Gershom's Book Shop: Jewish Spirituality & Meditation section

[rooster

Gershom's Book Shop:
Jewish Spirituality & Meditation Section

It's finally out! Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul -- after all those other Chicken Soup books, they finally wised up and came out with the Jewish version. I mean, we're the people who invented the chicken soup cure-all, right? Like the other books in the series, these are heartwarming personal stories -- with a Jewish twist. A great gift for the High Holy Days or anytime. Click here to read reviews and order the book or on audio CD

[cover]

The Committed Life:
Principles of Good Living from our Timeless Past

by Rebbitzin Esther Jungreis. The search for meaning in our lives is a difficult quest. Rebbitzin Jungreis, a survivor of Bergen-Belsen, was instructed by her father to devote her life to helping restore the faith that was destroyed by the Nazis. She not only kept her own faith in the face of terrible suffering, but has gone on to share it with literally thousands of fellow Jews who are seeking to reconnect with God. The heartwarming stories and practical advice of this amazing woman will bring tears of joy to your eyes, and inspire you to live a more committed Jewish life.

Click here to read reviews and order

[book]

Kabbalah: the Way of the Jewish Mystic

by Perle Epstein. This is another reprint that we are glad to see available again. Probably the best intro for people aready familiar with Eastern meditiation, etc. who want to know "What is like that in Judaism?" Very readable bridge between Judaism and "New Age," too!

Click here to read a Reb Gershom review and order

[cover]

The Thirteen-petaled Rose

By Adin Steinsaltz. This should be required reading for every Jew interested in angels. Rabbi Steinsaltz clearly explains the different levels of angels in the four kabbalistic Worlds, and how the mitzvahs we do create and energize them. After reading this, you will never think of the Torah as "mere laws" again!

Click here to order!

[book]

The Earth Is the Lord's: The Inner World of the Jew in Eastern Europe

By Abraham Joshua Heschel. First published in 1949, it's finally back in print! This thin but profound volume is one of the very best descriptions of the inner life of pre-Holocaust Jews in Eastern Europe. Both informative and poetic in it's beautifully-written prose, you will return to it again and again. Click here to order one now!

Also by Heschel:

[book]

The Sabbath: It's Meaning for Modern Man

Another Jewish classic, first published in 1951. This book sails high above the usual Sabbath fare. Rabbi Heschel explains, in his beautiful-as-usual lyrical prose, how the Sabbath is really a "palace in time," and how Jewish ceremonies take place more in "sacred time" rather than in "sacred space."
Click here to order

Jewish Views of the Afterlife

By Simcha Paull Raphael, Ph.D. This is the definitive academic study of the subject, covering all aspects of Jewish afterlife beliefs. Well-researched, it includes translations of source material that has never before appeared in English. The only drawback is that the book is pricy even in paperback, but if this is your area of research, it's well worth the money. Go to his web page for info about the contents of the book, then come back here to order your copy through our store.

If you prefer less academics (and a cheaper price...)

try What Happens After I Die?: Jewish Views of Life After Death by Rifat Sonsino and Daniel B. Syme. This basic, 147-page paperback, put out by the Reform movement, gives an overview of various Jewish beliefs about life after death, including reincarnation. (Which, for an official Reform pub, is pretty radical!)

[cover]

Jewish Mystical Testimonies

An excellent book recently brought back into print, this book is a fine collection of source texts (with commentary) of personal mystical experiences by rabbis, scholars, Rebbes, and others. Fascinating first-hand accounts of Jewish experiences about God that that will really surprize you!
Click here to order

[bookend]

Meditation books by Aryeh Kaplan

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's books are both authentic in their Judaism and highly readable for the layperson. acceptable to even the most Orthodox Jews, they are also reader-friendly for the educated layperson.

Meditation and the Bible traces the different forms of meditation practiced by the prophets. Lots of hard-to-find translations of kabbalistic commentaries. A classic.
Order the hardcover ----- Order the paperback

Meditation and Kabbalah is a more in-depth continuation of Meditation and the Bible above. Discusses various schools of Jewish thought down through the ages, with translations of important source texts. Order the hardcover ----- Order the paperback

Jewish Meditation: a Practical Guide is a popular-style how-to book. After the two books above came out, people wanted a less academic presentation for the general public. Still the best intro book available for authentic (and halachically correct) forms of Jewish meditation and how to do them.
Paperback only -- Click here to order

CD graphic] Jewish Chants for Meditation -- a new 2001 CD of Hebrew mantras with a New Age sound, chanted by a group called Tiferet. Although not a "Kaplan" production per se, it does help you get a feel for what Kaplan is talking about, in a mode that, for some, is more spiritually accessible than Hasidic tunes. Click here to read my indepth review and order

[hasidic divider line]