Healing of Soul, Healing of Body: Spiritual Leaders Unfold the Strength & Solace in Psalms

by Simkha Y. Weintraub CSW (Editor), Harlan J. Wechsler (Contribution by), Irving Greenberg (Contribution by), Rachel Cowan (Contribution by), Charles Sheer (Contribution by)

Overview

A source of solace and a healing resource for those who are facing illness, as well as those who care for them.

For centuries, people have turned to the Book of Psalms for solace, comfort and catharsis, seeking guidance, meaning, hope and reassurance—in short, spiritual healing.

This book is intended to help you—struggling with illness or helping someone who is—derive spiritual healing from Psalms. In the late 18th century, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov designated ten of the 150 entries in the Book of Psalms as "healing psalms," and we present these ten to you, newly translated, for your personal exploration and expression.

"Acknowledging that the Biblical Psalms can be somewhat alien to many people, we asked ten spiritual leaders to provide a bridge, a form of access, to these ancient poems of pain and praise, of humility and hope."
—from the Introduction

Contributors:

Rabbi Eugene B. Borowitz • Rabbi Rachel Cowan • Rabbi Amy Eilberg • Rabbi Nancy Flam • Rabbi Irving Greenberg • Rabbi Maurice Lamm • Rabbi Charles Sheer • Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis • Rabbi Harlan J. Wechsler • Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg • Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub • Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683361084
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	11/01/1994
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, is the rabbinic director of the New York Jewish Healing Center and the National Center for Jewish Healing at the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services in New York City. He is the author of Healing of Soul, Healing of Body: Spiritual Leaders
Unfold the Strength and Solace in Psalms (Jewish Lights Publishing) and Guide Me Along the Way: A Jewish Spiritual Companion for Surgery (National Center for Jewish Healing).

Rabbi Harlan J. Wechsler (Conservative) is rabbi of Congregation Or Zarua in New York City and the author of What's So Bad About Guilt? and Old Is Good. He is assistant professor of Philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he received his rabbinic ordination.

Rabbi Irving Greenberg is co-founder and former president of CLAL—the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, based in New York City. He is currently president of the Jewish Life Network. He is the author of The Jewish Way, a comprehensive and inspiring presentation of Judaism as revealed through its holy days.

Rabbi Rachel Cowan directs the Jewish Life Program of the Nathan Cummings Foundation in New
York City. Ordained by Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, she teaches and lectures extensively. Her own attachment to psalms as a resource for healing grows from her experience with her late husband Paul Cowan's struggle to find hope in the face of a fatal illness.

Rabbi Charles Sheer was ordained by Yeshiva University, where he received an M.A. in Talmudic
Literature. He enjoys teaching, counseling, and program work with his students at Columbia University, where he is the Jewish chaplain.

Sheila Peltz Weinberg was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
and has served as an educator, activist, liturgist, and congregational rabbi. She has
helped introduce meditation into the Jewish world as a form that can enliven and
illuminate Jewish practice. She is a founder and outreach director of the Institute
for Jewish Spirituality and the author of Surprisingly Happy: An Atypical
Religious Memoir.

Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, one of the most respected spiritual leaders and teachers of his generation, has been a rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California, for close to forty years. He is the founding chairman of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, an organization that identifies and offers grants to those non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews threatened by the agents of Nazi savagery. He is also the founder of Jewish World Watch, which aims to raise moral consciousness within the Jewish community. Synagogues and other religious institutions are now supporting this effort across the country.

Rabbi Schulweis is the author of many books, including: Conscience: The Duty to Obey and the Duty to Disobey (Jewish Lights), Approaches to the Philosophy of Religion, For Those Who Can't Believe, Finding Each Other in Judaism, In God's Mirror, and two books of original religious poetry and meditation—From Birth to Immortality and Passages in Poetry. His Evil and the Morality of God is regarded as a classic.

Rabbi Eugene B. Borowitz is the Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Education and Jewish Religious Thought at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City, where he was ordained. His books include Renewing the Covenant: A Theology for the Postmodern Jew and A Touch of the Sacred: A Theologian's Informal Guide to Jewish Belief (Jewish Lights).

Rabbi Maurice Lamm received his ordination, B.A., M.A., and Honorary Doctorate from Yeshiva
University, where he occupies a chair in professional rabbinics. He is president of the National Institute for Jewish Hospice and former rabbi of Beth Jacob Congregation in Beverly Hills, California. His books include The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning; The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage; Becoming a Jew; Living Torah in America; and The Power of Hope.

Rabbi Amy Eilberg, MSW, is the first woman ordained as a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary. After many years of work in pastoral care, hospice, and spiritual direction, Rabbi Eilberg now directs interfaith dialogue programs in the Twin Cities, including at the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning and the St. Paul Interfaith Network. She teaches the art of compassionate listening and is deeply engaged in peace and reconciliation efforts in connection
with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as with issues of conflict within the Jewish community.

Rabbi Nancy Flam is cofounder of the National Center for Jewish Healing and former director of the Jewish Community Healing Program of Ruach Ami: Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. She cofounded the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, was its founding director, and now serves as codirector of programs. She edited the Jewish Lights series of pastoral-care pamphlets, LifeLights, and writes and teaches widely on Judaism, healing, prayer, spirituality, and social justice.

Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman founded the Task Force on Alcoholism of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York. While he was rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, his congregation sponsored the first Alcoholics Anonymous group to meet in a synagogue. Formerly president of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, he is now rabbi of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons (NY).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
How to Use This Book

INTRODUCTION: The Ten Psalms of the Tikkun HaKlali, the Complete Remedy
—Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub
CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME: PSALM 16
introduced by Rabbi Harlan J. Wechsler
AFRAID BUT NOT ALONE: PSALM 32
introduced by Rabbi Irving Greenberg
FROM ANGER AND ANGUISH TO HEALING AND WHOLENESS: PSALM 41
introduced by Rabbi Rachel Cowan
THE REMARKABLE FAITH OF A DOWNCAST SOUL: PSALM 42
introduced by Rabbi Charles Sheer
MY STRENGTH, MY HAVEN, MY FAITHFUL ONE: PSALM 59
introduced by Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg
THE ECHO OF YOUR PROMISE: PSALM 77
introduced by Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis
CRISIS AND CONFIDENCE: PSALM 90
introduced by Rabbi Eugene B. Borowitz
BREAKING THE SPIRITUAL GRIDLOCK: PSALM 105
introduced by Rabbi Maurice Lamm
I MUST KEEP SINGING: PSALM 137
introduced by Rabbi Amy Eilberg
PRAISE, JOY, BREATH: PSALM 150
introduced by Rabbi Nancy Flam
A PRAYER FOR PRAYER
—Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman

Notes
About the Contributors and Their Backgrounds
Some Suggested Reading and Resources
Helpful Organizations
About the National Center for Jewish Healing

What People are Saying About This

Jacob Neusner

Engaging, easy to read and hard to put down -- and it will make a difference and change people.

Editorial Reviews

"The Jewish Healing Center and Jewish Lights have provided ten valuable entry-points into the spiritual healing of the Book of Psalms."
—Rabbi Alan Silverstein, president, Rabbinical Assembly

"Opens us anew to the ancient wisdom and comfort of the psalms."
—Joan Borysenko, PhD, author, Minding the Body, Mending the Mind

“[A] book one reads and rereads many, many times, that one strives to absorb and to be absorbed by, and that one keeps close at hand, so that one can be nourished by it in times of fear and stress and loneliness.”
—Rabbi Jack Riemer, editor, So That Your Values Live On—Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them; founder of the National Rabbinic Network

“Will bring comfort to anyone fortunate enough to read it. This gentle book is a luminous gem of wisdom.”
—Larry Dossey, MD, author, Healing Words: The Power of Prayer & the Practice of Medicine

“An inspiration and guide to those who want to rejoice in their affliction, and bring healing and salvation to themselves and those around them.”
—Dr. Bernie Siegel, author, Love, Medicine and Miracles

“As valuable a guide to the psalms as it is a guide through our times of trouble.”
—Sherwin Nuland, MD, FACS, clinical professor of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine; author, How We Die

From the Publisher