Jewish Spiritual Direction: An Innovative Guide from Traditional and Contemporary Sources - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1580232302 ISBN 13: 9781580232302

Publisher: Jewish Lights, 2006

Synopsis

The first comprehensive resource for spiritual direction in the Jewish tradition―a vital resource for people involved in spiritual leadership.

The essential reference for people who are called to help others listen for God's voice―not only through prayer and sacred texts, but also through dance, art and interactions with other people―this groundbreaking volume draws on both Jewish tradition and the classical foundations of spiritual direction to provide invaluable guidance.

Offering insight into all aspects of spiritual direction, including theology, practice, companionship, group work and embodied spirituality, the contributors to this guide are innovators in their fields and represent all four contemporary Jewish movements. Topics explored include:

Jewish Theologies and Jewish Spiritual Direction • The Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Direction • Spiritual Direction as a Contemplative Practice • Contemplation and Social Action • Cultivating a Hearing Heart • Spiritual Types • Community for Spiritual Direction • Spiritual Direction and the Cycle of Holy Time • Spiritual Companionship and the Passages of Life • Jewish Spiritual Direction and the Sacred Body • Integrating Spiritual Direction and Visual Creativity • and many more ...

An exciting and practical addition to an emerging field, this is the definitive guide for all who accompany Jewish seekers on their spiritual journeys.

Contributors: Rabbi Howard Avruhm Addison • Barbara Eve Breitman • Anne Brener • Rabbi Amy Eilberg • Jennifer (Jinks) Hoffman • Ann Kline • Rabbi Myriam Klotz • Julie Leavitt Kutzen • Alan Morinis • Rabbi Marcia Prager • Laine Barbanell Schipper • Rabbi Jacob J. Staub • Linda Rabinowitch Thal • Rabbi Zari M. Weiss • Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg • Rabbi Shohama Harris Wiener

About this title

About the Authors

Rabbi Howard A. Addison has trained with leading Enneagram practitioner Helen Palmer, and also served as the last student assistant to Abraham Joshua Heschel. He offers seminars on the Kabbalah and the Enneagram to teachers of both disciplines. Educated at both The Jewish Theological Seminary and the United Church of Christ's Chicago Theological Seminary, Addison serves as senior rabbi of Temple Sinai in Dresher, Pennsylvania.

Barbara Breitman, DMin, is assistant professor of pastoral counseling at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she helped found the program in spiritual direction. A pioneer in the field of Jewish spiritual direction, she is cofounder of Lev Shomea, a training program at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, and coeditor, with Rabbi Howard A. Addison, of Jewish Spiritual Direction: An Innovative Guide from Traditional and Contemporary Sources (Jewish Lights Publishing). An experienced psychotherapist with a special interest in trauma, somatic awareness, mindfulness and resilience, she maintains a private practice with individuals and couples in Philadelphia.

From the Inside Flap

Increase your understanding of Jewish spiritual direction and its inspiring potential.

This innovative guide presents the practice of spiritual direction within the context of Jewish tradition and the emerging field of contemplative Judaism. In essays from those who have been developing a contemporary model of spiritual companionship, this one-of-a-kind resource:

* Explores issues of theology, contemplative prayer and practice, spiritual development and social justice
* Demonstrates how classical Hebrew texts and ancient Jewish ritual and tradition shape a contemporary practice of Jewish spiritual guidance
* Provides practical advice for those who wish to enter spiritual direction and those who wish to learn the practice
* And much more ...

Reviews

Much attention has been paid in recent years to the idea of "spiritual direction," but so far the concept has been almost exclusively defined in terms of the Protestant or Catholic experience. Addison, a rabbi who teaches at Temple University, and Breitman, who teaches pastoral counseling at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pa., co-founded the world's first institute to train spiritual directors in the Jewish tradition. Here, they offer an anthology of essays that is essentially a one-stop training manual for rabbis, spiritual directors and other religious leaders who want to teach people to discern God's voice and follow His direction. While Jewish spiritual direction is, as the authors concede, still an "evolving practice," it draws upon thousands of years' worth of prayer and study. The book can be dense at times, but it is rich with ideas and resources. (May)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1580232302
• ISBN 13: 9781580232302
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Addison Rabbi Howard A., Breitman DMin LCSW Barbara Eve