'The essence of Jewish life is not the bland performance of the Torah's commandments, but rather love of Torah and the way of life to which it is the guide.' Tap into the wisdom of one the world's ancient religions by meditating on Rabbi Wittenberg's engaging, contemporary, spiritual, social and ethical insights to the Torah. Rooted in decades of devoted immersion in Jewish learning, humanist literature, concern for people at all ages and stages of life, environmental activism and a love of nature, Rabbi Wittenberg offers wisdom relevant to Jews, Christians and spiritual seekers of all and no faiths. Over the hundred and more passages, key issues considered include: Compassion and kindness; Creation and wonder; Emotional struggles; Environment and our relationship to nature; Ethical challenges; Illness and suffering; Identity and community; Justice and Social Justice; Refugees and strangers; Remorse and repentance; Responsibility; Searching for meaning; Seeking God.

'Moving - at times almost unbearably so - and fascinating' Antonia Fraser A family's story of human tenacity, faith and a race for survival in the face of unspeakable horror and cruelty perpetrated by the Nazi regime against the Jewish people. Growing up in the safety of Britain, Jonathan Wittenberg was deeply aware of his legacy as the child of refugees from Nazi Germany. Yet, like so many others there is much he failed to ask while those who could have answered his questions were still alive. After burying their aunt Steffi in the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, Jonathan, now a rabbi, accompanies his cousin Michal as she begins to clear the flat in Jerusalem where the family have lived since fleeing Germany in the 1930s. Inside an old suitcase abandoned on the balcony they discover a linen bag containing a bundle of letters left untouched for decades. Jonathan's attention is immediately captivated as he tries to decipher the faded writing on the long-forgotten letters. They eventually draw him into a profound and challenging quest to uncover the painful details of his father's family's history. Through the wartime correspondence of his great-grandmother Regina and his grandmother, aunts and uncles, Jonathan weaves together the strands of an ancient rabbinical family with the history of Europe during the Second World War and the unfolding policies of the Nazis, telling the moving story of a family whose lives are as fragile as the paper on which they write, but whose faith in God remains steadfast.

Hospice chaplains have traditionally played a unique part in palliative care, providing human compassion and support to help ease life's final chapter. This book thoughtfully tackles the question at the heart of modern hospice chaplaincy: do chaplains have a distinctive role in an increasingly secular society? A comprehensive look at why and how this work needs to be done, each chapter will be a rich resource for hospice chaplains and anyone working within a hospice multi-disciplinary team. Taking the form of reflections by chaplains and other professionals, they examine the tension between sacred and secular space, explore how spiritual care works in a changing society, and look at what voice a chaplain has within the hospice team. Essential reading for chaplains, this insightful book reflects on the important work undertaken by hospice chaplaincies and explains why they continue to be a vital resource for end-of-life care.

'A wonderful read' -- Lorraine Kelly In this book for dog lovers everywhere, Jonathan Wittenberg says his dogs have taught him, more than anything else, how to appreciate the wonderful world in which we live -- and how to develop better relationships with his friends and families. In this wonderful, warm account of one man and his dog, Jonathan brings all the big themes of friendship, faithfulness, kindness, cruelty, grief, prayer and spiritual companionship to the fore, and shows us how we can learn so much from a dog's approach to life. If you're one of the 8.5 million dog owners in the UK the answer to a better way of living may already be under your roof.

This book describes a search for God and for values which is both personal and traditional. It is a quest set within the ancient Jewish disciplines of Thorah, the service of God and acts of faithful love, upon which Simon the Just taught over two thousand years ago that the world stands, and which, to this day, define the life of the Jew. The questions and attempted responses here relate to issues with which the author has lived all the more seriously since he became a rabbi and has had the privilege of listening to others at some of the most important moments in their lives. Here is a book for practising Jews; for Jews who for one reason or another have ceased to practice but cannot forget their Jewishness; and for those of other faihs, whose questions are so often those which are discussed so movingly here. Jonathan Wittenberg is Rabbi of The North London Synagogue.