
This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared
The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $21.83
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Allan Robertson
About this listen
There are times in life when we are caught utterly unprepared: a death in the family, the end of a relationship, a health crisis. These are the times when the solid ground we thought we stood on disappears beneath our feet, leaving us reeling and heartbroken, as we stumble back to our faith.
The Days of Awe encompass the weeks 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. This is a period of contemplation and repentance, comparable to Lent and Ramadan. Yet, for Rabbi Alan Lew, the real purpose of this annual passage is for us to experience brokenheartedness and open our heart to God. In This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared, Lew has marked out a journey of seven distinct stages, one that draws on these rituals to awaken our soul and wholly transform us. Weaving together Torah readings, Buddhist parables, Jewish fables, and stories from his own life, Lew lays bare the meanings of this ancient Jewish passage. He reveals the path from terror to acceptance, confusion to clarity, doubt to belief, and from complacency to awe.
In the tradition of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, This Is Real And You Are Completely Unprepared enables believers of all faiths to reconnect to their faith with a passion and intimacy that will resonate throughout the year.
©2003 Alan Lew (P)2018 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The World Could Be Otherwise
- Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path
- By: Norman Fischer
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six perfections” - generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding - can help us reconfigure the world we live in.
-
-
Master piece
- By Andrew Lenards on 02-08-20
By: Norman Fischer
-
On Repentance and Repair
- Making Amends in an Unapologetic World
- By: Danya Ruttenberg
- Narrated by: Sara Sheckells
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American culture focuses on letting go of grudges and redemption narratives instead of the perpetrator’s obligations or recompense for harmed parties. As survivor communities have pointed out, these emphases have too often only caused more harm. But Danya Ruttenberg knew there was a better model, rooted in the work of the medieval philosopher Maimonides. For Maimonides, upon whose work Ruttenberg elaborates, forgiveness is much less important than the repair work to which the person who caused harm is obligated.
-
-
Interesting but incomplete
- By Clever Elf on 10-22-22
By: Danya Ruttenberg
-
Koshersoul
- The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew
- By: Michael W. Twitty
- Narrated by: Michael W. Twitty
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Koshersoul, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them.
-
-
Connecting through differences
- By Petrina J. on 09-22-24
-
Rebbe
- The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History
- By: Joseph Telushkin
- Narrated by: Rich Topol
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his modest headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the Rebbe advised some of the world's greatest leaders and shaped matters of state and society. Statesmen and artists as diverse as Ronald Reagan, Robert F. Kennedy, Yitzchak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Elie Wiesel, and Bob Dylan span the spectrum of those who sought his counsel.
-
-
Only good things
- By Ben on 06-01-17
By: Joseph Telushkin
-
People Love Dead Jews
- Reports from a Haunted Present
- By: Dara Horn
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture - and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly anti-Semitic attacks - Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: She was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones.
-
-
Wrong Narrator for this Book
- By MYK on 01-04-22
By: Dara Horn
-
Here All Along
- Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life - in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)
- By: Sarah Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Sarah Hurwitz
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a decade as a political speechwriter - serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign - Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her skills as a communicator to writing a book...about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. Sarah Hurwitz is on a mission to close this gap by sharing the profound insights she discovered on everything from Jewish holidays, ethics, and prayer to Jewish conceptions of God, death, and social justice.
-
-
Must-read for prospective and new Jewish converts
- By Danielle Nathanson on 09-14-19
By: Sarah Hurwitz
-
The World Could Be Otherwise
- Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path
- By: Norman Fischer
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six perfections” - generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding - can help us reconfigure the world we live in.
-
-
Master piece
- By Andrew Lenards on 02-08-20
By: Norman Fischer
-
On Repentance and Repair
- Making Amends in an Unapologetic World
- By: Danya Ruttenberg
- Narrated by: Sara Sheckells
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American culture focuses on letting go of grudges and redemption narratives instead of the perpetrator’s obligations or recompense for harmed parties. As survivor communities have pointed out, these emphases have too often only caused more harm. But Danya Ruttenberg knew there was a better model, rooted in the work of the medieval philosopher Maimonides. For Maimonides, upon whose work Ruttenberg elaborates, forgiveness is much less important than the repair work to which the person who caused harm is obligated.
-
-
Interesting but incomplete
- By Clever Elf on 10-22-22
By: Danya Ruttenberg
-
Koshersoul
- The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew
- By: Michael W. Twitty
- Narrated by: Michael W. Twitty
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Koshersoul, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them.
-
-
Connecting through differences
- By Petrina J. on 09-22-24
-
Rebbe
- The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History
- By: Joseph Telushkin
- Narrated by: Rich Topol
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his modest headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the Rebbe advised some of the world's greatest leaders and shaped matters of state and society. Statesmen and artists as diverse as Ronald Reagan, Robert F. Kennedy, Yitzchak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Elie Wiesel, and Bob Dylan span the spectrum of those who sought his counsel.
-
-
Only good things
- By Ben on 06-01-17
By: Joseph Telushkin
-
People Love Dead Jews
- Reports from a Haunted Present
- By: Dara Horn
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture - and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly anti-Semitic attacks - Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: She was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones.
-
-
Wrong Narrator for this Book
- By MYK on 01-04-22
By: Dara Horn
-
Here All Along
- Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life - in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)
- By: Sarah Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Sarah Hurwitz
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a decade as a political speechwriter - serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign - Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her skills as a communicator to writing a book...about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. Sarah Hurwitz is on a mission to close this gap by sharing the profound insights she discovered on everything from Jewish holidays, ethics, and prayer to Jewish conceptions of God, death, and social justice.
-
-
Must-read for prospective and new Jewish converts
- By Danielle Nathanson on 09-14-19
By: Sarah Hurwitz
-
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
- By: Harold S. Kushner
- Narrated by: Harold S. Kushner
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Offers a moving and humane approach to understanding life's windstorms. Raises many questions that will challenge your mind and test your faith regarding the ultimate questions of life and death.
-
-
Finally something that pricks my heart
- By Quinn on 04-07-15
-
Israel
- A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth
- By: Noa Tishby
- Narrated by: Noa Tishby
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby.
-
-
I hope this book will help
- By Wayne on 05-08-21
By: Noa Tishby
-
My Jewish Year
- 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew
- By: Abigail Pogrebin, A.J. Jacobs - foreword
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although she grew up following some holiday rituals, Abigail Pogrebin realized how little she knew about their foundational purpose and contemporary relevance; she wanted to understand what had kept these holidays alive and vibrant, some for thousands of years. Her curiosity led her to embark on an entire year of research, observation, and writing about the milestones on the religious calendar. Whether in search of a roadmap for Jewish life or a challenging probe into the architecture of Jewish tradition, listeners will be captivated, educated, and inspired by My Jewish Year.
-
-
Thought-provoking
- By Bevin G on 09-06-24
By: Abigail Pogrebin, and others
-
What Is Zen?
- Plain Talk for a Beginner's Mind
- By: Norman Fischer, Susan Moon
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer, Susan Moon
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The question-and-answer format makes this introduction to Zen especially easy to understand - and also to use as a reference, as you can easily look up just the question you had in mind. The esteemed Zen teacher Norman Fischer and his old friend and teaching colleague Susan Moon (both of them in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) give this collaborative effort a playful tone: Susan asks a question on our behalf, Norman answers it, and then Sue challenges him.
-
-
Zen; An Introduction
- By Michael on 08-15-16
By: Norman Fischer, and others
-
The Essential Talmud: An Introduction
- By: Adin Steinsaltz
- Narrated by: Shlomo Zacks
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Essential Talmud is a masterful introduction by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz to the great repository of Jewish wisdom, the Talmud. A book of profound scholarship and concise pedagogy, The Essential Talmud succinctly describes the Talmud's history, structure, and methodology. It summarizes the Talmud's main principles, demonstrates its contemporary relevance, and captures the spirit of this unique and paradoxical sacred text as a human expression of divine law.
-
-
Incomparable work by a true Scholar
- By Elliot on 11-16-19
By: Adin Steinsaltz
-
Soul Construction
- Shape Your Character Using 8 Steps from the Timeless Jewish Practice of Mussar
- By: Ruchi Koval
- Narrated by: Ruchi Koval
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Self-help fads come and go but the timeless Jewish practice of mussar, a strategy for ethical and spiritual character refinement, has been helping perceptive and purposeful people live fulfilling and happy lives for generations. After years of teaching mussar classes and workshops and marveling at the dramatic changes in participants’ lives, Ruchi Koval provides a roadmap for people of all faiths, filled with clear explanations and illustrative anecdotes guiding listeners through eight practical and powerful steps to a better version of themselves.
-
-
Essential life tools
- By John Mongiello on 06-10-22
By: Ruchi Koval
-
3,000 Years of Judaism in 30 Days
- Understanding Jewish History, Beliefs, and Practices
- By: Howard Lupovitch
- Narrated by: Howard Lupovitch
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore the storied history, texts, and traditions of one of the world’s oldest living religions and civilizations. As an award-winning professor and an observant Jew, Howard Lupovitch brings a wealth of knowledge to his audio course on Judaism. With the balanced perspective of a scholar, he guides you through its rise, development, and diversification. Under his tutelage, you will also discover the fascinating differences and similarities between Judaism and other Abrahamic faiths.
-
-
Comprehension Story of Judaism Well Told
- By Merle N. Savedow on 12-13-20
By: Howard Lupovitch
-
God Is Here
- Reimagining the Divine
- By: Toba Spitzer
- Narrated by: Angie Kane
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most of us are hungry for a system of meaning to make sense of our lives, yet traditional religion too often leaves those seeking spiritual sustenance unsatisfied. Rabbi Toba Spitzer understands this problem firsthand and knows that too often it is traditional ideas of the deity that get in the way. In God Is Here, Spitzer argues that whether we believe in God or fervently disbelieve, what we are actually disagreeing about is not God at all but a metaphor of a Big Powerful Person that limits our understanding and our spiritual lives.
-
-
Inspiring book, but reader made errors
- By Claudia Setzer on 11-02-23
By: Toba Spitzer
-
The Gates of Prayer
- Twelve Talks on Davvenology
- By: Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
- Narrated by: Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Gates of Prayer: Twelve Talks on Davvenology is a collection of talks given by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (better known as Reb Zalman) to a group of students in his home in Boulder, Colorado, in 2009-2010. The talks focus on "davvenology", a term coined by Schachter-Shalomi, meaning "entering deeply into a prayer relationship with God".
-
-
Changed my prayer life
- By Karen Worstell on 01-18-23
-
The Book for Inbetweeners
- The Practical Tanya, Part One
- By: Rabbi Chaim Miller
- Narrated by: Shlomo Zacks
- Length: 27 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astoundingly clear adaptation of Tanya, one of the most influential works of Jewish spiritual thought ever written, penned by Chasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 - 1812). This new translation and commentary by best-selling author Chaim Miller renders the text relevant for the contemporary listener with elegant simplicity. The Practical Tanya will guide you on the path of spiritual consciousness to a state of inner freedom and liberation.
-
-
Extremely Fine
- By SandyK on 02-26-23
-
Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor
- By: Yossi Klein Halevi
- Narrated by: Yossi Klein Halevi
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Attempting to break the agonizing impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli commentator and award-winning author of Like Dreamers directly addresses his Palestinian neighbors in this taut and provocative book, empathizing with Palestinian suffering and longing for reconciliation as he explores how the conflict looks through Israeli eyes.
-
-
Israel 101 - but for Jews
- By GoingGoingGone... on 06-13-18
-
Reclaiming the Self: On the Pathway of Teshuvah
- By: DovBer Pinson
- Narrated by: Shlomo Zacks
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teshuvah is one of the great gifts of life. Through Teshuvah we are able to return from pain, fragmentation and confusion to a place of greater unity and well-being, to our authentic self. Reclaiming the Self offers a glimpse into a world with-out the damaging influence of past negativity - where misdeed is transformed into merit. Questions addressed include: What exactly is Teshuvah and how does it function?
-
-
Thoughtful and Thought-Provoking
- By Nancy Mades on 01-20-24
By: DovBer Pinson
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Women of Rothschild
- The Untold Story of the World's Most Famous Dynasty
- By: Natalie Livingstone
- Narrated by: Francesca Waters
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the East End of London to the Eastern seaboard of the United States, from Spitalfields to Scottish castles, from Bletchley Park to Buchenwald, and from the Vatican to Palestine, Natalie Livingstone follows the extraordinary lives of the Rothschild women from the dawn of the 19th century to the early years of the 21st.
-
-
Very difficult book
- By Judge Jerry on 01-18-23
-
The Cost of Free Land
- Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance
- By: Rebecca Clarren
- Narrated by: Rebecca Clarren
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up, Rebecca Clarren only knew the major plot points of her tenacious immigrant family’s origins. Her great-great-grandparents, the Sinykins, and their six children fled antisemitism in Russia and arrived in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, ultimately settling on a 160-acre homestead in South Dakota. Over the next few decades, despite tough years on a merciless prairie and multiple setbacks, the Sinykins became an American immigrant success story.
-
-
This author has done incredible research and phenomenal writing to highlight this unknown history.
- By deborah Luker on 05-03-25
By: Rebecca Clarren
-
Here All Along
- Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life - in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)
- By: Sarah Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Sarah Hurwitz
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a decade as a political speechwriter - serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign - Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her skills as a communicator to writing a book...about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. Sarah Hurwitz is on a mission to close this gap by sharing the profound insights she discovered on everything from Jewish holidays, ethics, and prayer to Jewish conceptions of God, death, and social justice.
-
-
Must-read for prospective and new Jewish converts
- By Danielle Nathanson on 09-14-19
By: Sarah Hurwitz
-
One Hundred Saturdays
- Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World
- By: Michael Frank
- Narrated by: Michael Frank
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With nearly a century of life behind her, Stella Levi had never before spoken in detail about her past. Then she met Michael Frank. He came to her Greenwich Village apartment one Saturday afternoon to ask her a question about the Juderia, the neighborhood in Rhodes where she’d grown up in a Jewish community that had thrived there for half a millennium. Probing and courageous, candid and sly, Stella is a modern-day Scheherazade whose stories reveal what it was like to grow up in an extraordinary place in an extraordinary time—and to construct a life after that place has vanished.
-
-
Excellent book
- By Daphne on 09-14-22
By: Michael Frank
-
My Jewish Year
- 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew
- By: Abigail Pogrebin, A.J. Jacobs - foreword
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although she grew up following some holiday rituals, Abigail Pogrebin realized how little she knew about their foundational purpose and contemporary relevance; she wanted to understand what had kept these holidays alive and vibrant, some for thousands of years. Her curiosity led her to embark on an entire year of research, observation, and writing about the milestones on the religious calendar. Whether in search of a roadmap for Jewish life or a challenging probe into the architecture of Jewish tradition, listeners will be captivated, educated, and inspired by My Jewish Year.
-
-
Thought-provoking
- By Bevin G on 09-06-24
By: Abigail Pogrebin, and others
-
The World Could Be Otherwise
- Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path
- By: Norman Fischer
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six perfections” - generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding - can help us reconfigure the world we live in.
-
-
Master piece
- By Andrew Lenards on 02-08-20
By: Norman Fischer
-
The Women of Rothschild
- The Untold Story of the World's Most Famous Dynasty
- By: Natalie Livingstone
- Narrated by: Francesca Waters
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the East End of London to the Eastern seaboard of the United States, from Spitalfields to Scottish castles, from Bletchley Park to Buchenwald, and from the Vatican to Palestine, Natalie Livingstone follows the extraordinary lives of the Rothschild women from the dawn of the 19th century to the early years of the 21st.
-
-
Very difficult book
- By Judge Jerry on 01-18-23
-
The Cost of Free Land
- Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance
- By: Rebecca Clarren
- Narrated by: Rebecca Clarren
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up, Rebecca Clarren only knew the major plot points of her tenacious immigrant family’s origins. Her great-great-grandparents, the Sinykins, and their six children fled antisemitism in Russia and arrived in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, ultimately settling on a 160-acre homestead in South Dakota. Over the next few decades, despite tough years on a merciless prairie and multiple setbacks, the Sinykins became an American immigrant success story.
-
-
This author has done incredible research and phenomenal writing to highlight this unknown history.
- By deborah Luker on 05-03-25
By: Rebecca Clarren
-
Here All Along
- Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life - in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)
- By: Sarah Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Sarah Hurwitz
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a decade as a political speechwriter - serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign - Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her skills as a communicator to writing a book...about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. Sarah Hurwitz is on a mission to close this gap by sharing the profound insights she discovered on everything from Jewish holidays, ethics, and prayer to Jewish conceptions of God, death, and social justice.
-
-
Must-read for prospective and new Jewish converts
- By Danielle Nathanson on 09-14-19
By: Sarah Hurwitz
-
One Hundred Saturdays
- Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World
- By: Michael Frank
- Narrated by: Michael Frank
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With nearly a century of life behind her, Stella Levi had never before spoken in detail about her past. Then she met Michael Frank. He came to her Greenwich Village apartment one Saturday afternoon to ask her a question about the Juderia, the neighborhood in Rhodes where she’d grown up in a Jewish community that had thrived there for half a millennium. Probing and courageous, candid and sly, Stella is a modern-day Scheherazade whose stories reveal what it was like to grow up in an extraordinary place in an extraordinary time—and to construct a life after that place has vanished.
-
-
Excellent book
- By Daphne on 09-14-22
By: Michael Frank
-
My Jewish Year
- 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew
- By: Abigail Pogrebin, A.J. Jacobs - foreword
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although she grew up following some holiday rituals, Abigail Pogrebin realized how little she knew about their foundational purpose and contemporary relevance; she wanted to understand what had kept these holidays alive and vibrant, some for thousands of years. Her curiosity led her to embark on an entire year of research, observation, and writing about the milestones on the religious calendar. Whether in search of a roadmap for Jewish life or a challenging probe into the architecture of Jewish tradition, listeners will be captivated, educated, and inspired by My Jewish Year.
-
-
Thought-provoking
- By Bevin G on 09-06-24
By: Abigail Pogrebin, and others
-
The World Could Be Otherwise
- Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path
- By: Norman Fischer
- Narrated by: Norman Fischer
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six perfections” - generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and understanding - can help us reconfigure the world we live in.
-
-
Master piece
- By Andrew Lenards on 02-08-20
By: Norman Fischer
-
To Be a Jew Today
- A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: Noah Feldman
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to be a Jew? At a time of worldwide crisis, venerable answers to this question have become unsettled. In To Be a Jew Today, the legal scholar and columnist Noah Feldman draws on a lifelong engagement with his religion to offer a wide-ranging interpretation of Judaism in its current varieties. How do Jews today understand their relationship to God, to Israel, and to each other—and live their lives accordingly?
-
-
Struggling with Judaism
- By Shmuel M on 05-22-24
By: Noah Feldman
-
Abraham
- One Nomad's Amazing Journey of Faith
- By: Charles R. Swindoll
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we rewind history to Abraham's era, we encounter people who concocted false superstitions to explain the unexplainable. Powerful kings claimed to be gods, building massive pyramids in an attempt to achieve immortality. Out of this mass of misunderstandings, this collage of confusion, one man emerged. Why, thousands of years later, are we still discussing the faith of this desert nomad? Chuck Swindoll answers that question and many more in this compelling and insightful biography that will inspire your own faith.
-
-
Father of Faith
- By POTSY on 01-06-17
-
God Is in the Crowd
- Twenty-First-Century Judaism
- By: Tal Keinan
- Narrated by: Tal Keinan
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
God Is in the Crowd is an original and provocative blueprint for Judaism in the 21st century. Presented through the lens of Tal Keinan’s unusual personal story, it a sobering analysis of the threat to Jewish continuity. As the Jewish people has become concentrated in just two hubs - America and Israel - it has lost the subtle code of governance that endowed Judaism with dynamism and relevance in the age of Diaspora.
-
-
Visionary Prescription for World Jewry
- By Craig R Weiss on 10-01-18
By: Tal Keinan
-
Introduction to Judaism
- By: Shai Cherry, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Shai Cherry
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a religion, culture, and civilization, Judaism has evolved in surprising ways during its long and remarkable history. In this series of 24 lectures, Professor Cherry explores this rich religious heritage from biblical times to today. From the first lecture on the Torah to the last on the Jews as the Chosen People, this course is packed with truly fascinating information.
-
-
This lecture series is amazing
- By B & C on 08-23-15
By: Shai Cherry, and others
-
The Ghost Writer
- The Nathan Zuckerman Series, Book 1
- By: Philip Roth
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ghost Writer introduces Nathan Zuckerman in the 1950s, a budding writer infatuated with the great books, discovering the contradictory claims of literature and experience while an overnight guest in the secluded New England farmhouse of his idol, E. I. Lonoff. At Lonoff's, Zuckerman meets Amy Bellette, a haunting young woman of indeterminate foreign background who turns out to be a former student of Lonoff's and who may also have been his mistress.
-
-
Turning Sentences Around
- By Darwin8u on 01-28-17
By: Philip Roth
-
Choosing a Jewish Life (Revised and Updated)
- A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family and Friends
- By: Anita Diamant
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Married to a convert herself, Diamant anticipates all the questions, doubts, and concerns, provides a comprehensive explanation of the rules and rituals of conversion, and offers practical guidance toward creating a Jewish identity. Choosing a Jewish Life: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family and Friends is the definitive guide to the conversion process—for a new generation of Jews-by-choice.
-
-
Helpful content
- By Amazon Customer on 12-08-24
By: Anita Diamant
What listeners say about This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Douglas Smith
- 09-10-21
Powerful High Holiday Medicine
A Very well written and well narrated spiritual guidebook for the Jewish high holidays.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Harold S. Geller
- 09-06-18
Excellent preparation for the High Holy Days
I have been reading this book annually for the at least the last 10 years, in preparation for the High Holy Days. I find it to be my foundation for the reflective work of the days of Awe. Having it available as an audiobook, has made it much more meaningful this year! Excellent performance!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DQL
- 09-13-24
Highly recommend before the Chaggim!
Wishing I had a rabbi like this in my life who could cut to the core of our spiritual center by the guidance of our traditions.
I wish they trained the narrator because I found his mispronunciations/awkward pronunciations of Hebrew to be a bit like nails on a chalk board.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Foxmulder
- 02-14-20
Beautifully written
I recently converted to Judaism and decided to read this book during the month leading to the high holidays. This book has helped me become more comfortable with my impending death and granted me a special appreciation for these holidays that are new to me. Allan Lew pases away some years ago but he has left behind a book that I predict will remain a timeless piece of literature for converts and Jews who rediscover their Judaism.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leah Esther Kershman
- 08-03-21
One of my reg reads every year.
Each time there is a deepening and more healing. And as I approach the holy days, I am a little more prepared each time. Lucky life…
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MG2
- 09-16-23
Soulful
Perfect for the High Holidays. It is very inspiring and full of insights about what really matters in life.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- diana lynn
- 09-20-20
The only book
The only book you need read for the High Holidays. Every year. It answers all and nothing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jason J. Gay
- 06-08-20
I bought the book on a whim, simply because I loved the title
One of the best books I’ve ever read/listened to. Ended up buying the print version, too.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- beeper
- 09-20-23
Powerful book
I began and finished this book in the midst of the High Holy Days, which, I think, made this most important time of introspection and atonement even more impactful for me this year. It is a fascinating book, read so eloquently, and it will stay with me for a long time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gracie
- 09-17-23
Great book but
I’m very much enjoying this book and learning how the High Holy Days guide my own journey.
But Where is the Foreword!!? I can’t find it. So, the recording is incomplete
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!