Discover how to make virtually any moment in your day a significant part of a meaningful Jewish life.

As we have discovered, and as our sages have long known, there is no experience in the life of a Jew that cannot be marked in Jewish ways . The book you hold in your hands is the result of the kinds of rituals we have sculpted together over the years. It is not a prayer book or even a compendium of obligatory Jewish rituals. Rather, it is a source for all to use creatively. from the Introduction

Decades of experience by CLAL The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in connecting spirituality with daily life come together in this one comprehensive handbook. In these pages, you have access to teachings that can help to sanctify almost any moment in your day.

Offering a meditation, a blessing, a profound Jewish teaching, and a ritual for more than one hundred diverse everyday events and holidays, this guide includes sacred practices for:
Lighting Shabbat candlesBlessing your parentsRunning a marathonVisiting the sickBuilding a sukkahSeeing natural wondersMoving into a new homeSaying goodbye to a beloved petMaking a shiva callTraveling ... and much more

Drawing from both traditional and contemporary sources, The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices will show you how to make more holy any moment in your daily life."

Prayer is an ancient and simple way to prepare yourself for grace, or love, and to learn to recognize it when it comes. Even the briefest "grace" spoken before dinner offers its time-honored wisdom. Yet in spite of hundreds of traditions and teachings and books about prayer, millions of Americans have become ambivalent about it. They are unsure how, when, where, and even why they might pray, afraid they'll do it wrong, or worried that they won't be heard.
Writing in the beautiful, funny, honest narrative style that moved and inspired readers of her first book, "Here If You Need Me, "Kate Braestrup explains what prayer is and the many ways we can pray. With an approach that is both personal and inclusive, "Beginner's Grace "is a new kind of prayer book. Even if you don't pray and don't consider yourself religious, there's room in this book for you. In these pages, Braestrup explains how and why the practice of prayer can open a space in our busy lives for mindfulness, gratitude, contentment, and a wider compassion toward others.
Inspired by her work as a chaplain, Braestrup includes many examples of prayers to draw from--beginning with grace, a brief prayer of thanks. She provides clear models and practical suggestions for making your own and your family's prayers meaningful and satisfying, and offers prayers for situations in which words might fail: times of anxiety, helplessness, or grief. And she invites you to explore forms of prayer that extend into the wider community, including prayer with and for people we don't like or with whom we disagree.
A welcoming modern guide to the simplest, most effective way to satisfy a universal spiritual hunger, "Beginner's Grace "is for the religious and nonreligious and even irreligious in its generous, good-humored approach to spirituality. With its insight and warmth, "Beginner's Grace "is sure to become a spiritual touchstone for people of all faiths

How to manage the process with grace, joy and good sense.

A practical guide that gives parents and teens the "how-to" information they need to navigate the bar/bat mitzvah process and grow as a family through this experience. For the first time in one book, everyone directly involved offers practical insights into how the process can be made easier and more enjoyable for all. Rabbis, cantors and Jewish educators from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, parents, and even teens speak from their own experience. What's it all about? Preparation for Parent and Child Tutoring, stress, expectations, enjoyment, planning for children with special needs Negotiating the ceremony and celebration Designing a creative service, heightening the spiritual exercise, special issues related to divorced and interfaith families, planning a party that neither breaks the bank nor detracts from the inherent spirituality of the event."

Despite the forces of secularization in Europe, old pilgrimage routes are attracting huge numbers of people and given new meanings in the process. In pilgrimage, religious or spiritual meanings are interwoven with social, cultural and politico-strategic concerns. This book explores three such concerns under intense debate in Europe: gender and sexual emancipation, (trans)national identities in the context of migration, and European unification and religious identifications in a changing religious landscape. The interdisciplinary contributions to this book explore a range of such controversies and issues including: Africans renewing family ties at Lourdes, Swedish women at midlife or young English men testing their strength on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, New Age pilgrims and sexuality, Saints' festivals in Spain and Brittany, conservative Catholics challenging Europe's liberal policies on abortion, Polish migrants and French Algerians reconfiguring their transnational identity by transporting their familiar Madonna to their new home, new sacred spaces created such as the shrine of Our Lady of Santa Cruz, traditional Christian saints such as Mary Magdalene given new meanings as new age goddess, and foundation legends of shrines revived by new visionaries. Pilgrimage sites function as nodes in intersecting networks of religious discourses, geographical routes and political preoccupations, which become stages for playing out the boundaries between home and abroad, Muslims and Christians, pilgrimage and tourism, Europe and the world. This book shows how the old routes of Europe are offering inspirational opportunities for making new journeys.

First published in 1967, this book gives some of the fruits of the author's study of Tikopia ways of thought as the result of three field expeditions. Most Polynesians became Christians more than a century ago but Tikopia had a substantial pagan population until quite recent years. This book of essays describes rites and beliefs of a people who still maintained their traditional institutions remote from civilization. Studies of totemism, of magic and of beliefs in the fate of the soul in the afterworld, not only throw new light on Polynesian attitudes but also contribute some novel ideas to the interpretation of standard theoretical problems in social anthropology. Studies of rumour, suicide, and a new essay on spirit mediumship, also provide links between social anthropology and psychology. A general review based on the author's visit in 1966 describes the modern position after the adoption of Christianity.

The face of the divine feminine can be found everywhere in Mexico. One of the most striking features of Mexican religious life is the prevalence of images of the Virgin Mother of God. This is partly because the divine feminine played such a prominent role in pre-Hispanic Mexican religion. Goddess images were central to the devotional life of the Aztecs, especially peasants and those living in villages outside the central city of Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City). In these rural communities fertility and fecundity, more than war rituals and sacrificial tribute, were the main focus of cultic activity. Both Aztec goddesses and the Christian Madonnas who replaced them were associated, and sometimes identified, with nature and the environment: the earth, water, trees and other sources of creativity and vitality. This book uncovers the myths and images of 22 Aztec Goddesses and 28 Christian Madonnas of Mexico. Their rich and symbolic meaning is revealed by placing them in the context of the religious worldviews in which they appear and by situating them within the devotional life of the faithful for whom they function as powerful mediators of divine grace and terror.

There is--or at least ought to be--power in prayer. The Bible, after all, is filled with stories of people who prayed and saw amazing results. Jesus, our Discipler, besides praying often and with the clear expectation of results, taught us "to always pray and to never give up." Yet, too many of us of lack the power to pray consistently and effectively. Prayer is often a duty seldom performed, instead of a living experience of connecting with heaven's power. The Bible's true statement, "Faith without works is dead," is also true when turned backward: an absence of prayer in our life demonstrates the absence of faith in our heart ... faith in the actual effectiveness of prayer as the Bible describes it: If we pray, God will act; if we don't pray, he won't.

The sole aim of Power to Pray is to increase this faith in all of us, so that our Father, who eagerly waits for us to pray, can act on earth as in heaven. The rest is up to you ... and the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that the immense purposes of God will be accomplished through your simple prayers.

This is the first book in any language offering a comprehensive study that places Daoxuan (596-667), one of the most important scholarly monks, in the context of medieval Chinese Buddhist history. In presenting a fresh image of medieval monastic life of Chinese Buddhism, it focuses on several key issues in Daoxuan's work, including the veneration of Buddha's relics, the re-creation of the ordination platform and ordination ritual, and how the Buddhist community reclassified and dealt with monastic property. It is indispensable for all those who are interested in the religions and history of medieval China and comparative monasticism.

Prayer can be your greatest asset and source of wisdom in raising teenagers in today's world. Now expanded, this book features updated content on issues like pornography, addiction, self-harm, anxiety, rebellion, technology use, dealing with disappointment, and more. It's never been tougher to be a teen--or the parent of one. Thankfully, from your teen's first date to the next time they borrow the car keys, you can take your concerns to God through prayer. Drawing on the power of God's Word, this updated and expanded edition of Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens equips you to pray about the difficult issues your teen may face: Relationship challenges Doubts about their faith Depression Rejection Sexual purity Substance abuse Eating disorders . . . and much more This book also guides you in praying about everything from your teen's character and safety to the purposes and plans that God has for his or her future. Filled with engaging illustrations, biblical insights, and compelling prayer principles, Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens shows how to make the Bible your source for prayers that can powerfully influence your teen's life. With a grace-filled approach and a warm, personal style, author Jodie Berndt encourages you that there is not a need your teen will face that God has not already thought of, and provided for, in his Word--and that, no matter how far away our kids may be, they are never out of his reach.

First published in 1967, this book gives some of the fruits of the author's study of Tikopia ways of thought as the result of three field expeditions. Most Polynesians became Christians more than a century ago but Tikopia had a substantial pagan population until quite recent years. This book of essays describes rites and beliefs of a people who still maintained their traditional institutions remote from civilization. Studies of totemism, of magic and of beliefs in the fate of the soul in the afterworld, not only throw new light on Polynesian attitudes but also contribute some novel ideas to the interpretation of standard theoretical problems in social anthropology. Studies of rumour, suicide, and a new essay on spirit mediumship, also provide links between social anthropology and psychology. A general review based on the author's visit in 1966 describes the modern position after the adoption of Christianity.

"If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

God invites His people to pray and promises healing and forgiveness in response to those prayers. But how many Christians pray as the Bible teaches? This practical guide delves into the discipline of praying, seeking to help you understand the privilege, power, and purpose that can be derived from prayer.

In The Uncommon Book of Prayer, Reverend Larry W. Ellis explores Jesus's model of prayer and why it must become our primary focus. Based on his belief that the ministry of prayer is no longer common among God's people, Reverend Ellis clearly explains how prayer has great power to change circumstances. Believers can improve their personal lives, change the condition of their communities, improve the economies of their nations, and ultimately bring hope to the world-all through prayer.

Each chapter includes questions for reflection and suggests ways to add discipline to prayer life. Making prayer a daily practice will ultimately bring you into a more intimate relationship with God.