A STUDY GUIDE

A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice Schocken Books, 2002 By Michael Strassfeld Study Guide by Steven Steinbock, RJE Read a review from Reform Judaism magazine Order this book...

In 1973, the Jewish Publication Society published The Jewish Catalog (later renamed The First Jewish Catalog), inspired in part by The Whole Earth Catalog and fueled by the growing resurgence of ethnic pride and spiritual probing among Jewish young people coming out of the sixties revolution. Edited by Michael Strassfeld, Sharon Strassfeld, and Richard Siegel, and written by a panel of rabbis and scholars, The Jewish Catalog outlined a "do-it-yourself kit" for personal Jewish growth by providing articles about food, travel, ritual objects, holidays, life-cycle events, Jewish texts, and community building. In 1976, The Second Jewish Catalog was published, followed by The Third Jewish Catalog in 1980.

Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, one of the original Jewish Catalog editors, wrote his most recent book, A Book of Life, with the idea that it might serve as a new "Jewish Catalog." This book, an encyclopedia of Jewish spiritual practice presented in prose form, covers the following themes:

1. In the introduction, Strassfeld describes how, at a meditation retreat, he came to see halakhah as a "walking meditation" (page xvii), a spiritual discipline. What does he mean by the terms "walking meditation" and "spiritual discipline?" How does he use these ideas throughout the book?

   Part One: Awakening to the Day

2. Throughout the book, Strassfeld offers traditional kavanot and alternative prayers (page 5). What are the advantages and the limitations of using traditional prayers? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using modern interpretive readings? Which are you more comfortable with? Why?
3. What does Strassfeld offer regarding the soul (pages 10-11)? Do you believe in a "soul?" How do you define it? What is its relationship to the body? Is such a belief necessary to lead a spiritual life?
4. Discuss Jewish meditation. Do you have any personal experiences? What are the difficulties of such a discipline? What does a person gain from meditation? How can such skills be correlated with Judaism?
5. Discuss the topic of musar (page 18). What qualities or virtues would you like to develop and nurture?
6. Read the rabbinic passages on pages 22-23. What does Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman mean by a "thrice slaying tongue"? How is a tongue like an arrow? What are the dangers of gossip and other forms of lashon ha-ra?
7. Read the "Teaching on the Necessity of Work" (pages 40-41). Why is work necessary? What do the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, and the Patriarchs teach us about work? Discuss the Hebrew concept of parnasah (occupation, sustenance, ability to provide). How is this value expressed in Jewish life?
8. Read and discuss the passages on wealth (pages 44-45). How do they present various attitudes toward wealth and money?
9. Read the two opening quotes about food (page 66). Why does Judaism place such a high value on food and eating?
10. Strassfeld points out (page 69), that kashrut is a concession, a compromise between the ideal of vegetarianism and the reality of human lust for meat. Is this a fair analysis, both from the point of view of traditional Jewish sources and from our understanding of human nature? Are there other such compromises in Jewish law?
11. On page 75, Strassfeld quotes the talmudic tractate Berakhot, "It is forbidden for a person to enjoy anything of this world without a berakhah." What is meant by this? How can we apply it to transforming eating into a spiritual practice?
12. "Eating is intended to be a purposeful act" (page 77). In what ways has modern culture made it difficult for eating to be performed in a meaningful and purposeful way? What can we do to counter that trend? How can we understand kashrut as a form of "spiritual ecology" (page 83)?
13. Strassfeld provides an exercise for contemplating our own virtues through meditation on thirteen character traits (pages 100-102). Look over his list. Would you have chosen differently? How do these traits differ from the themes of the Amidah service or from the thirteen attributes of God?
14. Shabbat as a spiritual practice: How does observance of Shabbat help us to transcend hol (the mundane) and tohu va-vohu (chaos)?
15. Why is Shabbat characterized as female, as a bride and a queen? How did the mystics use this imagery? How can this imagery serve the spiritual needs of modern Jews?

    Part Two: The Three Paths

16. The three themes of this section are derived from the passage in Pirkei Avot: "Upon three things does the world stand: on Torah, on service, and on acts of kindness." How do these three elements, as presented by Strassfeld, represent the three human aspects of intellect, emotion, and action? Where else do we find this pattern?
17. The chapter on Torah contains two marvelous Talmudic midrashim. Read the story of Rabbi Eliezer arguing a point of halakhah (pages 150-151), and the story of Moses visiting Rabbi Akiva's classroom (pages 151-152). How does each story inform our understanding of Torah and halakhah?
18. Why do so many Jews have a difficult time with prayer? What are the obstacles? How can they be overcome? In the end, what do we gain from attending services?
19. Should prayers be said when we are moved by kavanah, intention or inspired motivation, or according to keva, fixed liturgy and schedules? Discuss the tension between these two aspects of prayer (page 182).
20. Strassfeld suggests that prayer might best be understood as a discipline rather than an obligation (page 187). Is this idea new? What are some of the practical techniques for transforming prayer into a spiritual discipline?
21. On page 208, Strassfeld points out that American law doesn't obligate a person to help or save another. Jewish law, on the other hand, considers gemilut hesed and tzedakah to be compulsory. Why is this? How can good deeds be legislated?

    Part Three: Living Through the Year: The Festivals

22. Strassfeld calls the holidays a "map of the spirit" (page 228). How is the holiday cycle a map? What are the compass points? What other geographical traits are expressed in the yearly cycle? What other metaphors would you apply to the holidays?
23. Go through each of the holidays discussed in A Book of Life. What are the spiritual themes of each? How do the various observances and mitzvot of each holiday serve as spiritual exercises?
24. In the beginning of his chapter about Passover, Strassfeld points out that questioning is an important ritual aspect of the seder. Then he suggests that in questioning, we begin the journey to freedom (page 231). How does Strassfeld make this connection? How does questioning mark the beginning of freedom?
25. One of the important themes of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur is that the world is constantly being recreated. In that sense, each day- each moment-is the moment of our death. On page 267, Strassfeld asks how we would see the world if we knew we had only two days to live. How would you respond? How do the High Holiday mitzvot and liturgy help us to answer this question?
26. On page 277, Strassfeld discusses the tradition of inviting ushpizin, symbolic guests, into the sukkah. If you could, what questions would you want to ask or discuss with each of the biblical guests listed? If you could invite seven other ushpizin from any time in world history, whom would you choose?

    Part Four: Living a Life of Holiness

27. Look at how Strassfeld uses the five books of the Torah as metaphors for five stages of life. What does each Torah book represent in your own life? What are the defining events in a person's life that are reflected in the themes of Torah?
28. On page 315, after a lengthy discussion of brit milah, circumcision, Strassfeld poses the question, "What about girls?" What answers does he provide? Discuss rituals to welcome baby girls into Jewish life.
29. How are bar and bat mitzvah like the Exodus? Can it also be likened to the expulsion from Eden? Discuss and explore the meaning of bar/bat mitzvah in the psychological, moral, and cultural development of a young person.
30. Take a close look at the chapter "Exodus/Shemot: On Being a Mentsch." What does mentschlekeit entail? What do Maimonides, Akiva, and Ben Azzai have to say about being a moral, virtuous person?
31. In addition to the common division of mitzvot into bein adam le-havero (between people) and bein adam le-makom (between people and God), Strassfeld adds the category of bein adam le-atzmo (page 422). What does he mean by this category? Give some examples of such mitzvot.
32. Strassfeld suggests that Deuteronomy is about refining our personal stories. When and how do we recapitulate our past? If you were to retell your own life's story, what events and details would you include?

    Part Five: After Deuteronomy: Living in the Promised Land

33. Strassfeld distinguishes between the Torah of Sinai and the Torah of Jerusalem (pages 471-474). What does he mean by this distinction? How do Sinai and Jerusalem represent two different aspects of Jewish experience? What does each Torah teach us?
34. Strassfeld provides three elements to a Jewish environmental ethic: simple living, tum'ah (not corrupting the earth), and Shabbat. Why does he include these three values? What does he mean by each? How can we observe these in our daily life?

To order A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice
Schocken Books, 1-800-733-3000