Amazon.com Review
Rabbi Marc Gafni is a Kabbalist, someone who studies the mystical interpretations of biblical books, handed down over many generations. Through his studies Gafni became fascinated with the power of biblical myths to awaken the soul while also helping us understand our earthly purpose. The more he delved into the Kabbalah, the more he became interested in the individual blueprint of the soul--how each person seemed born to a different soul-driven destiny.
"Your soul print is your personal signature," explains Gafni. "It is the contour and content of your soul--it's character.... It is even more singular to you than your genes and chromosomes."
In blending his two passions, "soul prints" and myths, Rabbi Gafni created an ambitious spiritual self-help book filled with sage advice on living in connection with the soul. Don't be squeamish about the self-help mission. Gafni's narrative reads more like a personal counseling session in a rabbi's private office--intelligent, warm (expect lots of chuckles), occasionally tangential, but mostly filled with practical guidance. He also inserts numerous sidebars that offer "Soul Print Practices," such as "Make a list of the seven wonders of your world" or "Take sensual risks. Be creative with your senses in how or what you eat, or make love." --Gail Hudson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Just as fingerprints are unique, so, too, says Rabbi Gafni, are soul prints: each human soul has an individual mark that it leaves behind on everyone it touches. Gafni, dean of the Merlitz Public Culture Center in Israel, weaves together autobiographical reflections with tips and exercises designed to help readers discover their soul prints and find fulfillment. Gafni begins with the premise that everyone is lonely and many people look for cures in places where they will never find them, such as sexual encounters. Many of the exercises in this splendid book are designed to help readers confront, and then cure, that loneliness. Gafni suggests that readers share what they learn while reading this book with a lonely person they know. Readers are then asked to make a "Soul Print box" that contains the things that are most important to them, and then to show the contents of that box to one other person. Gafni advocates the practice of random acts of kindness: "Bring happiness to one person each week, for no apparent reason." His tremendous breadth distinguishes this volume from so many spiritualized self-help tomes. He draws on the fantasy novella Flatlands and the teachings of Talmudic rabbis, on psychologists and prophets. He tells his own stories and biblical stories. Though steeped in Jewish wisdom, this book will be accessible and helpful to readers of many faiths. Gafni occasionally states the obvious (as when he notes that if "after a long day of living your life, you feel as if you are on the verge of tears," something might be amiss). But those few banalities can't ruin this insightful book. (Mar.)Forecast: This book is being published in conjunction with a major PBS special by the same title, scheduled to air in early March; this should have a significant impact on book sales. Gafni will be doing a 10-city author tour later that month.
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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
