Jewish Spiritual Guidance: Finding Our Way to God

The authors of this guidebook believe that ""everything we need for growing into a full, rich relationship with God is already available in our lives."" Even so, they say, many of us need spiritual guides, who might be religious professionals (like rabbis) or lay people, to help us find our spiritual paths. These spiritual guides are adept at navigating the rich variety of existing spiritual practices. Ochs (Women and Spirituality) and Olitzky (Striving for Jewish Virtues) have written a kind of handbook for those seeking guidance as well as those who seek to provide that spiritual guidance. Ochs and Olitzky devote chapters to practices they deem central to finding one's spiritual way: prayer, scripture reading, discernment and community. An appendix includes suggestions for further reading, a glossary, a list of the ""sages quoted"" in the book and a ""God Questionnaire"" intended to help readers discover their own ideas about God. In engaging fashion, Ochs and Olitzky combine interviews, case studies, stories from ancient Jewish texts and Jewish practices to illustrate the various ways in which people may ""find their way to God."" (Nov.)