Sustenance
For

A roundup of books
that nourish the spirit.

;..

ews are the people of the

spirit, and whenever they

return to the spirit, they are

great and splendid and put

to shame and overcome their

knavish oppressors. Rosenkranz

p rofoundly compared them to

iant Antaeus, except that

the iant was strengthened

whenever he touched the earth,

while the Jews gain new strength

whenever they touch heaven."

— Heinrich Heine, Ludwig Boerne"

"

JOSHUA PAUL CANE

Special to The Jewish News

WHEN LIFE HURTS: A BOOK OF
HOPE; By Wayne Dosick;
HarperSanFrancisco; $19.
The swift and terrible wildfires that
ravaged California in 1996 also con-
sumed the home, office and personal
treasures of Rabbi Wayne Dosick,.an
adjunct professor of Jewish studies at
the University of
San Diego and
spiritual guide of
the Elijah
Minyan.
Candidly
expressing his
feelings of grief,
anger and despair,
he explores the
questions such a
tragedy brings:
How do you keep
faith? 'Where is
God just when
you need Him the
most? How do
you move on?
Dosick offers his
advice on coping
with adversity and
finding meaning
and joy in these
lessons of life.
Feeling kinship with Dosick in the
wake of the 1995 Oklahoma City
bombing, Gov. Frank Keating writes
of When Life Hurts, "In Wayne
Dosick's view of life, we are all afloat
on God's river, bound in one
direction, but it's up to us to
handle the oars. Read this
book and start rowing!"

ENDLESS LIGHT; By
David Aaron; Simon 6-
Schuster; $22.
The cosmic questions that
have daunted mankind are
brought down to a human
level in this new book by the
head of the world-famed
Isralight Institute in
Jerusalem. "'What is the
meaning of life?" "Who am
I?" "What is my place in the
world?" are revealed through
Kabbalah, the mystical
teachings interpreted from
the Torah, says the author, a rabbi,
pianist, composer and poet.

9/18

•

1,6 Detroit Jewish News

own spiritual

quest.

KINDLING THE
FLAME; By
Roberta Israeloffi
Simon Schuster;
$23.
The all-too
common question
of maintaining a
reverence for faith and tradition from
one generation to the next becomes
the central theme of this autobio-
graphical novel. Israeloff, a contribut-
ing editor at Parents magazine, details
her return to her Jewish identity and
spiritual tradi-
tion with grace-
ful and spare
prose.
She initially
rejects the orga-
nized religion
of her parents,
but when she
starts a family
of her own, her
journey to
renew her faith
is one that res-
onates with the
reader, becom-
ing a story that
is tender and
personal.

trIDLEW
LIGHT

Joshua Paul Cane is a member of The
Jewish News staff- and at work on his
first novel.

1998

Retelling the familiar stories of the
Bible, Aaron reveals their spiritual and
empowering mysteries, which become
practical guides for our own lives.
Aaron shares the Kabbalah's wisdom
about how to truly love and be loved;
considers the conflict between the
powers of fate and free will; and
describes the path of life that will lead
to spiritual growth, creativity, free-
dom, happiness and inner peace.
"I never cease to
be impressed with
[David Aaron's]
ability to entertain
and inspire while
bringing to life the
beautiful ancient
mysteries of the
Torah and
Kabbalah," says
Kirk Douglas,
whom Aaron guid-
ed in the actor's

THE BOOK OF DAVID; By David
Rosenberg; Harmony Books; $24.
In 1990 David Rosenberg and
Harold Bloom published The Book of
J, which identified one of the earliest

