This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared
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Here All Along
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- Narrated by: Sarah Hurwitz
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 101
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After a decade as a political speechwriter - serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign - Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her skills as a communicator to writing a book...about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. Sarah Hurwitz is on a mission to close this gap by sharing the profound insights she discovered on everything from Jewish holidays, ethics, and prayer to Jewish conceptions of God, death, and social justice.
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Must-read for prospective and new Jewish converts
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5 out of 5 stars
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Einstein and the Rabbi
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- Narrated by: Rabbi Naomi Levy
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 154
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 146
When Rabbi Naomi Levy came across a poignant letter by Einstein, it shook her to her core. His words perfectly captured what she has come to believe about the human condition: that we are intimately connected and that we are blind to this truth. Levy wondered what had elicited such spiritual wisdom from a man of science. Thus began a three-year search into the mystery of Einstein's letter and into the mystery of the human soul.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An excellent book, filled with life lessons!
- By Harold S. Geller on 12-17-17
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Training in Compassion
- Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong
- By: Norman Fischer
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Story5 out of 5 stars 90
Lojong is the Tibetan Buddhist practice that involves working with short phrases (called "slogans") as a way of generating bodhichitta, the heart and mind of enlightened compassion. Though the practice is more than a millennium old, it has become popular in the West in only the last 20 years or so - and it has become very popular indeed because it's a practice that one can fit very well into an ordinary life, and because it works.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best audiobook I have listened to out of hundreds!
- By Mike on 11-30-16
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The World Could Be Otherwise
- Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path
- By: Norman Fischer
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
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In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six perfections” - generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding - can help us reconfigure the world we live in.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Master piece
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The Essential Talmud: An Introduction
- By: Adin Steinsaltz
- Narrated by: Shlomo Zacks
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
The Essential Talmud is a masterful introduction by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz to the great repository of Jewish wisdom, the Talmud. A book of profound scholarship and concise pedagogy, The Essential Talmud succinctly describes the Talmud's history, structure, and methodology. It summarizes the Talmud's main principles, demonstrates its contemporary relevance, and captures the spirit of this unique and paradoxical sacred text as a human expression of divine law.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very informative
- By Jan D. Leslie on 03-05-19
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Jewish Literacy Revised Ed
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- Length: 29 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 127
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
Widely recognized as one of the most respected and indispensable reference books on Jewish life, culture, tradition, and religion, Jewish Literacy covers every essential aspect of the Jewish people and Judaism. Rabbi Telushkin discusses everything from the Jewish Bible and Talmud to Jewish notions of ethics to antisemitism and the Holocaust; from the history of Jews around the world to Zionism and the politics of a Jewish state; from the significance of religious traditions and holidays to how they are practiced in daily life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Must have resource for Judaism
- By Jason Atha on 04-24-18
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Every Day, Holy Day
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- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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"You shall be holy," teaches the Bible. The masters of the Jewish Mussar tradition have crafted a roadmap to help people approach that lofty goal. Mussar is a system of introspective practices that can help you identify and break through the obstacles to your inherent holiness, using methods that are easy to integrate into daily life. Every Day, Holy Day is an essential companion for anyone who wants to experience the life-changing gifts of Mussar.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Least Expensive yet MOST Impactful Book Ever
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
The question-and-answer format makes this introduction to Zen especially easy to understand - and also to use as a reference, as you can easily look up just the question you had in mind. The esteemed Zen teacher Norman Fischer and his old friend and teaching colleague Susan Moon (both of them in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) give this collaborative effort a playful tone: Susan asks a question on our behalf, Norman answers it, and then Sue challenges him.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Zen; An Introduction
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 344
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At 36 years old, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche was a rising star within his generation of Tibetan masters and the respected abbot of three monasteries. Then one night, telling no one, he slipped out of his monastery in India with the intention of spending the next four years on a wandering retreat, following the ancient practice of holy mendicants. His goal was to throw off his titles and roles in order to explore the deepest aspects of his being.
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An Amazing Story Shared with Profound Perspective
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If All the Seas Were Ink
- A Memoir
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- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4 out of 5 stars 29
This memoir is a tale of heartache and humor, of love and loss, of marriage and motherhood, and of learning to put one foot in front of the other by turning page after page. Ilana Kurshan takes us on a deeply accessible and personal guided tour of the Talmud, shedding new light on its stories and offering insights into its arguments - both for those already familiar with the text and for those who have never encountered it. For people of the book - both Jewish and non-Jewish - If All the Seas Were Ink is a celebration of learning how to fall in love once again.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Started out interesting, but flagged badly
- By Chana Goanna on 01-27-20
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How to Fight Anti-Semitism
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- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 143
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On October 27, 2018, 11 Jews were gunned down as they prayed at their synagogue in Pittsburgh. It was the deadliest attack on Jews in American history. For most Americans, the massacre at Tree of Life, the synagogue where Bari Weiss became a bat mitzvah, came as a total shock. But anti-Semitism is the oldest hatred, commonplace across the Middle East and on the rise for years in Europe. So that terrible morning in Pittsburgh raised a question Americans can no longer avoid: Could it happen here? This audiobook is Weiss' answer.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Shallow and confused
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Rebbe
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 211
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 194
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Story5 out of 5 stars 193
From his modest headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the Rebbe advised some of the world's greatest leaders and shaped matters of state and society. Statesmen and artists as diverse as Ronald Reagan, Robert F. Kennedy, Yitzchak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Elie Wiesel, and Bob Dylan span the spectrum of those who sought his counsel.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Only good things
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JPS Tanakh
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- By: The Jewish Publication Society
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 227
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 175
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Story5 out of 5 stars 177
Regarded throughout the English-speaking world as the standard English translation of the Holy Scriptures, the JPS TANAKH has been acclaimed by scholars, rabbis, lay leaders, Jews, and Christians alike. The JPS TANAKH is an entirely original translation of the Holy Scriptures into contemporary English, based on the masoretic (the traditional Hebrew) text. It is the culmination of three decades of collaboration by academic scholars and rabbis, representing the three largest branches of organized Judaism in the US.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Audio version needs a "Table of Contents "
- By Winifred on 08-20-12
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The Zen of You and Me
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
The people who get under your skin the most can in fact be your greatest teachers. It’s not a matter of overlooking differences - for those very differences offer a path to profound connection. Diane Hamilton’s practical, reality-based guide to living harmoniously with even your most irritating fellow humans - spouses, partners, colleagues, parents, children - shows that “getting along” is really a matter of discovering that our differences are nothing other than an expression of our even deeper shared unity.
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The Deep Heart
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- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story5 out of 5 stars 5
The great human quest is to discover who we really are-a discovery that changes our lives and the lives of those around us. With The Deep Heart, spiritual teacher and psychotherapist Dr. John J. Prendergast invites us on a pilgrimage within. The "deep heart" is Prendergast's term for our heart center-a subtle center of emotional and energetic sensitivity, relational intimacy, profound inner knowing, and unconditional love. "The heart area is where we feel most deeply touched by kindness, gratitude, and appreciation, yet it is also where we feel most emotionally wounded".
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5 out of 5 stars
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Lamp unto....
- By Robert B. Davis on 05-03-20
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Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor
- By: Yossi Klein Halevi
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
Attempting to break the agonizing impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli commentator and award-winning author of Like Dreamers directly addresses his Palestinian neighbors in this taut and provocative book, empathizing with Palestinian suffering and longing for reconciliation as he explores how the conflict looks through Israeli eyes.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Israel 101 - but for Jews
- By GoingGoingGone... on 06-13-18
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Welcoming the Unwelcome
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- By: Pema Chodron
- Narrated by: Claire Foy
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story5 out of 5 stars 23
In her first new book of spiritual teachings in over seven years, Pema Chödrön offers a combination of wisdom, heartfelt reflections, and the signature mix of humor and insight that have made her a beloved figure to turn to during times of change. In an increasingly polarized world, Pema shows us how to strengthen our abilities to find common ground, even when we disagree, and influence our environment in positive ways.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible
- By Pacific9 on 04-11-20
Publisher's Summary
There are times in life when we are caught utterly unprepared: a death in the family, the end of a relationship, a health crisis. These are the times when the solid ground we thought we stood on disappears beneath our feet, leaving us reeling and heartbroken, as we stumble back to our faith.
The Days of Awe encompass the weeks preceding Rosh Hashanah up to Yom Kippur, a period in which Jews take part in a series of rituals and prayers that reenact the journey of the soul through the world from birth to death. This is a period of contemplation and repentance, comparable to Lent and Ramadan. Yet, for Rabbi Alan Lew, the real purpose of this annual passage is for us to experience brokenheartedness and open our heart to God. In This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared, Lew has marked out a journey of seven distinct stages, one that draws on these rituals to awaken our soul and wholly transform us. Weaving together Torah readings, Buddhist parables, Jewish fables, and stories from his own life, Lew lays bare the meanings of this ancient Jewish passage. He reveals the path from terror to acceptance, confusion to clarity, doubt to belief, and from complacency to awe.
In the tradition of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, This Is Real And You Are Completely Unprepared enables believers of all faiths to reconnect to their faith with a passion and intimacy that will resonate throughout the year.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Crumpler
- 02-14-20
Beautifully written
I recently converted to Judaism and decided to read this book during the month leading to the high holidays. This book has helped me become more comfortable with my impending death and granted me a special appreciation for these holidays that are new to me. Allan Lew pases away some years ago but he has left behind a book that I predict will remain a timeless piece of literature for converts and Jews who rediscover their Judaism.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Harold S. Geller
- 09-06-18
Excellent preparation for the High Holy Days
I have been reading this book annually for the at least the last 10 years, in preparation for the High Holy Days. I find it to be my foundation for the reflective work of the days of Awe. Having it available as an audiobook, has made it much more meaningful this year! Excellent performance!