A spiritual guide that uses the Jewish High Holy Days as a roadmap for personal growth, reflection, and transformation.

SYNOPSIS

Rabbi Alan Lew invites readers on a profound journey through the season from Tisha B'Av to Sukkot, framing the Jewish calendar as a process of awakening and renewal. Drawing on Jewish wisdom, personal stories, and spiritual practice, he explores how moments of uncertainty and vulnerability can become opportunities for growth. Accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the book offers a thoughtful companion for anyone seeking meaning, introspection, and change.

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WHY WE LOVE THIS BOOK

"This book gives a roadmap from Tisha B’Av through Sukkot for reflection and reassessment. I’d say it is essential reading for the high holiday season."

Courtney Freundlich
Great Jewish Bookshelf committee member

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alan Lew (1943–2009) was a Conservative rabbi best known for establishing the world's first Jewish meditation center and for his work bridging Jewish and Buddhist traditions. Lew was often described as "the Zen rabbi," a phrase that he himself used in the title of his book One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lew grew up in a secular Jewish household. In the 1960s, he experimented with Asian spiritual practices and eventually discovered Zen Buddhism. When preparing for ordination as a Zen Buddhist priest, he had an epiphany regarding his Jewish identity which set him on a path to exploring Judaism. 

Lew went on to become a Conservative rabbi, serving as the rabbi of Congregation Eitz Chaim (Monroe, NY) and then leading Congregation Beth Sholom (San Francisco, California), California, and focusing on teaching meditation in Jewish contexts. He established the Makor Or meditation center at Beth Sholom, the world's first synagogue-based Jewish meditation center. He has been noted for his books and for his work on how meditation plays an important role in the process of teshuvah (repentance).