Prayer is an articulation of our noblest desires, our deepest yearnings, and our darkest places. The prayers in this collection speak directly to the complexity of human life--whether you seek expression for joy, wonder, perplexity, or heartache, for personal use or for your community, you will find here a voice for your experience that will help you linger in the blessings and move forward through the pain. This collection includes prayers for personal use, prayers for use at communal gatherings, prayers and readings for moments of grief and moments of joy, a collection of daily Psalms, and focus phrases and questions for meditation. These readings for contemplative practice and communal gatherings will aid in the search for clarity, for strength beyond what we know, and for an affirmation of holiness, of goodness, of the grandeur of God.
About the Author :
Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar is the senior rabbi at Congregation BJBE in the Chicago area. Rabbi Kedar teaches courses and leads retreats that explore the need for meaning and purpose in our busy lives, creating an intentional life, spiritual awakening, forgiveness, as well as inspirational leadership and creating the synagogue for the twenty-first century.
Review :
A groundbreaking rabbi and author, Karyn Kedar has plumbed her soul to nurture the souls of those she serves.
This latest offering of prayers, so deeply personal that they can be prayed by anyone, is an offering of love. It is
grounded in love, gratitude, forgiveness, and love. It is inspired by turning mindful attention to what is true in each moment, an exercise that reveals "that I am not alone./ And the only thing I must do / is not deny, or ignore, but rather, / implore, / God, / help me live in the sweep of some great/ love."
-RABBI JONATHAN P. SLATER, Senior Program Director, Institute forJewish Spirituality
Poetry and prayer to touch the soulby a rabbi who thinks deeply, cares passionately, and writes beautifully.
"A gentle yet steady embrace of the mystery" we call life, the author saysof her book. To which I gratefully
respond Amen.
-RABBI DR. LAWRENCE HOFFMAN, PHD, The Barbara and Stephen Friedman Professor Emeritus of Liturgy, Worship, and Ritual
This book is a cornucopia of prayer, poetry, and practices. Your eyes will see more beauty, your heart will become wiser and more loving, your spirit lifted and comforted as you sit with this remarkable collection. Seekers, pastoral
caregivers, meditators, spiritual directors, leaders, and teachers, will refer to it often!
-BARBARA BREITMAN, author of Jewish Spiritual Direction
Karyn Kedar records the contours of a soul's human journey with the gifts of a poet, a mystic, and a leader whose kind curiosity and courage permeate each page. This collection of personal prayers and reflections offers depth and inspiration that open the heart to gaze upon the soul, God, and this human life in times of solitude and in community. Kedar's Amen is itself a sustained prayer, subtle and bold, nuanced and naked at once. I find myself saying "Amen!" to this potent, provocative and tender invitation into a prayerful orientation towards life, death, and the Mystery of
Presence that pervades it all.
-MYRIAM KLOTZ, Director, Bekhol Levavkha Jewish Spiritual Director Training and Spiritual Direction
Programs, HUC-JIR
