Reaching Godward: Voices from Jewish Spiritual Guidance

Reaching Godward: Voices From Jewish Spiritual Guidance by Carol Ochs (Director of Graduate Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York) a treatise written in the molds of philosophy, rationality, reason, and spirituality. Portraying the human quest for connection with God through a series of short stories, each rooted in a composite of the experienced of people with whom the author has worked. Drawing heavily from scripture and testimony alike, Reaching Godward: Voices From Jewish Spiritual Guidance is a profound journey that will resonate in the heart of readers striving to obtain a closer relationship with God in their daily life.

Carol Ochs believes that acknowledging our spiritual longing for God and integrating a relationship with God into our everyday life helps us lead better, more fulfilled lives. Dr.Ochs's warmth and humanity are evident as she recounts the stories of sixteen of the many people who have come to her for spiritual guidance. Through these sixteen stories, she shows how spiritual guidance can help seekers who are faced with specific problems in addition to helping those who are searching for a way to incorporate a meaningful spirituality into their lives. Dr. Ochs's frame of reference is Judaism and the Jewish tradition. However, as someone who is not Jewish, I can attest that the book has a more general applicability. The book really is about an individual's relationship with God, and that applies to all of us, regardless of creed. Furthermore, while she is knowledgable, Dr. Ochs comes across as accepting, non-judgmental, and non-dogmatic. By telling us the stories of sixteen men and women of varying ages and situations, including one Roman Catholic priest, Dr. Ochs shows that all of us can benefit from spiritual guidance. For people such as myself who were unaware that spiritual guidance could occur outside the office of a clergyman(woman), the book is enlightening. People who feel that neither a secular therapist nor a member of the clergy is the right adviser may be the perfect candidates for spiritual guidance as described in this book.

Professor Carol Ochs is an insightful counselor and gifted story teller. She describes sixteen individuals and their struggles - personal and engaging narratives about aging, loneliness, the direction of life, reconciliation, artistic expression and loss of loved ones, in short, an amazing and wide spectrum of human experience. A reader witnesses the candid confrontation with the challenges of life - and the spiritual growth that follows. Reaching Godward is a collection of moving stories about continuing spiritual maturation of ordinary people in relation to their loved ones, colleagues and God. A person will read these tales of others and learn about oneself. Professor Ochs will have deep and substantial appeal to those with an interest - professional or personal - in counseling, pastoral care or spiritual guidance. I strongly recommend Reaching Godward to those desiring spiritual guidance as well as to those who seek to become a spiritual guide, as well to anyone with an interest in how people confront life with strength and hope. Reaching Godward can change a person's life.God in Our Relationships: Spirituality Between People from the Teachings of Martin Buber

Somehowsome people consider this a book for children. Well, a teenager might try tackling it. But it is hardly a book for Mommy or Daddy to read to a toddler! Though a series of vignettes derived from on-going interviews with American Jews from across the spectrum, Dr. Ochs presents us with a panoarama of individual beliefs and practices that depicts where many Jews are today spiritually. The Jewish community, or perhaps better said, the leaders of the American community, prefer prescriptive rather then descriptive works. "The Condition of Jewish Belief" was a work published in Commentary magazine some 40 years ago, with the emphasis on rabbis, teachers, and intellectuals, and it is a format that has been revisited often. But the laypeople have been neglected. The kind of personal detail revealed in these vignettes may strike some as "naive," or "indicative of someone clearly not steeped in classical Jewish learning," or "not very Jewish," but this is precisely the point! By the large the spiritual paths describe individuals wrestling with what is perceived to be what Judaism taught in the past and what modern conditions require, and even demand. But one thing I found exceptional is that the book is an easy read - but it is not superficial. The insights gained stay with me and challenged me for a long time thereafter.