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Planting Seeds of the Divine: Torah Commentaries to Cultivate Your Spiritual Practice [Minkštas viršelis]

  • Formatas: Paperback / softback, 277 pages, aukštis x plotis: 229x152 mm
  • Išleidimo metai: 01-Jun-2025
  • Leidėjas: Jewish Publication Society
  • ISBN-10: 082761571X
  • ISBN-13: 9780827615717
Kitos knygos pagal šią temą:
  • Formatas: Paperback / softback, 277 pages, aukštis x plotis: 229x152 mm
  • Išleidimo metai: 01-Jun-2025
  • Leidėjas: Jewish Publication Society
  • ISBN-10: 082761571X
  • ISBN-13: 9780827615717
Kitos knygos pagal šią temą:
"Planting Seeds of the Divine invites us to build an ongoing relationship with the Divine Presence within us by planting seeds corresponding to the weekly Torah portions to help cultivate a garden of the soul"--

Experiencing deep personal fulfillment, happiness, and sustenance comes from feeling connected to our authentic selves, which involves building an ongoing relationship with the Divine Presence within us, says author Yiscah Smith. Quite organically, then, we may begin sensing the Divine in our interactions with other people. This is because, for each of us, “our essence, as a creation by God, is God.”

Planting Seeds of the Divine elucidates how Judaism’s sacred texts can provide the foundation for the “end destination” of experiencing intimate encounters with the Divine Presence within—the God-consciousness that so many of us find elusive. Imagining ourselves as spiritual gardeners, we can cultivate our unique gardens with seeds centered on middot (emotional dispositions, character traits, spiritual sensitivities). Each seed corresponds to an aspirational Torah commentary, consisting of a selected Torah verse linked to one of the middot, a summary of the biblical text preceding the verse, classical commentaries, teachings of Hasidic and Neo-Hasidic masters and the author, and step-by-step experiential practices to help us internalize the middot and encounter the Divine.

Each seed contributes to the garden’s beauty—the beauty of the self in God-consciousness—which hopefully blossoms into a magnificent garden of the soul.


Planting Seeds of the Divine invites us to build an ongoing relationship with the Divine Presence within us by planting seeds corresponding to the weekly Torah portions to help cultivate a garden of the soul.

Recenzijos

"Smith . . . provides unconventional analyses of all 47 Torah portions. . . . Readers will find this a thought-provoking companion to their Torah study."-Publishers Weekly Yiscah Smith has done a remarkable job of painting a wonderfully textured method of reading the Torah as a guide for spiritual development.-Ariel Evan Mayse, assistant professor of religious studies at Stanford University and coeditor of A New Hasidism: Roots and A New Hasidism: Branches An important contribution to this emerging school of Torah commentary that is smart and intellectually sophisticated while also embodied and psychologically and spiritually informed.-Rabbi Josh Feigelson, president and CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Notes on Translations

1. Genesis (Bereshit)
Bereshit: The Need to Connect with Others
Noa: Talking to the Divine
Lekh Lekha: Taking Our Next Step
Va-yera: Cultivating the Spiritual Practice of Hospitality
ayyei Sarah: Spiritual Protest
Toledot: Spiritual Conflict Resolution
Va-yetse: Yearning for a Personal Encounter with God
Va-yishla: Transforming Heel Consciousness to Face Consciousness
Va-yeshev: Navigating Our Inner Opposing Personalities
Mikkets: Removing Our Disguises to Show Our True Selves
Va-yiggash: Seeking and Granting Forgiveness
Va-yei: Finding Favor in Others

2. Exodus (Shemot)
Shemot: Overcoming Habitual Behaviors
Va-era: Awareness of the Divine in Our Midst
Bo: Inner Self-Renewal
Be-shalla: Jumping into Our Own Sea of Mystery
Yitro: Spiritual Intimacy
Mishpatim: Doing before Understanding
Terumah: Creating the Inner Home for the Divine
Tetsavveh: Being in Service
Ki Tissa: The Inherent Value of Every Person
Va-yakhel / Pekudei: Transforming the Ordinary into Wonder

3. Leviticus (Va-yikra)
Va-yikra: Hearing Our Individual Calling
Tsav: Keeping Our Inner Fire Burning
Shemini: A Time to Remain Silent
Tazria / Metsora: Spiritual Self-Care
Aarei Mot / Kedoshim: Letting Go of the Me to Be with the We
Emor: Loving Peace and Pursuing Peace
Be-har / Be-ukkotai: Taking a Leap of Faith

4. Numbers (Be-midbar)
Be-midbar: Ascending the Ladder of a Sinai Consciousness
Naso: Creating Soul-to-Soul Connections
Be-haalotekha: Receiving a Second Chance
Shela-Lekha: Cultivating Self-Confidence
Kora: Healing an Inflated Sense of Self
ukkat / Balak: Using the Power of Speech to Enhance the Quality of Life
Pinas: Cultivating Shepherd Leadership
Mattot / Maseei: The Wondrous Journey to Your Soul

5. Deuteronomy (Devarim)
Devarim: Discovering Our Inner Moral Compass
Va-etannan: Loving Life with All Our Heart, Soul, and Might
Ekev: Reimagining Mitzvot as a Source to Shine Our Inner Light
Reeh: Seeing the Potential Blessing in Each Moment
Shofetim: Cultivating Wholeheartedness
Ki Tetse: Eliciting Compassion to Flow from Above
Ki Tavo: Dynamically Walking in the Eternals Ways
Nitsavim / Va-yelekh: Connecting in Vulnerability
Haazinu: Remembering Our Third Parent
Ve-zot ha-berakhah: Touching Immortality

Notes
Bibliography
Yiscah Smith is a thought leader and spiritual activist committed to empowering and ennobling others in the spiritual practice of encountering the Divine spark within and beyond. She teaches Jewish contemplative practice and spiritual texts at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and for the online platform Applied Jewish Spirituality. She is the author of Forty Years in the Wilderness: My Journey to Authentic Living and founder of Conscious Community Nachlaot, an alternative prayer space in Jerusalem. Her Authentic Jewish Living with Yiscah podcast episodes are available on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.