Jewish Spiritual Guidance: Finding Our Way to God (The Jossey-Bass Religion-In-Practice Series) - Hardcover

Ochs, Carol; Olitzky, Kerry M.

3.5

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9780787910594: Jewish Spiritual Guidance: Finding Our Way to God (The Jossey-Bass Religion-In-Practice Series)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787910597 ISBN 13: 9780787910594

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 1997

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A Map for the Inner Journey, for Seekers and Guides Alike

Written with warmth, compassion, and deep understanding, this book offers a map of the inner journey for exploring the time-honored practice of spiritual guidance. Carol Ochs and Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky speak both to those who seek a Jewish perspective on the spiritual life and those who wish to guide others in this search. Drawing deeply on the riches of the Torah and other important Jewish sources, Jewish Spiritual Guidance offers wisdom and insight to all religious seekers?lay and ordained, Jewish and non-Jewish.

They examine the broad principles of spiritual guidance, describing it as the journey of two people?seeker and guide?through the wilderness toward God. The central relationship is not between the seeker and the guide but between the seeker and God. The guide is a companion who helps the seeker discover patterns, articulate insights, and remain faithful. All the lessons that the guide teaches the seeker are lessons that the guide is also learning, again and again.

This much-needed resource will not only nourish the seeker-guide relationship but also inspire discussions in adult education classes, minyanim, and prayer groups. All religious seekers will find wisdom and understanding through this illuminating book.

CONTENTS

Introduction: Seeking and Guiding on the Spiritual Way

1. Finding Our Spiritual Maps

2. Meeting God Through Prayer

3. Listening with Spiritual Attentiveness

4. Recognizing the Spiritual Path

5. Understanding Our Fears

6. Revisiting Our Images of God

7. Engaging God Through the Study of Sacred Texts

8. Encountering Temptation and Sin

9. Enduring the Spiritual Desert

10. Drawing from and Giving to Community

11. Continuing the Spiritual Journey

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From the Inside Flap:

This sensitively written book explains the process of spiritual guidance, encourages us to seek it out, and helps prepare those who feel called to become spiritual guides. Drawing from their personal and professional experience, as well as a rich array of traditional Jewish sources, the authors explore what Judaism has to say about the spiritual journey and the ways in which spiritual guidance can help us open more fully to God's presence in our lives.Carol Ochs and Kerry M. Olitzky examine the broad principles of spiritual guidance, describing it as the journey of two people?seeker and guide?through the wilderness toward God. The central relationship is not between the seeker and the guide, they say, but between the seeker and God. The guide is a companion who helps the seeker discover patterns, articulate insights, and remain faithful. All the lessons that the guide teaches the seeker are lessons that the guide is also learning, again and again.Using the book of Exodus, the Song of Songs, and the psalms as roadmaps?and sharing stories of contemporary Jews engaged in their own spiritual explorations?Ochs and Olitzky explore prayer as a relationship with God, listening as a key to recognizing all that is holy, and discernment as a way to distinguish the real from the apparent. They identify fear as an inherent part of the spiritual life and show how, through study, we can re-form our childhood image of God with adult understanding.With caring and insight, the authors help us consider temptation, sin, and repentance, and show us that the spiritual life is not a single challenge or heroic feat, but the shape of a lifetime and the ongoing Andurance of "the desert." The individual journey toward God leads ultimately, they say, to an active spiritual life grounded in community.Jewish Spiritual Guidance draws deeply from a wellspring of traditional sources, including the Torah; rabbinical texts such as the Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, codes, and medieval et

About the Author:

CAROL OCHS is coordinator of graduate studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, where she also teaches philosophy and serves as spiritual guide for rabbinic and cantorial students. She is the author of five books, including Song of the Self and Women and Spirituality. KERRY M. OLITZKY is national dean, Adult Jewish Learning and Living, at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. A leader in innovative Jewish education, he is a pioneer in developing training programs for clergy of all faiths, especially in the area of pastoral care and counseling. His most recent book is Striving for Jewish Virtues: A Contemporary Guide for Jewish Ethical Behavior.

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