Jewish Spiritual Direction: An Innovative Guide from Traditional and Contemporary Sources

Much attention has been paid in recent years to the idea of "spiritual direction," but so far the concept has been almost exclusively defined in terms of the Protestant or Catholic experience. Addison, a rabbi who teaches at Temple University, and Breitman, who teaches pastoral counseling at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pa., co-founded the world's first institute to train spiritual directors in the Jewish tradition. Here, they offer an anthology of essays that is essentially a one-stop training manual for rabbis, spiritual directors and other religious leaders who want to teach people to discern God's voice and follow His direction. While Jewish spiritual direction is, as the authors concede, still an "evolving practice," it draws upon thousands of years' worth of prayer and study. The book can be dense at times, but it is rich with ideas and resources. (May)