real second chances can be. Using anecdotes from clients he has enÂcounÂtered in his role as chaplain and clinical psychologist, he insightfully reveals how the past need not necessarily preÂdict the future. With hope, commitment and a living reÂlationship with God, a second chance can be used to achieve anything even something that is seemingly fixed, closed and impossible. --Professor Kathleen M. Wulf
Well-crafted and accessible, Second Chances offers deep spiritual insight combined with practical wisdom. This is a book that will be appreciated by anyone interested in individual change as it relates to the principles of the Torah. --Barbara S. Cohen, Jewish Book World
As a contemporary analyst of the Bible, Meier contributes the insightful perspective of his own experience as chief chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and as a clinical Jungian psychologist.
His book is both an informative retelling of the story of Ruth and an ongoing extrapolation from it: Throughout his account, Meier will tell about an incident in Ruth's life and then relate it to common life problems.
The way to transform bitterness and pain to hope, Meier writes, is through personal acts of generosity and kindness. The most important, and the hardest, are acts of kindness within one's own family.
Some ideas in this profound book came to Meier while he was teaching a monthly Torah class to Hollywood writers. I was privileged to be among them; Rabbi Meier is a gifted teacher.
'Second Chances,' like his teaching, is full of readily applicable observations. Using anecdotes from his clinical and life experiences and relating them to the story of Ruth Rabbi Meier personalizes his insights, giving encouragement and strength to those readers who would make the most of their own second chances. --David Brandes, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
From the Publisher
This book, Second Chances, has won the National Jewish Book Award 2005 (runner up) in the category of Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice.
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Uplifting Words,
By Debbie Lampert at www.eluna.com (Raanana Israel) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Second Chances: Transforming Bitterness to Hope and the Story of Ruth (Hardcover)
abbi Levi Meier is fond of saying that we are all on a journey, whether or not we know it. Of course, he is referring to life itself, and in his latest book, Meier illuminates that journey by looking at the compelling and sometimes tragic life of the biblical figure of Ruth. His book, "Second Chances: Transforming the Bitterness of Hope and the Story of Ruth," is at once a rich source of biblical scholarship and a guide designed to help readers deal with their own personal difficulties.The Book of Ruth, which will be read during the coming holiday of Shavuot, tells of Ruth, a Moabite princess, who marries the son of a wealthy Jew who had taken his family to Moab to avoid a devastating famine in Israel -- and, more importantly also to avoid sharing his wealth and food with fellow Jews in their time of need. Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, suffer a catastrophe when Ruth's husband, her husband's only brother and her father-in-law die precipitously. Naomi is left with two young childless daughters-in-law, neither of whom is Jewish. Ruth declares that she has decided to stay with Naomi. In an act of pure loving-kindness, she states, "Do not urge me to desert you, to turn away from you. For wherever you go, I shall go; wherever you rest, I will rest; your people are my people, and your God is my God." As Meier points out, Ruth is not just taking on the form of Naomi's faith, she is becoming one with it. She is taking on the very journey of Abraham, the founder of Judaism, when God instructed him in Genesis 12:1, "lech lecha -- go forth from your land, your father's house, your birthplace to the land I will show you." The parallels between the two are stunning. Meier notes further, "Any person who would undertake such a difficult, dangerous and frightening journey requires special divine protection. That is what was promised to Abraham when he became the first convert." The relationship of Ruth and Naomi is full of compassion and kindness. "Even when Naomi is confronting her inner bitterness, she extends kindness to Ruth, and Ruth reciprocates in the same manner," Meier writes. "Kindness as a response to pain, suffering and tragedy is one of the overriding themes of the Book of Ruth." As a contemporary analyst of the Bible, Meier contributes the insightful perspective of his own experience as chief chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and as a clinical Jungian psychologist. His book is both an informative retelling of the story of Ruth and an ongoing extrapolation from it: Throughout his account, Meier will tell about an incident in Ruth's life and then relate it to common life problems. Some ideas in this profound book came to Meier while he was teaching a monthly Torah class to Hollywood writers. I was privileged to be among them; Rabbi Meier is a gifted teacher. "Second Chances," like his teaching, is full of readily applicable observations. Using anecdotes from his clinical and life experiences -- and relating them to the story of Ruth -- Rabbi Meier personalizes his insights, giving encouragement and strength to those readers who would make the most of their own second chances. -David Brandes The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles Rabbi Meier has written an inspirational book filled with anecdotes and stories that turn seemingly hopeless situations into opportunities for growth and fulfillment. He provides examples of loss and bitterness from the compelling story of Ruth and Naomi, and helps us understand, deal with, adjust to, and react to loss, loneliness, and sexuality. Rabbi Meier summarizes each chapter of the Book of Ruth clearly and succinctly. He offers insights about human behavior from the narrative of Ruth and from the modem world. He draws material from the headlines, his therapeutic practice, and his experience as a chaplain at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. It is clear that his experience informs the healthy perspective offered in the book. This book follows on the heels of his endearing collection of inspirational work in Seven Heavens: Inspirational Stories to Elevate Your Soul (Devorah, 2002). Both are good selections for adult collections that offer inspirational literature, self-help titles, and modern commentary on biblical literature. -Abigail Yasgur AJL Newsletter
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