Spiritual Direction

A guide to some of the most
intriguing new books on
Judaism and spirituality.

SHARI ZINGLE

Special to the Jewish News

R

"We stand in the line of earlier Jews who
tragedy is that many people don't know how to get
bequeathed us their prayer practices, and yet if we
access to the riches of the tradition. All of us have
were simply to copy what they did, it would be the
times when we feel very down and cut off, but
same thing as a modern artist tracing over a painting
whatever the cause of our pain, numbers of the
by Renoir. It wouldn't be Renoir, and it wouldn't be
psalms offer insight and help us work into a feeling
something modern and moving either.
of healing and God's nearness."
"What we do as contemporary Jews does not mean
After defining psalms and putting them in historic
we throw out our prayer books. We try to keep con-
context, Polish introduces specific sections as they
tinuity and respect for the past at the
address reversal of fortune, feelings
same time we stamp it with our own
of isolation, sickness and hostile
On
the
cover:
artistic creativity for our era.
confrontations.
A chapter on how
Maurycy Gottlieb (1856-
"We are going through a wonderful
psalms
have
impacted
his own life
1879): "Jews Praying in the
era of American spirituality, and
comes
last.
Synagogue on Yom Kippur, "
Synagogue 2000 is based on that. I
"I wanted people to confront the
Vienna, 1878.
expect that people will be going to
material without any preconcep-
Courtesy Tel Aviv Museum of Art
services more frequently if services
tion about the author or why the
speak to them in terms of their spiritu-
book was written, but I didn't
al search, which the book is supposed to help them do."
want readers to imagine that it was just a theoretical
Rabbi Polish also wants to guide people through
lark," Polish says.
their spiritual search, but his goal is to help them
"I wanted them to understand that it grew out of a
find inspiration, solace and connection with tradi-
person's life — in this case, out of my life. It was a reflec-
tion as they cope with difficult times.
tion of my hope that the psalms could have the same
"I believe that psalms can be a great source of corn-
usefulness for them that I discovered they had for me."
fort, and I wrote my book so that people who were not
Quoting from Psalm 31:3, Polish describes the
experts in these writings could understand them," says
psalms as "a fortress of defense."
Polish. His current
Although Polish stresses the private experience of
position connects
turning to psalms, he also can point to psalms that
him with Reform
are appropriate for this time of year. Psalm 27, for
congregations as they
example, talks about long-
look for ways to
ing to be in God's house,
HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND
involve themselves in
and he thinks of that as
USE THE BOOK OF PSALMS
the fight for social
preparatory for the experi
justice.
ence of the High Holy
"We Jews are the
Days because worshipers
inheritors of a very
are spending the time vis-
rich spiritual tradi-
iting God's house.
tion, and the
"I think that psalms are
powerful because of the
beautiful poetry, wonder-
Daniel E Polish:
ful imagery and evocative
All of us have times when
nature of the language,"
we feel very down and cut o ff
Polish says. "The power
of the psalms, at times,
but whatever the cause
also makes them seem
of our pain, numbers of
obscure.
When you final-
the psalms offer insight
ly break the code, they're
and help us work into
a great personal resource
a feeling of healing
to have, but until you
and God's nearness.
break the code, they can
be very frustrating." ❑

PSALIVIt

abbi Adin Steinsaltz's A Guide to Jewish
Prayer (Schocken Books; $28.50) is a com-

prehensive and informative examination of how
to practice and understand Jewish prayer.
From the origins and meaning of prayer, to a
step-by-step explanation of the daily services, to
the reason why you're not supposed to chat with
your friends during the service, Rabbi Steinsaltz
answers many common questions about prayer.
He gives readers chapters on Sabbath prayer;
services for the holidays; the role of the rabbi and
cantor in the synagogue; and the role
of music in the service, and also
includes a glossary and biographical

sketches of rabbis through the ages.

Steinsaltz is the author of many
books on Jewish thought, including a
landmark commentary on the Talmud.
He lectures throughout the world and
lives in Israel with his family.

Journalist Ari Goldman offers a dis-
cussion of the meanings and origins of ritual
moments at the heart of Judaism in Being

Jewish: The Spiritual and Cultural Practice of
Judaism Today (Simon and Schuster; $25).

Beginning with the rite of birth, Goldman
describes the rituals associated with coming of
age, marriage and death. From the
observance of the Sabbath to the
role of prayer, the dietary laws and
other daily rituals, this book docu-
ments Jewish spiritual and cultural
life from an intimate yet objective
point of view.
Goldman was a reporter for The
New York Times for 20 years, covering
religion for 10 of those years.

In The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual

Guide to Holidays and Life-Cycle Events

(Behrman House; $24.95), Rabbi Nina Beth
Cardin presents Judaism as a cloth textured
with layers of old and new meanings. A
Conservative rabbi in Baltimore, she explores
the structure of Jewish time by weaving
together history, Jewish law, legend,
practice, ritual and suggestions for
celebration.
With descriptions of both tradi-
tional and contemporary practice, she
hopes to inspire all Jews to knit their
personal stories together with those of

their ancestors.

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION on page R45