Filling Words with Light: Hasidic and Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer

Lawrence Kushner, Nehemia Polen

Jewish Lights Pub., 2004 - Religion - 154 pages

Breathe New Life into Your Prayer with the Wisdom of Kabbalah and the Hasidic Masters

Jewish mystics teach that every word a person utters in prayer should radiate light. Even the letters of the words of prayer carry sparks of the Divine that yearn to join together in holiness.

In this inspiring spiritual companion, Reform rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Orthodox rabbi Nehemia Polen join together to provide a window into the liturgy for people of all backgrounds by offering fresh insights and meditations that bring the traditional prayerbook to life. Drawing from the Torah, Zohar and ancient and contemporary Hasidic masters, Kushner and Polen reflect on the joy, gratitude, compassion, mystery and awe embedded in traditional prayers and blessings, and show how you can imbue these familiar sacred words with your own sense of holiness.

Insightful, fresh and wise, Filling Words with Light will enrich your understanding of the prayer book and guide you on how to put more of yourself into the holy words of the Jewish tradition.

Contents

• Sweet in Our Mouths: 17
• Verses of Song: 25
• The Shema and Its Blessings: 45

About the author

Lawrence Kushner is the Emanu-El Scholar at San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El and visiting professor of Jewish spirituality at the Graduate Theological Union. Rabbi Nehemia Polen is professor of Jewish thought at Hebrew College. He is the author of The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto and The Rebbe's Daughter, recipient of a National Jewish Book Award. He is also a contributor to the award-winning My People's Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries (Jewish Lights).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Filling Words with Light: Hasidic and Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer
• Authors: Lawrence Kushner, Nehemia Polen
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Pub., 2004
• Original from: Indiana University
• Digitized: Oct 22, 2008
• ISBN: 1580232167, 9781580232166
• Length: 154 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Judaism / General; Religion / Judaism / Kabbalah & Mysticism; Religion / Judaism / Orthodox; Religion / Judaism / Rituals & Practice; Religion / Prayerbooks / Jewish