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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ISRAEL!
Though this small nation restored,in
the 20th century faces troubled times,
it is destined to prevail. The Holy
Scriptures affirm Israel's place within
the ancient borders. They will not be
displaced and will yet dwell peace-
ably within the promised land.
Jeremiah 24:6
We wish to extend our best wishes on
this 50th anniversary of Israel's state-
hood. We also wish to offer a faith
strengthening review of the Scripture
promises and prophecies being
fulfilled for the Jew in the borders of
their ancient land.
THE TIME TO FAVOR ZION HAS COME
FREE BOOKLET
THIS LAND IS MINE
Associated Bible Students of Metro Detroit
P.O. Box 2153 • Dearborn, MI 48123
Please send my copy of This Land is Mine
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DETROIT
JEWISH /DEIS
6/5
1998
114
QIN
Healing, Wholeness
and Holiness
An Ann Arbor
psychologist brings the
spiritual into her
practice.
LISA GAYLE
Special to The Jewish News
T
o symbolize spring's
increasing light, Dr. Bar-
bara Boyk places a three-
wick candle on her dining-
room table. A small plant sitting on a
weaving of deep peach, brown and
black reminds her that the earth's
richness nourishes all things.
For Boyk, a psychotherapist, the
objects on her dining room table are
symbols that evoke feelings, prayers
and memories: She believes that
one's spiritual life is as much a part
of health as the physical body, the
intellect and emotions.
"If we don't have awareness of
where we are in all four aspects, we
can't move forward in a balanced
way," said Boyk, 44, who has been
practicing in Ann Arbor for 15 years.
She points out that Jewish mystical
tradition regards the body, mind,
emotions and spirit as the four
worlds that are fundamental to being
human and that other long-standing
spiritual traditions have a similar way
of looking at humanity.
She said that patients facing
severe loss or major crises often want
to connect to something greater than
themselves but didn't know h6w.
Seeing that as a need outside the
realm of traditional psychotherapy,
she created two workshops to help
bridge the gap.
T'filah, or Prayer, tried to expand
a participant's experience of prayer.
For Boyk, davening can look like an
egalitarian minyan, a silent medita-
tion, a chanting service or a spiritual
dance. The workshop includes shar-
ing experiences about prayer as well
as davening.
The other workshop, Derech, or
Pathways, helps participants to con-
nect their psychological issues with
their spiritual development.
Participants' ages range from 30s
to 60s. They are men and women,
singles and married, Jews and non-
Jews. Within Judaism, participants
come from Reform, Conservative,
secular and unaffiliated backgrounds.
Boyk grew up in Toledo and
earned her degrees from the Univer-
sity of Michigan. While earning an
undergraduate teaching certificate,
she focused on alternatives in educa-
tion and psychology. Her master's
degree is in educational psychology,
her Ph.D. in clinical psychology and
higher education.
After receiving her MA, Boyk
became ill and spent six years healing
and working in the creative arts. Dur-
ing that time, she became involved
with non-Jewish spiritual teaching
and felt the experience of prayer.
"Although I had a clear Jewish
identity, it never touched my soul in
a way that was spiritually sustaining,"
she said.
That changed when she found
Jewish Renewal, an approach to
Judaism that integrates Torah with
the Jewish mystical teachings of Kab-
balah and the chasidic masters as well
as the insights of contemporary ecol-
ogy, feminism and democracy.
She started to attend classes, con-
ference and retreats given by ALEPH,
the Jewish Renewal organizational
and teaching center in Philadelphia,
and found them spiritually nourish-
ing.
As her health returned, she created
personal spiritual practices and kept
in touch with Renewal friends. Grad-
ually, others have joined her, and she
has joined the Ann Arbor Recon-
structionist Havurah.
Barbara Boyk: Integrates prayer with psychotherapy.