Customer Reviews

These Are the Words: A Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Life

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is so much more than a mere lexicon of "must know" Jewish words. What Rabbi Green has done is to create a series of creative lessons about basic Jewish concepts. In the process, he clearly demonstrates how common words (and some not so common ones!) have very specific meanings within Judaism, meanings that express the inner dimensions of the religion, but are often lost in translation.

Judaism has never worked well in translation, and there was a time when all Jews learned these words in their original Hebrew contexts. Nowadays, that is no longer true, and Jews who are marginal in their Jewish identities often tend (wrongly) to use the dominant culture's translations of Jewish texts as the lens through which to read their own religion -- with the disastrous result of thinking that Judaism has no spirituality.

Rabbi Green's book helps to correct that misperception. He explains, for example, that learning Torah is not just studying the law as an intellectual exercise. It's an ongoing process of interacting with the sacred texts on a very personal level. In that sense, this book, too, is "Torah," and when you are done reading it, you will have the necessary vocabulary for grokking Judaism on both the outer and the inner levels. I highly recommend this book to anyone -- Jewish or not -- who wants to get a firm grasp on the basic vocabulary of Judaism.

Arthur Green's new book explores 149 (not 148) fundamental Hebrew words at the heart of Judaism, giving each word life and purpose for modern lives. It is a spiritual vocabulary list that can be used as a reference work. He welcomes the reader to write comments in the margins, agree and or disagree with his definitions. As he says, Judaism doesn't work in English translation, and serious study and commitment to Judaism requires a basic Hebrew vocabulary. Green, a non Kabbalistic, neo-mystic; distinguished professor, teacher, and former head of Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, began keeping a list of words while working on another book, and the list kept growing. The words are divided into eight sections. Some of the sections are: "Holy Times/Holy Seasons"; "Holy Names"; "Holy Things"; "God and The Worlds Above"; "Community"; "Religious Practice"; "Spiritual Life"; and "Torah: Text and Process." Words that are explained include the basics that are infused with greater meaning, such as Atah (You), Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Elohim (God), Emet (Truth), Ein Sof, Halacha, Emunah (Faith), Kaddish, Shekhinah, and Ber'iah (Creation).

I am in the process of converting to Judaism. While deep and meaningful and fulfilling, I have found the extent of reading and learning to be complex and daunting at times. This book helps. Rather than giving mere definitions of the words, it explains the history of them and gives a background on some of the cultural, sociological, and spiritual connotations. Green's explanations help one to "feel" the words rather than just recognize them on a cognitive level. He also explains the words in terms of their Hebrew spellings, which has been enormously helpful to my understanding of the language structure, itself.

The 149 core words of the Jewish spiritual life were explained. The words presented in the alphabetical order, except the first one YHWH, the name of God.

According to the author, the translation of YHWH is "Is-Was-Will Be." The name of God was to be pronounced only once a year by the high priest in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.

"Atah" is the Hebrew word for "you." According to Martin Buber, the author says, every "you" we speak contains within it echoes of the "eternal You(God)." The first two letters of "Atah" are formed with the beginning and the end of the Hebrew alphabets(Remember that Jesus said "I am alpha and omega, beginning and the end.").

Every word has its own spiritual meaning. The author is mining those profound hidden meanings sublimated in the long Jewish history. Every word was explained very briefly in one page or two pages. This book is an excellent introduction to understand the Jewish life and Judaism through the meaning of the basic key words.

I get hungry to read about non-dual Judaism. Fact is, there are few modern full length treatments of it, and the classical sources only hint at the non-duality of all that we see and experience within the context of religious Judaism. Mostly, non-dualism is a minority view in the Jewish world.

So, I gobble the works that are out there, and hope for more. [For example, I just read an essay by Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels about non-dual Judaism, and it is brilliant in how it handles the difficult task of explaining the unexplainable. But I can't find a full length book by Rabbi Jacobson-Maisels.]

Which brings me to Rabbi Arthur Green's These Holy Words: A Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Life. Rabbi Green was an early advocate of non-dual Judaism within the context of what is called neo-Hasidism. This movement advocates for the integration of many Hasidic ideas and practices into modern Jewish life, without fully boarding the mitzvot-Hasidic bandwagon.

Rabbi Green "dictionary" of Jewish thought and practice covers a great deal of ground. From Adonai to Zehhut and much in between. There are suggestions of non-dualism here, especially in his treatment of the four letter name of God. But mostly, this is a primer for liberal Jews without much background in the tradition looking for basic information from a very broadminded thinker.

Such books as Radical Judaism, Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow and Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology are a more full frontal views of mystical, non-dualistic Judaism than this work

Although a Christian, I recently approached Messianic Judaism (or Hebrew Christianity?). Since I come from a Gentile religious culture, I was perplexed during the worship services when they spoke in Hebrew terminology. Words such as emunah, shema, seder, etc. "sounded" deep and spiritual. But I didn't have a clue as to what these words meant. Also, I was too embarassed to ask anyone in the congregation. It just happened I ran across this wonderful book. Arthur Green is clear, concise and a joy to read. My thanks to the author for making my Messianic worship far more meaningful.
through understanding the key terms!