It's All a Gift

Miriam Adahan is a remarkable teacher, writer and human being. She has helped many many people. She is dedicated and generous in giving to others. So she is certainly the right person to teach us that ' life is a gift' and we have to know how to appreciate the goodness which has been given us. In the course of teaching this she also teaches a fundamental message of Torah that each and every human being is created in Tselem Elokim and thus is from the beginning of value. Reading this work may be a real source of strengthening in increased devotion to life.

Although I first came into contact with this book within the Orthodox Jewish community, I believe that "It's All a Gift.."'s positive message can apply to anyone. Miriam Adahan reminds us of what we are often too quick to forget: that every good or bad occurance in life has an inherently holy purpose, and that we must trust that everything is positive in some respect, even if we don't necessarily understand how. For many, the book isn't stating a new concept. Regardless, even for these people, the book is an excellent and convincing restatement/reminder! Truly happy is the reader who internalizes the message of this book!

This is the best Mussar book I have ever seen, including the classics. Adahan succeeds in walking the fine line between oversimplification ("I suffer because I have sinned") and heresy ("God would like to help but He can't"). One-slogan summary of the book: "Hashgacha Pratit is an attitude". (Then, as Hillel said, Zil G'mor. Or, in this case, do the hard work of acquiring that attitude.) (For Christian lurkers: "Hashgacha Pratit" is the same as what M. Scott Peck means by "Grace"