Kedar (God Whispers) breaks ground in the fertile field of Jewish inspirational literature with this collection of essays that navigate the crossings between the rational and spiritual worlds. Departing from the spate of how-to books on Judaism, Kedar, a rabbi, offers reflective and eloquent perspectives on how to find meaning in the tension between wondering and doing, questioning and acting. As the dolphin arches out of the water and into the air, then submerges again, so Kedar urges readers to dance between life's contradictions. To do so, she suggests three paths that can "synchronize the rhythm of our heart with the way of the world." These include prayer, which is the language of the spirit; perspective, which is the language of thought or the way we choose to see events; and meaning, the urge to understand and reconcile all that seems incompatible and to practice noticing the invisible. Kedar draws her stories from her own life as well as from folk and rabbinic tales, the prayer book and the land of Israel, weaving a Jewish tapestry with universal patterns that range from mystery and memory to meditation. Although Kedar encourages the "integration of all aspects of the self" to bring the "spine of being into alignment," her writing sometimes borders on the starry-eyed, blurring the divisions between these three paths and leaving the reader with a vision of balance that is easier to romanticize than to achieve. (Nov.)
