Best Jewish Religious Movements

In My Grandfather's Blessings , Rachel Naomi Remen , a cancer physician and master storyteller, uses her luminous stories to remind us of the power of our kindness and the joy of being alive. When doctor and author Rachel Naomi Remen ( Kitchen Table Wisdom ) was young, she was caught between two different views of life: that of her rabbi grandfather and that of her highly academic, research-oriented parents, who believed religion was the opiate of the masses. Through a series of unpretentious, affecting vignettes, the author of the bestseller Kitchen Table Wisdom encourages readers to recognize and celebrate the unexpected blessings in their own lives. Many of her recollections are linked to her experiences as a medical student and a physician working with cancer patients, but the most memorable ones relate to Remen's deep engagement with her grandfather, who died when she was seven.

Named one of "forty-three books to read before you die" by the Independent (UK). 2015 National Jewish Book Award Winner. 2016 Winner of the GLCA New Writers Award in Nonfiction. One of Star Magazine's "Fab 5 Can't-Miss Entertainment Picks". A moving and revealing exploration of Hasidic life, and one man's struggles with faith, family, and community. “With this book Deen has laid to rest the idea that a Hasid from New Square could never become a great writer in English, or an articulate chronicler of his own experiences.” ― The New Republic. “In this moving book, Deen lays bare his difficult, muddled wrestling with his faith, the challenges it posed to everything he thought he knew about himself, and the hard-won redemption he eventually found.” ― Library Journal. “I understand that even if I did visit New Square I would have no greater access to Hasidic life than my occasional walk through Williamsburg, where I can see but can't penetrate its appeal, or its secrets. It is the book's ticket to mass appeal as well as the seat of his disquiet in its writing.Though he writes because he has a story to tell, Deen's work, especially in his memoir, is clearly crafted to benefit others dealing with a wavering faith.” ― Tablet Magazine. All Who Go Do Not Return gives us not only an insider's glimpse into a shrouded world few outsiders get to see, but also a movingly told narrative of one man's struggle toward intellectual integrity. The setting may be the world of Hasidic Judaism, but the drama and the insights are universal.” ―Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction. “ All Who Go Do Not Return is a deeply honest and moving story about a man's decision to do something both so simple and so radical - to live in accordance with his own beliefs.

Including services for Shabbat, weekdays and festivals, as well as other occasions of public worship, and texts for more than a hundred songs, Mishkan T'filah reflects the full diversity of our Movement.

Told in understated, crystalline prose, Lax begins her story as a young teen leaving her liberal, secular home to become a Hasidic Jew, then plumbs the nuances of her arranged marriage, fundamentalist faith, and Hasidic motherhood, as her creative, sexual, and spiritual longings shimmer beneath the surface. With memorable, passionate detail, Leah Lax recounts a unique search for wholeness and healing that paradoxically plunged her into the quicksand of shame. Written in poetic prose whose color and savor will linger long after you finish the book, this memoir makes the flickering appeal of a life of inflexible rules as seductively clear as it is claustrophobic―a remarkable achievement. Dramatic, revelatory, deeply moving, and ultimately inspiring, this is a truly one-of-a kind memoir about the universal longing to discover, nurture, and celebrate one’s authentic self.”. “In this courageous, important book, Leah Lax reveals a voice once doubly silenced by orthodox religion―as a woman and a lesbian―on a deeply moving journey to selfhood. “In Uncovered , Leah Lax remembers in rich detail how she moved from loneliness through what promised to be a new family and a new community, into a pure appreciation of the world―and how, instead, it suppressed her deepest needs. Her book is a profound and poignant story of innocence and experience, those ancient universals, and transforming joy at the end.”. “Dealing with abortion, LGBT identity, and Hasidic life, this story is too complex to fit neatly into the ‘ex-Hasidic memoir craze’—but that makes it all the richer.”. “Lax’s gifts―uncommon intelligence, a poetic sensibility, an eye skilled at discerning the telling detail―make her story lyrical, ruminative, and profound; she is able to impart the events of her life with a spiritual glow that shimmers long after the last page has been turned.”. Her work for stage has been reviewed in The New York Times , and Rolling Stone magazine, and has been broadcast on NPR.

Named one of "forty-three books to read before you die" by the Independent (UK). 2015 National Jewish Book Award Winner. 2016 Winner of the GLCA New Writers Award in Nonfiction. One of Star Magazine's "Fab 5 Can't-Miss Entertainment Picks". A moving and revealing exploration of Hasidic life, and one man's struggles with faith, family, and community. “With this book Deen has laid to rest the idea that a Hasid from New Square could never become a great writer in English, or an articulate chronicler of his own experiences.” ― The New Republic. “In this moving book, Deen lays bare his difficult, muddled wrestling with his faith, the challenges it posed to everything he thought he knew about himself, and the hard-won redemption he eventually found.” ― Library Journal. “I understand that even if I did visit New Square I would have no greater access to Hasidic life than my occasional walk through Williamsburg, where I can see but can't penetrate its appeal, or its secrets. It is the book's ticket to mass appeal as well as the seat of his disquiet in its writing.Though he writes because he has a story to tell, Deen's work, especially in his memoir, is clearly crafted to benefit others dealing with a wavering faith.” ― Tablet Magazine. All Who Go Do Not Return gives us not only an insider's glimpse into a shrouded world few outsiders get to see, but also a movingly told narrative of one man's struggle toward intellectual integrity. The setting may be the world of Hasidic Judaism, but the drama and the insights are universal.” ―Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction. “ All Who Go Do Not Return is a deeply honest and moving story about a man's decision to do something both so simple and so radical - to live in accordance with his own beliefs.

Clever marketing has led us to believe in chasing happiness down a path that doesn't lead anywhere. No matter where you are in life, finding purpose is easier than you think. Rabbi Evan Moffic knows the power of prayer . You will discover those words in this book and the ten life-changing practices it reveals. "Rabbi Evan Moffic masterfully invokes ancient Jewish wisdom to help us find happiness in our modern world."". Rabbi Evan Moffic masterfully takes us on a powerful journey through the wisdom of our tradition and the complexities of the human heart. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in The Frustration, Boredom Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder and Radical Amazement of Parenting. "The longer I live, and the more I'm faced with the inescapable reality of pain in life, the more I search for and surround myself with people who exude joy. My husband, Aaron, and I have treasured the time we've spent around the table with them-they're wise and kind and funny, and the depth and richness of their faith bleeds into every conversation." "Dr. Tal Ben Shahar, author of New York Times bestseller Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment ". "One of our truly thoughtful and charismatic young leaders, Evan Moffic provides in captivating prose the wisdom and comfort of Jewish teachings for Jews and Gentile alike." A graduate of Stanford University, he is known for his stories and scholarship, connecting ancient traditions with modern audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Rabbi Moffic also appears regularly on cable news stations as a commentator on Israel and political and social events in America.

The instant New York Times bestselling memoir of a young Jewish woman’s escape from a religious sect, in the tradition of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Infidel and Carolyn Jessop’s Escape , featuring a new epilogue by the author. Deborah Feldman was raised in the Satmar Hasidic community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York.

Judaism, he argues, is a religion of time: it finds meaning not in space and the materials things that fill it but in time and the eternity that imbues it, so that 'the Sabbaths are our greatcatherdrals.'. Elegant, passionate, and filled with the love of God?s creation, Abraham Hoshua Heschel?s The Sabbath has been hailed as a classic of Jewish spirituality ever since its original publication in 1951?and has been read by thousands of people of many faiths seeking meaning in modern life. Judaism, he argues, is the religion of time: it finds meaning not in space and the material things that fill it but in time and the eternity that imbues it, so that ?the Sabbaths are our great cathedrals.

From Grammy-winning musical icon and legendary bassist Victor L. Wooten comes The Music Lesson, the story of a struggling young musician who wanted music to be his life, and who wanted his life to be great. "As music lessons go, this one is unique and can be enjoyed by both musicians and general listeners, especially those interested in the arts and creativity."

The coeditor of the enormously popular Jewish Catalog "help[s] readers understand more fully the meaning of our holidays and thereby to observe these festivals . The name Passover is taken from the Exodus story: During the tenth and ultimate plague inflicted on Pharaoh to break his will, God passed over the Israelites and struck down only the Egyptian firstborn. Following the bleakness of winter when everything is covered with the shrouds of snow, spring marks the rebirth of the earth with the bursting forth of green life. Similarly, a people enshackled in oppressive slavery, doomed to a slow process of degradation or even extinction, bursts forth out of Egypt into a new life's journey leading to a land flowing with milk and honey. Thus, the spirit of renewed optimism aroused by the sights and smells of spring are reinforced in a Jewish context by Passover with its trumpeting of the possibilities of liberation. The matzah evokes images of that night when the Israelites ate the sacrificial lamb in fearful and eager anticipation of the future. Matzah as a symbol of liberation is meant to trigger in our minds the whole story, which began in slavery and ended in freedom. It also reminds us of God's role in the Exodus, for it recalls the simple faith of the Israelites, who were willing to leave the home they knew and go off into the desert. Because it is the crucial event that marks the beginning of our sacred history, the Exodus is referred to repeatedly in Jewish liturgy and thought. This commandment, unique to this holiday, leads us not simply to remember the Exodus but to expand upon the tale, to explore its complexities and develop its meaning. As the Torah states: "Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the Lord freed you from it with a...

Including services for Shabbat, weekdays and festivals, as well as other occasions of public worship, and texts for more than a hundred songs, Mishkan T'filah reflects the full diversity of our Movement.

Regarded throughout the English-speaking world as the standard English translation of the Holy Scriptures, the JPS TANAKH has been acclaimed by scholars, rabbis, lay leaders, Jews, and Christians alike. ( Time Magazine ) "Turns Holy Writ into fresh, understandable, contemporary language.