To Begin Again (eBook)

Naomi Levy (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2011 | 1. Auflage
288 Seiten
Random House Publishing Group (Verlag)
978-0-307-76512-3 (ISBN)

Infos

To Begin Again signals the arrival of an important new voice. In words that are as wise as they are comforting and as universal as they are specific, Rabbi Naomi Levy tells us how to survive, emotionally and spiritually, when we feel overwhelmed by grief, loss, or life itself. Her book provides a safe harbor where we can begin to reconstitute our lives.
Where do we find the strength to rebuild our lives after difficult times? Is it possible to recapture our hope? Our innocence? Our faith? The answers, never simple but always inspiring, are indeed found in this wonderful book.
Naomi Levy was a bright, cheerful fifteen-year-old girl who awoke to the devastating news that her father had been shot. His senseless murder shattered her belief in God and left her feeling helpless and full of rage. But, in time, she learned to fight her way through the darkness to conquer her heartbreaking pain. She describes, with humor and extraordinary honesty, how she managed to emerge victorious over sorrow.
Later, in her years as the rabbi of a congregation in Venice, California, Levy quickly learned that her own painful experiences were not unique. Many of her congregants had also suffered--divorce, addiction, rape, loss, illness. They too had searched long and hard for ways to bring joy back into their lives.
A natural and engaging storyteller, Levy weaves together her own story and the struggles of her congregants with the ancient lessons of great sages. She offers up exquisitely simple prayers, which--no matter what our religious beliefs--remind us that we are far, far stronger than we ever imagined. What emerges is a remarkable tapestry that teaches us how to mend our hearts and souls.
To Begin Again is a book that will be passed to friends when tragedy strikes, a book that will rest at our bedside tables during troubling times. It is a testament to the human spirit--to the undying strength that enables us to make our way through whatever darkness we may face and begin living once again.

From the Hardcover edition.

Textauszug

Resurrection'Push!' I cried. 'Push! Push! Push!' Michelle held her breath and her face turned deep red. The baby's heartbeat was slowing. A nurse shoved me aside and fastened an oxygen mask around Michelle's face. 'Push!' I insisted. 'Who's she?' the nurse asked, looking in my direction. 'She's our rabbi,' Michelle's husband Paul responded. The nurse thought he was kidding and laughed. The doctor raced in and, without explaining why, ordered the nurses to quickly roll Michelle's bed from the birthing room to the operating room. Paul and I threw on sterile blue gowns, masks, and caps. I kept cheering 'Push!' over and over again. My heart was racing. Something in the doctor's expression made me worry. Was the baby in danger? Was Michelle in danger? The fetal monitor beeped, the IV bag dripped, and the blood pressure cuff hissed, but to my absolute amazement, not a sound escaped from Michelle's lips. During the breaks between contractions, I recited prayers for a safe delivery and the health of the baby. Paul held his wife's hand, his grip conveying a loving calm. One more push, then a miracle: the baby's head began to crown. A few more minutes of excruciating pain, which Michelle endured in silence, and the baby pressed its way through the birth canal. Soon the raspy cry of a beautiful baby boy filled the air. A new life breath, a sweet fragile soul entered this universe. As she held her child swaddled and safe, Michelle looked up at me. 'I almost lost my life,' she whispered. 'I know,' I responded. But neither one of us was thinking about the danger she had just come through. We were remembering another time. It was the day after Yom Kippur and I was emotionally and physically drained. It had been a grueling two months of preparation for the High Holy Days, but now they were over. I was relaxing in my study, still reeling from the previous evening. The service had been the most moving of my life. I had never felt such holiness in the sanctuary. The entire congregation had fused into a single voice of prayer. As I was reflecting on the experience, my intercom beeped. 'There's someone here to see you, Rabbi,' my assistant said. I walked to the front door of the synagogue, still in a reverential daze, and there stood a woman with two black eyes hidden behind her dark sunglasses, a broken nose, bruises everywhere. I held Michelle's arm and led her to my study. She could barely walk. I was mortified. I had seen her just the week before at Sabbath services. Now, as she sat in my study, I could hardly believe this was the same person. Not knowing how to begin, I waited for her to speak, but she refused to look my way. She stared at the floor, and when she finally raised her face, she looked out beyond me as if I weren't there sitting before her. She broke the silence with one word: 'Why?' I waited for more. And slowly she began to speak. On the afternoon before Yom Kippur, Michelle had showered and dressed in her holiday clothes. She was on her way to a festive meal with her best friend. Afterward the two of them were going to come to synagogue to begin the daylong fast. She picked up her keys, locked the door to her apartment, and walked toward her car. Suddenly a man came up from behind and grabbed her. When she resisted, he punched her in the face, knocked her to the floor, and beat her. Then he picked Michelle up, opened the trunk of her car, threw her in, and slammed it shut. The engine started to roar, and soon the car was moving. It was pitch-black in that trunk and Michelle was terrified. Her entire body shook in fear. Where was he taking her? Was he planning to kill her? Would he dispose of her body in a...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.1.2011
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie
• ISBN-10: 0-307-76512-1 / 0307765121
• ISBN-13: 978-0-307-76512-3 / 9780307765123