Energizing books

The holidays are also a good occasion to spend time with good books, related to the festivals or simply dealing with Judaism and Jewish questions. Some of them we are studying together, or we use it as good and trustful company for the hours between meals and our long walks to the shul.

The last week was as usual very busy discovering and discussing new interesting thoughts. While waiting for the meals to get ready I had an extensive look at the Jewish Teenagers. Guide to Life, offering the Jewish perspectives on the various issues faced by teenagers nowadays. The ways in which we should address the "free will", the relationships, "real happiness", definition of the role in life are few of the chapters of the book. By offering to our children a strong Jewish education and adequate resources we help them to use the correct compass in a difficult world.

Shortly before the yom tov, I was busy reading about Halacha, a very strict book about what and how to do correctly our daily mitzvot. Not extremely exciting and wonderfully written, but very correct and useful for the general guidance.

The same guidance role is played by the information from this collection of articles dedicated to Rosh Chodesh, that we are ready to celebrate at the end of this week. You will find here several information regarding the history and the practice, the halachic observation and some interpretation given in various mainstreams of Judaism.

For a long time I was looking to read something by Anita Diamant but I found this book about Living a Jewish Life completely by accident. I spent the yom tov thinking and pondering the perspectives offered in this almost a handbook, written from the liberal perspective but very honest in what concerns the basis of our choices and some modern interpretations of the practical faith. When you want to change your status from a non-observant to daily practicant status it is sometimes useful - at least for those around you, to proceed gradually, tempering the radical temptation of declaring immediately your new identity. It might be a feeling of guilt behind this hurry, but in practice, sudden changes aren't healthy and the step-by-step options - for the kosher and Shabbat practice, for example - are advisable. With a good guidance and a supportive community we can make big steps, but if we don't have it, we should follow our rhythm and proceed in the (only) right direction.

At the end of the festival, I experienced an enormous happiness through the wonderful stories of faith, love and kidness by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis. A Shoah survivor and founder of Hineni International, she is sharing a precious experience of translating Judaism for the modern world and supporting the Jewish tradition through direct support for specific problematic situations. The main aim is to support the Jewish values reflected in the individual behavior and the family life. Each story is a precious drop of Torah thinking and Halacha. The simplicity of wisdom made me wonder why I wasn't able to realize some things before, but this is how things are and the lessons learned are important insights for a change. In a wonderful way, this books ended my list of lectures during the holidays. More specific study and books are waiting for me in less than 6 hours.