Spiritual Boredom: Rediscovering the Wonder of Judaism [Hardcover]

Dr Erica Brown (Author), Erica Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2009

Boredom is a crisis of our age. In religious terms, boredom is sapping spirituality of its mystical and wholesome benefits, slowly corroding our ability to recognize blessing and beauty in our lives, to experience wonder and awe. What happens when our need for constant newness minimizes our interest in prayer, learning, and the mysteries of nature?
This intriguing look at spiritual boredom helps you understand just what this condition is, particularly as it relates to Judaism, and what the absence of inspiration means to the present and future of the Jewish tradition. Drawing insights from psychology, philosophy, and theology as well as ancient Jewish texts, Dr. Erica Brown explores the many ways boredom manifests itself within Judaism--in the community, classroom, and synagogue--and shows its potentially powerful cultural impact on a faith structure that advises sanctifying time, not merely passing it.

"Erudite, passionate, illuminating, inspiring, and, above all, Jewish. Here one of the foremost Jewish educators of our time takes aim at spiritual boredom, and points the way to a life of wonder, creativity and engagement."
--Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University

"Erica Brown's Spiritual Boredom has the wrong title; it should be called Resurrection of the Dead, that is: bringing what appears to be lifeless back to life. She, of course, is talking about Judaism as it's currently practiced in far too many places. Her book is an excellent critique of and a remedy for our present malaise. And that is anything but boring."
--Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Emanu-El Scholar at Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco; author, The Way Into Jewish Mystical Tradition and many other books

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Take Control of Your Boredom

We all have moments when we feel as if we have nothing new to contribute to the world, when the monotony of routine minimizes our intensity for learning, prayer, and our hunger for wonder. We may even feel as if we are subjected to boredom at every turn because of the impossibility of newness. But there is a way to use our boredom as an invitation to revisit our expectations and our responsibility for self-engagement.

Exploring spiritual boredom through the lenses of psychology, philosophy, and theology, as well as Jewish prayer, community, and education, Dr. Erica Brown demonstrates how we can recast our ability to create, invent, and discover that which is new by following the teachings of Judaism--to stop and take note, to reflect in community and in private prayer, and most importantly, to act.

Describing practical ways for changing our attitude toward boredom, she illustrates that although there will never be an end to boredom, with planning and insight we may get closer to managing it, leveraging it, and allowing it to teach us something about ourselves.

"[A] path-breaking book.... Identifies the spiritual ennui that is rarely addressed and that results in yawns and in alienation. It then tells us what we can do about it to establish a Judaism that can re-excite our souls, our minds, and our hearts."
--Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author, Jewish Literacy and A Code of Jewish Ethics

"Insightful, challenging, even transformative--a welcome antidote to those who would just shrug and say that there's nothing we can do to infuse our Jewish lives with more joy, more meaning, and more spirit."
--Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, editor, New Jewish Feminism: Probing the Past, Forging the Future

About the Author

Dr. Erica Brown, a frequent speaker on subjects of Jewish interest, is director of adult education for the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning and scholar-in-residence at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She is author of Inspired Jewish Leadership: Practical Approaches to Building Strong Communities, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and co-author of The Case for Jewish Peoplehood: Can We Be One? (both Jewish Lights). She received the Covenant Award and was selected as an Avi Chai Fellow, known as "The Jewish Genius Award."

Also by Dr. Erica Brown

Inspired Jewish Leadership: Practical Approaches to Building Strong Communities
Finalist, National Jewish Book Award
Provides information, interactive exercises, and questions for reflection to help you define leadership styles and theories, expose common myths, and coach others on the importance of leading with meaning. 6 x 9, 256 pp, Hardcover, ISBN 978-1-58023-361-3 $24.99

The Case for Jewish Peoplehood Can We Be One?
Co-authored with Dr. Misha Galperin Foreword by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin Explores the purpose, possibilities, and limitations of peoplehood as a unifying concept of community for a people struggling profoundly with Jewish identity. 6 x 9, 224 pp, Hardcover, ISBN 978-1-58023-401-6 $21.99

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing (September 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580234054
• ISBN-13: 978-1580234054
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #655,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Erica Brown is a writer and educator who lectures widely on subjects of Jewish interest. She is scholar-in-residence for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, DC and a consultant to other Jewish organizations. Dr. Brown is the author of In the Narrow Places, Confronting Scandal, Spiritual Boredom and Inspired Jewish Leadership, and co-author of The Case for Jewish Peoplehood. Her "Weekly Jewish Wisdom" column has appeared regularly in The Washington Post. More at www.leadingwithmeaning.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Certainly Not a Boring Read!, September 15, 2009

By 

Odelia Tine (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spiritual Boredom: Rediscovering the Wonder of Judaism (Hardcover)

Dr. Brown manages to take the topic of boredom and weave an engrossing tale of how we can recast familiarity into action. I particularly liked the distinction between boredom and calm. The section at the end of the book detailing action items is particularly valuable. Anyone with ennui should be reading this. And those who want to avoid it. A great resource for teaching children about spitituality as well. Well done!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good perscription for the disease of boredom, December 28, 2009

By 

Israel Drazin (Boca Raton, Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spiritual Boredom: Rediscovering the Wonder of Judaism (Hardcover)

No one, writes Dr. Brown, is immune from the debilitating disease of boredom, a modern condition that is cited in a dictionary for the first time in the mid-nineteenth century. The disease cannot be treated by an injection or any other outside intervention. The cure must come from inside the bored people themselves.
Boredom affects all aspects of life - an inability to enjoy oneself, family and religion - and destroys the self and others. In Judaism, boredom with Hebrew classes, synagogue services and religious lectures is well known, and all-too-often turns into an alienation from Judaism.
The main cause of boredom, Dr. Brown writes, is "a feeling of uninvolvement, a lack of concentration, an absence of motivation, a feeling of emptiness and, above all, no excitement or enthusiasm for what is happening." How can people overcome these destructive feelings?
Dr. Brown's well-written book is well-researched and filled with reasonable practical advice and interesting, poignant and instructive quotes, at least one and sometimes two or three on every page. For example: "Something is boring me. I think it's me," said Dylan Thomas. He understood the problem and cure.
Dr. Brown writes: "When we believe something is destined to be boring, we often make sure that it lives up to expectations." Boredom, she explains, is the result of selfishness, excessive concern about one's own benefits and pleasures. And "It is commitment that provides the real relief to boredom."
Dr. Brown offers ten prescriptions to heal the disease, which she discusses in detail.
1. Stop speaking about boredom. By mentioning it, you make it so.
2. When you see something, go through the ten times two exercise. Try to think of ten things you notice about what you are seeing. Then try to add ten more. This exercise trains people to find interesting meaning.
3. Do something unusual, even scary, and move on from lethargy and feeling sorry for yourself.
4. Get involved in helping other people for a side effect is satisfaction.
5. Smile. Just making the facial gesture changes attitudes.
6. Find time when you can be alone and learn to enjoy your own company.
7. Minimize distractions for they will keep you from seeing interesting events.
8. Open a Jewish book and study it with a teacher. Jewish teachings only seem dull when they are read only cursorily, without understanding.
9. Set a Shabbat table or any Jewish activity. The side effect of these acts is enjoyable.
10. Practice listening to others, Look them in the face and you will find a fascinating world that you have been ignoring.
These ten ideas together with the many insights that Dr. Brown offers about boredom will cure people of the modern man made malady of boredom.

5.0 out of 5 stars Bored no more, August 10, 2010

By 

four4four "four4four" (atlanta) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Spiritual Boredom: Rediscovering the Wonder of Judaism (Hardcover)

There I was thinking I had been having a crisis of faith, when in actuality, thanks to Erica Brown's new book "Spiritual Boredom", I realize now that I have been suffering from boredom. Dr. Brown must have been living in my head for the last few years - her description of boredom, an all too common ailment facing those of us living in this time of information and activity overload, is exactly what I and many of my friends have been dealing with for the last few years. Her analysis of this "disease" is witty and thorough, and the practical solutions she offers have just moved up to the top of my to do list. A meaningful text with interesting literary references, this book is a must read for those of us who have been engaged in the Jewish community, have lost their way, and who miss the connectedness and meaning that Judaism offers.