Jewish Spirituality

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner’s book, “Jewish Spirituality – A Brief Introduction for Christians” is an easy to read and often eloquent journey through Jewish spirituality. As Rabbi Kushner teaches, spirituality is a lifestyle or an approach to life that encourages us to become intimately aware of God’s presenece and purpose. As the title indicates, the author does a good job introducing Christians to the Jewish spiritual world view, highlighting the common Scriptures (Torah) and heritage. His teaching will bring an interesting depth to the Christian expereince.

One of my favorite passages in this book is in Chapter 15, where Rabbi Kushner talks about Praying:

Rabbi Dov Baer, the great storyteller (Magid) of the Polish town Mezritch, used to say that a person is like a shofar (ram’s horn, sounded on the Jewish New Year as a ritual of awakening). A shofar sounds only when breath is blown through it; we can say prayers only because God moves through us.

Like God, the prayers are everywhere, but they need mouths and hands to give them melody and movement. Without us they would flow unnoticed through the universe. People are the instruments that transform prayers into music and words.