This is real and you are completely unprepared...

Hey everyone,

I was browsing through the borders bookstore while I was home for spring break. I stumbled upon this book which had the above phrase printed in bold on the cover. I ended up buying it because naturally I wanted to know what exactly I was unprepared for.

So I bring this book home and start reading it. Within the first few pages I discover it was written by a Rabbi. I was slightly disappointed to realize the book has a religious base automatically thinking it would just be preaching to me. However, I kept reading and although I know very little of the Jewish religion I thought it was really interesting.

Here is a little blurb I found on the internet:

"There are moments in life where one is caught utterly unprepared: a death in the family, the end of a relationship, a health crisis. These are times when the solid ground we thought we stood on disappears beneath our feet, and we turn to faith to help us find our way back. The Days of Awe encompass the weeks just preceding Rosh Hashanah up to Yom Kippur, a period in which Jews take part in a series of rituals and prayers that reenact the journey of the soul through the world from birth to death. Like the days of Lent or Ramadan, the purpose of these rituals is to experience this brokenheartedness and open one's heart to God. The acclaimed Rabbi Lew has taken the beauty and power of these rituals and made of them a journey of seven distinct stages that will touch the spirit of all readers in search of inner transformation. Rabbi Lew weaves together Torah readings, Buddhist parables, Jewish fables and stories from his own life, to lay bare the meanings of this ancient Jewish passage. Drawing on both his rabbinical training and his scholarship in Buddhism, Lew leads readers on a journey from confusion to clarity, from doubt to belief, as he open a path to self-discovery that is accessible to readers of all faiths. THIS IS REAL AND YOU ARE COMPLETELY UNPREPARED unveils the deeper meanings of the High Holidays, enabling Jews to reconnect to their faith with a vibrancy and intimacy that will resonate throughout the year."


hopefully i can find a good passage to bring to you guys in class so while we are working in our sub groups we can also stimulate our other senses with some literature.


tatiana.