Rubin, a rabbi, college teacher and guidance counselor, writes that the Jewish holidays and Shabbat have been essential to his spiritual development. "Through celebrating these special days I discovered what life is about: Tasting the sweetness of this world." The book opens with a lovely section on Shabbat, with short chapters elucidating the value of rest, lighting candles and blessing one's children. Rubin then goes through all of the holidays of the Jewish year in chronological order from Rosh Hashanah to Shavuot. His style is folksy and homiletic, drawing examples from his own life and from popular culture (as in his chapter on "The Day Michael Jackson Came to Synagogue"). Rubin sometimes gushes a bit too much about his spiritual mentor, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, but he has a real gift for explaining the spiritual significance of familiar rituals.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
...Rubin convinces by his unassuming tone, by his quiet words of healing. He is a down-to-earth diagnostician of the soul who eases the harried reader from the highway of clutter and distraction on to the high road of spiritual insight and illumination. --Michael Skakun, The Jewish Press
In Spiritual Awakenings, Rubin teaches us how to awaken the spiritual in our most mundane activities. Rubin's acknowledgments at the beginning of the book say it all. Who reads the acknowledgments? You do when the first is to ''G-d for having given the Jewish people all these wonderful and special days.'' The Jewish holidays, teaches Rubin, give us pause and tune us in. Take nothing for granted, enjoy every moment, and let the holidays be the window into G-d's special world. --Debbie Lampert, eluna.com
This book is a guide to discovering the joy and meaning that can be found in Shabbat and each of the Jewish holidays. In this book, we are treated to a delightful fusion of Torah teachings, tales of chaddidic Rabbis, and heartwarming anecdotes. --Independent Publisher
See all Editorial Reviews
