New Age Judaism: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World
Part meditation manual, part exhortation, part explanation and part autobiography, this primer asserts a close linkage between New Age spirituality and Kabbalistic teachings. Originally educated as a social worker, author Ribner is now a psychotherapist in private practice who works as a "holistic and spiritual healer" using "meditation therapy." She also teaches her clients deep breathing, reviews their diets, urges them to exercise and to drink "lots of pure water." She frequently cites her favorite mentor, the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who awarded her "nonrabbinical ordination to teach Jewish meditation." For example, unable to find a satisfactory response to the issue of human suffering and, particularly, to the suffering of Jews in the Holocaust, Ribner quotes Carlebach: "Some questions do not have answers." But Ribner offers definitive answers to several issues. She believes in angels and in reincarnation; she advocates vegetarianism, religious observance, alternative medicine and holistic healing. Other topics she examines include self-help, repentance, love and sexual relations. Her explorations are preceded by a detailed review of Kabbalistic principles, and conclude with an insistent plea that Jews prepare for the coming of the Messiah through spiritual growth on "the path to God." This comprehensive guidebook may appeal to those who believe that the New Age is upon us. (Apr.)Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.