Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life

by Alan Lew

Overview

Written in a warm, accessible, and intimate style, Be Still and Get Going will touch those who are searching for an authentic spiritual practice that speaks to them in their own cultural language.

Lew is one of the most sought-after rabbis on the lecture circuit. He has had national media exposure for his dynamic fusion of Eastern insight and Bible study, having been the subject of stories on ABC News, the McNeil Lehrer News Hour, and various NPR programs. In the past five years there have been national conferences on Jewish meditation in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami where Lew has been a featured speaker.

Lew's first book, One God Clapping, was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller and winner of the PEN Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence.

Publishers Weekly hailed him as "a perceptive thinker" for his "refreshing and sometimes startling perspective" in his last book, This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316739108
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	08/30/2005
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Rabbi Alan Lew was the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco for over a decade. He is the author of One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi and numerous works of poetry and winner of the PEN Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence.

Editorial Reviews

Once again Rabbi Lew (One God Clapping; This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared) beautifully marries the ancient traditions, history and lore of the Torah and Talmud with the serene meditative practices of Zen Buddhism. His singular distinction of founding and leading a meditation center, Makor Or (in San Francisco), the first of its kind connected to a Conservative synagogue, gives him a unique perspective. He says that Jews have had the written treasures, rich discussions and the sacred Sabbath right in front of them for 3,000 years, but have often overlooked them. Using selected Torah passages, Talmudic musings and contemporary stories of friends and congregants, Lew illustrates the intrinsic spiritual path within Judaism and suggests ways to incorporate that path into an everyday spiritual practice. Like any good teacher unafraid to address big, broad issues-suffering, fear, conflict-and agile enough to make sense of the more elusive ones-listening for and finding God, connecting to and appreciating sacred emptiness-Lew follows each lesson with a summation of "practice points." Seekers need not be Jewish to engage the ancient wisdom of these meditations that offer a rich, multileveled path to everyday spirituality. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Lew, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco and cofounder of Makor Or, the first meditation center connected to a synagogue, has written an interesting guide to spiritual practice and awareness for Jewish readers. As suggested by the title of one of his previous books-One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi-Lew is deeply informed by the traditions of the East, and his work in part reconciles Zen meditation with insights from the Torah, the Talmud, and the Mishnah. Many readers will discover in Lew's pages an authentic and modern way to reinvent their relationship to Jewish practice. For most collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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