Open Secrets: The Letters of Reb Yerachmiel ben Yisrael

“. . . a rare jewel, a powerhouse of spiritual wisdom that you can read and reread.”—Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. author of A Woman’s Journey to God and Seven Paths to God

“[Open Secrets] invites us into the most intimate of settings, the whispered wisdom passed from an authentic Hasidic master to his student. It radiates warmth, passion for the divine, and earthy confidence in sacredness. A treasure for the spiritual seeker of any tradition.” —Judith Simmer-Brown, Naropa University, author of Dakini’s Warm Breath

“Open Secrets is my favorite way to introduce readers to the essence and depth of Judaism.”—Bo Lozoff, author and founder of the Human Kindness Foundation

“A master teacher.”—Thomas Keating

"A prophetic voice for a 21st-century Judaism”—Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

The fictional East European Hasidic Master Reb Yerachmeil writes to his hasid Herschel who has moved to America, in response to his student’s perennial questions about God, what it means to be Jewish, whether all religions are true, about death, the soul, good deeds, intermarriage and more. The rebbe writes, “My Judaism seeks only the heart of the teaching and the essence of the practice and leaves the details to others.” At the urging of his own rebbe, Shapiro, through these letters, creates a “. . . a Judaism for people who wish to learn from it as they do from Buddhism or Sufism, a Judaism for everyone.”

Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro is regarded as one of the most creative voices in contemporary American Judaism. He is an award-winning poet and essayist, and his liturgies are used in prayer services throughout North America. His previous books include Minyan: 10 Principles for Living a Life of Integrity and The Way of Solomon: Finding Joy and Contentment in the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an award winning poet and essayist, whose liturgical writings are used in prayer services throughout North America. He has written over a dozen works of poetry, liturgy, short story and nonfiction. He is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and holds a doctoral degree in religious studies from Union Graduate School. A congregational rabbi for 20 years, Rabbi Shapiro currently directs both the Simply Jewish Foundation and the One River Foundation. His most recent books are Minyan, Wisdom of the Jewish Sages, The Wisdom of Solomon, The Way of Solomon, and Hasidic Tales Annotated and Explained.