Announcing the recipient
On The Bookshelf
of the 2001 UMS Distinguished Artist Award
Presented at the
Ford Honors Program
The Heart Of The Soul
CELEBRATING THE ART OF SILENCE
In the realm of the spirit we have a soul print that
belongs to us alone, says Rabbi Marc Gafili.
Saturday, May 12, 6 pm
Hill Auditorium & Ingalls Mall
SAN D EE B RAWARS KY
Special to the Jewish News
The world's greatest mime returns to
T
Ann Arbor for a special tribute honoring
more than 50 years of genius. Marcel
he title of Rabbi Marc
Gafni's new book coins a
term that he hopes will
become part of our vocabu-
lary, consciousness and conversation:
Marceau,"not merely the greatest star
mime of the century, but an icon of
Western culture," (Los Angeles Times)
has been selected to receive the 2001
Distinguished Artist Award at the Ford
Honors Program.
A special gala benefit dinner-
follows the performance, with
all proceeds benefiting the
UMS Education and Audience
Development Program.
Tickets are available now
through the UMS Box Office: •
734-764-2538
Additional information
online at www.ums.org.
c`l.brat
_igekii•Weinteal",
Mind
The Ford Honors Program is made possible by
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7
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r
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Soul Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment
(Pocket; $24.95).
A soul print is a spiritual signature, the
trace of a soul's presence. Just as every
fingerprint is unique, so is a soul print.
"The idea is rooted very powerfully in
kabbalistic tradition," the Jerusalem-
based rabbi says in an interview.
American-born Rabbi Gafni is the
dean of the Melitz Public Culture
Study Center in Jerusalem and,
as he writes, he's been "deemed a
bit of a maverick." In addition
to teaching, he hosts a show air-
ing weekly on Israeli television
called Under His Vine. (When he
moved to Israel 12 years ago, he
changed his name from Winiarz
— which means winemaker in
Polish — to a Hebrew equiva-
lent, Gafni.)
Each week, he engages a public
figure from the worlds of politics,
sports, journalism or the arts in
serious, passionate study of bibli-
cal themes. Although he has been
ordained twice in Orthodoxy; he
considers himself a trans-denomi-
national rabbi. He adds that he is per-
sonally halachically committed.
Rabbi Gafni's approach in Soul
Prints is at once philosophical, mysti-
cal, biblical, literary and personal. The
book aims to guide readers toward
greater soul-awareness, to live more
meaningfully and, in doing so, to
impact on the state of the world. It's
more contemplative and textured than
a book of self-improvement, more
practical and geared to personal
growth than a scholarly work.
He tells lots of stories (what he calls
biblical myths), Chasidic and kabbalistic
tales and anecdotes from his own life,
never reticent about admitting his own
flaws. Making references to wide-rang-
ing sources from psychiatrist Carl Jung
to poet Stanley Kunitz, he builds a case
for the soul's need for connection, to
move from loneliness toward love.
For Rabbi Gafni, myth is "an under-
lying imprimatur of reality," and biblical
myths are archetypes for understanding
the world. Throughout the book, he
discusses the suite of levado (he trans-
lates as lonely) stories in the Torah,
including the beginning Genesis text and
experiences of Jacob, Moses and Of
God, drawing contemporary messages.
"For me, Bible study isn't ritual," he
writes. "It's a personal quest into a
world of complexity, pain, love betray-
al, and the towering characterizations
of archetypal humans. Those humans
are not objects or observations but liv-
ing guides who invite us into passion-
ate conversation."
In soul print terminology, he writes
of the need for individuals to commu-
nicate authentically and share their
In "Soul Prints,"
Rabbi Marc
Gafni uses
spiritual stories
to teach us how
to live flitter,
happier lives.
The book
inspired a
television special
that recently
aired on PBS.
soul prints as a way to overcome lone-
liness. He emphasizes that every soul
has a unique story and unique calling,
and urges readers to know and live
their own stories, to find their callings.
His talk is full of references to his
new term: soul print living, soul print
moments, soul print misdemeanors,
soul print revelations.
Throughout the book, Rabbi Gafni
includes shaded sidebars that include
quotes pulled from the text and "Soul
Print Practice," activities for readers,
like making relevant lists, answering
questions or creating a "soul print
box" filled with meaningful objects.
Although Soul Prints is based very
much on Jewish sources ; the rabbi sees
it of interest to non-Jewish audiences
as well, and will be addressing many
church as well as synagogue groups.
Rabbi Gafni spent his childhood in
Columbus, Ohio, and moved to New
York City on his own at age 13 to