Jewish Spiritual Practices Book

This book is absolutely essential for any Jewish person seeking to deepen his or her spiritual practices. Ambiguously titled, it is actually a compendium of Hasidic approaches to basically every aspect of Jewish practice (prayer, devekut, kashrut, Mitzvah, Torah study, speech, inter-personal relations, intra-personal relations etc...)

Each chapter is comprised both of Buxbaum's lucid introductory/transitional comments and an amazing assortment of quotations from Hasidic leaders throughout the centuries. Merely viewed as a collection of these insights alone, the book is a treasure trove along the lines of Norman Lamm's The Religious Thought of Hasidism (another book I'd highly recommend). Luckily, the book is even more than this; when read from beginning to end, it forms presents a comprehensive and inspiring approach to spiritual transformation and discovery. In one of the late chapters, we read an exhortation from none other than Reb Nachman himself imploring his followers to always believe in "starting anew." Sometimes, he tells us, he had to "start again" many times in the same day, having found himself repeatedly falling short of the spiritual and ethical goals he'd set for himself. This entire book is an invitation to start one's practive anew as well. And it provides innumerable pathways and practices to function as the map for these new journeys.

One caveat---the brief section about drinking alcohol is laugh out loud funny. But not on purpose. Clearly, imbibing shnaps and vodka (amongst many other potent potables) is an important and pervasive socio-cultural practice amongst Eastern European Hasidim. Let's be honest, drinking heavily doesn't usually bring out "the best" in a person. Drug intake of any kind immediately impairs judgement and loosens inhibition. Personally, I have no problem with this; the problem is that lowering inhibitions and impairing judgement are diametrically OPPOSED of what the rest of the book encourages us to do. We are to be vigilent at all times about our words, our actions, and our thoughts! Instead, the chapter suggests that drinking alcohol--in social situations and amongst fellow Hasidim only--is a good and totally valid way of raising oneself "up" and allowing oneself to "see" realities otherwise difficult to experience...sounds a lot like the justifcation for taking LSD or any other drug. Buxbaum would have been better off either ignoring the topic completely, or suggesting that drinking practices vary from community to community and that the approach needs to stress moderation and responsibility.