The Glory and Grief, Humor and Pride of the Human Experience-Inspiration from a Jewish Perspective
From exile to rebirth, from degradation to renaissance, the Jewish People has undergone every human experience and emotion that God created. In this inspiring collection of stories, award-winning anthologist Dov Peretz Elkins captures the best and worst of Jewish experience in these spine-tingling tales of courage, devotion, passion and extraordinary achievement.
Elkins taps the famous and the not-so-famous, world-renowned figures and the little-known "person next door," for stories that illustrate the wonder, meaning, and purpose of life as viewed through the lens of Judaism's core values. Though drawn from the Jewish tradition, these universal stories of kindness, hope, faith and discovery will intrigue the minds and warm the hearts of people from all walks of life.
This inspiring collection of stories, compiled by the well-known author, editor and anthologist Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, encourages readers to reflect on the wonder, meaning and purpose of life by tapping into the core values, ethics, beliefs, history and emotions of life from a Jewish perspective. Chapters tell about: Simple Goodness Hope and Endurance Continuity and Tradition Lessons Learned Light Out of the Holocaust Great Escapes Words of the Wise Providence Israel Personal and profound, this is a book that will send a chill up the spine, bring a tear to the eye, and warm the heart--collected by the co-editor of the New York Times best-selling Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul.
"Lovely ? Dov Peretz Elkins is a master at telling, re-telling and collecting beautiful Jewish tales. Everyone will enjoy and gain from these stories."
-Marci Shimoff, #1 New York Times best-selling author, Happy for No Reason; coauthor, Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul
"This magnificent collection ? touches on the soul and secret of Jewish survival. Delves deeply into the very substance of our spirit as individuals and as a unique peoplehood. Essential reading for those who want to understand the Jewish spirit."
-Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland, author, How We Die
"Encircles our hearts with vibrations of what it means to be truly human. I have hungered for such a collection and now I wallow in it!"
-Sister Nancy Corcoran, CSJ, author, Secrets of Prayer: A Multifaith Guide to Creating Personal Prayer in Your Life
"Thinking 'I'll just read one story in this book' is like thinking 'I'll just eat one candy in this bowl.' It isn't possible. Each taste of piquancy and sweetness conditions the desire for more."
-Sylvia Boorstein, author, Happiness Is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life
"Hasidic stories created models of virtue that inspired and opened hearts for transformation to hope and holy behavior. Professor Heschel spoke of them as 'stories in which the soul surprises the mind.' This book contains inspiring Hasidic stories in everyday contemporary clothes."
-Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi (z"l), author, Wrapped in a Holy Flame
"This is a lovely book?. These stories are like marrow to the soul. They send us life, and elevate our daily existence."
-Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar, author, The Bridge to Forgiveness: Stories and Prayers for Finding God and Restoring Wholeness
