Making Judaism relevant and crucially significant for this age requires a reformatting that increases its value to its adherents while working in conscious harmony with global and universal concerns.
Pamela Jaye Smith, Founder of Mythworks, author of “Inner Drives” and “The Power of the Dark Side” ”Written in a personal and very moving style, Dr. Schram's book offers insights from great thinkers and philosophies about the nature of reality and the unity of existence. His own perspective is joyous and he points delightedly to ways we ourselves can discover and live joy. Citing many sources, from mystic Judaism to Native American shamanism to Hindu philosophy, and more, Schram proves his point that not only is everything connected but that our perceptions and teachings from varied times and places reflect each other as well. Having read the Old Testament many times as a young Christian and later as a comparative mythologist, I was surprised and intrigued at his explanations of many of the stories. His psychological insights offer deep illustrative interpretations to the old Bible tales. A rich collection of quotes from diverse thinkers enriches and illustrates his points about the nature of reality and our place in it. Ancient philosophy, quantum physics, ageless wisdom, and a charming sense of humor all combine in "Oh My God" to offer you an entertaining read, an informative overview of philosophies, and a personal perspective that inspires you to find, know, and become your true self and live life to the fullest.”
"Experimentation with yoga, drumming, meditation, eclectic musical forms, Buddhism, and egalitarian prayer were once the province of the most marginal of Jewish religious practices. Today, however, they are being embraced with varying degrees of enthusiasm within mainstream Jewish denominations, revealing the gradual 'normalization' of New Age Judaism's religious forms. New Age Judaism focuses much needed scholarly attention on these new forms and expressions of Judaism both within and outside of the synagogue setting." "This edited volume explores a range of experiences and conceptualizations of 'New Age Judaism', an imprecise term denoting new and evolving forms of North American Judaism that are typically innovative, combinative, and often controversial. Chapters analyze the phenomenon of New Age Judaism from theoretical, theological and ethnographic perspectives. As a result, they offer a broad sampling of some of the most fascinating forms of Jewish religious expression and philosophy in North America today."--BOOK JACKET.
This book explores the state of the American Jewish world in the early 21st century, after decades of accelerating change that has transformed it and all other religious groups in the United States. It reveals a community in an unparalleled state of flux grappling with a society in which religious identity is more and more considered an individual choice, rather than an inheritance, and where fewer adults feel impelled to identify with any religious tradition at all. In chapters written by leading experts, the book examines the community’s evolving demographics, the direction of the principal denominational movements, contemporary religious trends, interactions with other American religious communities and engagements in the country’s secular politics. This text uniquely covers all these aspects of Judaism in America making it appealing to students and researchers in such fields as the sociology of religion, Judaism, and American history.
A Heart Afire is an intimate, guided tour of many of the lesser-known and previously unpublished stories and teachings of the first three generations of Hasidism, especially those of the Ba'al Shem Tov, his heirs (male and female) and the students of his successor, the Maggid of Mezritch.
This fresh approach to prayer is for all who wish to appreciate the power of prayer's poetry and song, jump into its ceremonies and rituals and join the age-old conversation that Jews have had with God. Reb Zalman, one of the most important Jewish spiritual teachers in contemporary American Judaism, offers you new ways to pray, new channels for communicating with God and new opportunities to open your heart to God's response.
Features the life, in stories, of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760), the founder of Hasidism. The Baal Shem Tov, or the Besht, as he is commonly called, led a revival in Judaism that put love and joy at the center of religious life and championed the
"Essential teachings of Rabbi Zalman Shachter-Shalomi, one of the most creative and influential Jewish spiritual teachers in the late twentieth-century"--