Discover how to make virtually any moment
in your day a
significant part of a meaningful Jewish life.
As we have discovered, and as our sages
have long known, there is no experience in the life of a Jew
that cannot be marked in Jewish ways…. The book you hold
in your hands is the result of the kinds of rituals we have
sculpted together over the years. It is not a prayer book or
even a compendium of obligatory Jewish rituals. Rather, it is a
source for all to use creatively.
—from the Introduction
Decades of experience by CLAL—The
National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in
connecting spirituality with daily life come together in this
one comprehensive handbook. In these pages, you have access to
teachings that can help to sanctify almost any moment in your
day.
Offering a meditation, a blessing, a
profound Jewish teaching, and a ritual for more than one
hundred diverse everyday events and holidays, this guide
includes sacred practices for:
• Lighting Shabbat candles
• Blessing your parents
• Running a marathon
• Visiting the sick
• Building a sukkah
• Seeing natural wonders
• Moving into a new home
• Saying goodbye to a beloved pet
• Making a shiva call
• Traveling … and much more
Drawing from both traditional and
contemporary sources, The Book of
Jewish Sacred Practices will
show you how to make more holy any moment in your daily life.
“A totally original and deeply
needed book… Takes you by the hand and shows you how to
make every important moment of your life holy.”
—Rabbi
Joseph Telushkin, author of Jewish Literacy and
The Book of Jewish Values
“Provides a refreshing and
innovative path into Jewish life and ritual. Its format is
easily accessible and will inspire both new learners and those
who are more knowledgeable about Judaism.”
—Rabbi
Lori Forman, director of the Jewish
Resource Center, UJA–Federation of
New York;
co-author of Sacred Intentions:
Daily Inspiration to Strengthen
the Spirit, Based on Jewish
Wisdom
“CLAL’s important work
provides sensitive and innovative ways to help us find greater
Jewish meaning in many moments in our life.”
—Rabbi
Elyse Goldstein, editor of The Women’s Haftarah Commentary: New
Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Haftarah Portions,
the 5 Megillot & Special Shabbatot
“An extraordinary guide for
elevating the everyday activities of our lives into spiritual
moments! An essential volume for the Jewish home.”
—Dr. Ron
Wolfson, vice president of the
University of Judaism; author of Hanukkah:
The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration and The Art of Jewish
Living series
Rabbi Irwin Kula is president of CLAL—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a leading voice for religious pluralism in the Jewish community. A sought-after speaker, he was named by the PBS program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly as one of the “10 People to Watch” helping to shape the American spiritual landscape. Fast Company magazine listed him as one of the seventeen new economy leaders, and Forward newspaper named him one of the top fifty Jewish leaders in America. He received his rabbinic ordination from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
