A breakthrough “how to meditate” guide!
“Jewish meditation is a practice that can sustain you and deepen your connection to the Divine over the course of your lifetime. Seekers throughout history have practiced it and reaped its rewards, and today many people are making it a significant part of their everyday spiritual practice.”
—from the Introduction
A supportive and wise guide that is an absolute must for anyone who wants to learn Jewish meditation or improve their practice—now updated and expanded. Nan Fink Gefen teaches you how to meditate on your own, and starts you on the path to a deeper connection with the Divine and to greater insight about your own life. Whatever your level of understanding, she gives you the tools and support you need to discover the transformative power of meditation. This most comprehensive introduction to a time-honored spiritual practice:
- Answers commonly asked questions about the nature and history of Jewish meditation, and examines how it differs from other meditative practices
- Shows beginners how to start their practice, including where and how to do it
- Gives step-by-step instructions for meditations that are at the core of Jewish meditative practice
- Explains the challenges and rewards of a Jewish meditative practice
“Meditation lies at the very core of the Jewish spiritual experience. This book will take you there gently, wisely, helpfully.”
—Jonathan Omer-Man, founder, Metivta, A Center for Contemplative Judaism
“A very low threshold introduction and a very rewarding first step into the place of silence in the sacred.”
—Lawrence Kushner, author, I’m God; You’re Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego and other books
“Provides, in a sweet and spacious voice, a simple, straightforward guide for beginning a Jewish meditation practice.”
—Sylvia Boorstein, author, It’s Easier Than You Think and other books
“Guides readers wisely, and with great care. This is the guide to Jewish meditation that I have been searching for.”
—Vanessa L. Ochs, author, The Jewish Dream Book: The Key to Opening the Inner Meaning of Your Dreams and other books; Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia
“Gefen’s step-by-step instructions take the mystery out of meditation.”
—Lilith
“Helps readers of any level of understanding learn the ancient practice of Jewish meditation on their own.”
—Yoga International
“Extremely useful … gently moves us through the steps needed to develop our own Jewish meditative practice … [links] Jewish meditation with a fuller practice of Torah study, mitzvot, Shabbat, and other traditional Jewish paths to God.”
—Tikkun
“Long-awaited…. Gefen writes in the plain-speak language accessible to beginner and longtime practitioner.”
—Neshama
“Some of the mystery has been unlocked with this book…. I recommend it if you wish to add another dimension to your spiritual life.”
—The Jerusalem Post
“Encourages Jews of all persuasions to give meditation a shot…. A worthwhile addition to the Jewish library.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Shows users how to combine [meditation] with prayer…. An excellent source for classes as well as for independent study.”
—Jewish Book World
Nan Fink Gefen, PhD, is a teacher of Jewish meditation, a writer and an editor. She has taught Jewish meditation to hundreds of students around the country. For six years, she directed a program to train Jewish meditation teachers at Chochmat HaLev, a center of Jewish meditation in the San Francisco Bay Area.
She is a contributor to Meditation from the Heart of Judaism: Today’s Teachers Share Their Practices, Techniques, and Faith (Jewish Lights), and author of Stranger in the Midst: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery (Basic Books). She co-founded Tikkun magazine in 1985, and she is the co-founding editor of Persimmon Tree: An Online Magazine of the Arts.