Honey from the Rock: An Easy Introduction to Jewish Mysticism

Quite simply, the easiest introduction to Jewish mysticism you can read. An insightful and absorbing introduction to the ten gates of Jewish mysticism and how they apply to daily life. "There is a place that is as far from here as breathing out is from breathing in. For the word is very near to you. Where life forever holds gentle sway over death, where people are human with the same grace that a willow is a willow, where the struggle and the yearning between male and female is at last resolved.... It is to begin with, all inside us." —from the Introduction "In the past decade I've read Honey from the Rock at least half a dozen times. Every time I read it I wonder if I have ever read it before. Either it keeps changing, or I do. Maybe it’s both.... As someone told me: 'Lawrence Kushner is a mystic. He gives you flashes of insight.'" —from the Publisher’s Preface to the Anniversary Edition

Table of Contents:
Publisher's Preface to the Anniversary Edition Foreword Introduction Ten Gateways to Jewish Mysticism 1. HaMidbar: The Wilderness of Preparation 2. HaSod: The Mystery 3. Shaarey Shamayim: Entrances to Holiness 4. Atzat HaShem: The Hands of Heaven 5. Malachey Elyon: Messengers of the Most High 6. Gilgulim: Circles of Return 7. HaOr: The Light of Awareness 8. Adam Kadmon: The Body of the Universe 9. Sefirot: Higher Worlds 10. Yichud: The Eternal One

About the Author :
Lawrence Kushner, author, lecturer and spiritual leader, is regarded as one of the most creative religious thinkers and writers in America. A commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, he has focused us on spiritual renewal with wisdom and humor. Through his books and lectures, people of every faith and background have found inspiration and new strength for spiritual search and growth. It has been said that some spiritual leaders blend religion and psychology to help us walk better on the ground, but Lawrence Kushner draws on the wisdom of the mystics to help us dance better on the ceiling. Kushner's acclaimed books include I’m God; You’re Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego; Honey from the Rock: An Easy Introduction to Jewish Mysticism; Invisible Lines of Connection: Sacred Stories of the Ordinary; The Book of Letters: A Mystical Hebrew Alphabet; Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians; and In God’s Hands, an inspiring fable for children, with Gary Schmidt (all Jewish Lights). Kushner served as rabbi at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, for almost thirty years; he is currently the Emanu-El scholar at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, and an adjunct faculty member at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. He is fascinated by graphic design and computers (designing most of his Jewish Lights books). He enjoys Mozart, hanging around sailboats, and making his granddaughters giggle.

Review :
"Captures the flavor and spark of Jewish mysticism. Read it and be rewarded." —Elie Wiesel “A book which makes me feel God smiling.... It has fed my heart.” —Ram Dass “A work of love, lyrical beauty and prophetic insight ... an astonishingly effective chronicle and means of meditation.” —Father Malcolm Boyd, The Christian Century