Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii

Part One Discovering God in All Reality
"Pass Not Away": Yearning for a Seamless Life of Connection
Nancy Flam 3
Seeking the Sacred Self
Jeremy Kalmanofsky 15
Yitro, (Neo-)Hasidism, and a New American Piety
Shaul Magid 22

Part Two Spiritual Growth, Inner Transformation
Approaching the Thick Cloud: Working with Obstacles in Our Spiritual Growth
Sheila Peltz Weinberg 33
"Who Am I to Go to Pharoah?"
Lawrence Kushner 39
The Cry of Redemption
Judith A. Kates 46
"All This and Maybe": The Doubting Servant
Mimi Feigelson 51
Rabbi Nahum of Chernobyl and "Second Maturity"
Yehonatan Chipman 59

Part Three Embodied Spiritual Practice
Taking in the Torah of the Timeless Present
Gordon Tucker 67
Holiness in the Kitchen
Chava Weissler 72
Eating as a Spiritual Ecosystem
Joel Hecker 78
Loving God with the Evil Impulse
Daniel Matt 86

Part Four Compassion, Loving Others
"A Better Way of Being in the World, a Way of Compassion"
Jonathan P. Slater 93
Rabbi Nahman's "OD": An Ode of Human Redemption
Everett Gendler 103
Spiritual Friendship: "Go Among People Who Are
Awake and Where a Light Shines Brightly"
Lawrence Fine 112
The Service of Love
Ebn Leader 119
The Splendid Bird: Reflections on Prayer and Community
Barry W. Holtz 129
Part Five Prayer, Repentance, Healing
Praying from the Depths
Melila Hellner-Eshed 137
The Tainted Produce: A Parable of Possibilities
Neal Rose and Carol Rose 145
Spiritual Wounds
Michael Fishbane 152
Sarah and Moses: God's Teachers of Compassion
Or N. Rose 162
Crisis and Repair, Trauma and Recovery
Haviva Pedaya 171

Part Six Torah, Halakhah, Mitzvot
Shabbat Candle Lighting
Eitan Fishbane 185
Why Do We Need the Mitzvot?
Ron Margolin 192
Jacob's Remedy: A Prayer for the Dislocated
Nehemia Polen 201
On Faith Beyond Perception: The Slonimer Rebbe
Shai Held 209

Conclusion: Teyku-Because Elijah Lives On!
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi 217
Suggestions for Further Reading 221

Leading scholars and teachers share their favorite texts-many available in English for the first time-and explore why these materials are meaningful today. A rich combination of classical texts and contemporary reflections on Jewish mystical tradition.