The Book of Words: Talking Spiritual Life, Living Spiritual Talk

Kushner's The Book of Words tries to invest some common Hebrew words (mostly from the bible and liturgy) with new life and force. This is a physically attractive book. A large, English word appears at the top of the page (Amnesia) followed by a Hebrew word which is often not a direct translation (d'vey'kut, clinging in Hebrew) and a further English translation (Unio Mystica); also on the same page, a part of Torah, and/or a section of the siddur, the Talmud, mishna, and a Kavanah section, a place to put the word into practice. In several places Kushner comes close to a non-dual understand of Judaism. He views the self as an obstacle to knowing God; sees God as Being or the source of All Being and the only Existent. On page 96, he quotes Dov Baer of Mezritch at length: "Thus as long as you remain convinced that you are "something" preoccupied with your daily needs, then the Holy One cannot be present, for God is without end..." This is excellent midrash. Kushner takes Jewish texts and by creative selection and ingenious translation creates new meanings to shopworn words, concepts, and ideas.

About every week or so this book practically jumps off my shelf!Whenever I am looking for the best Hebrew word to use in a poem, review, or sermon, I check-out this good Rabbi's Hebrew words! For an occasional Columbia Seminary class in the Old Testament, in Walter Brueggemann's Psalms I found new interest in learning Hebrew aleph-beit. From Rabbi Kushner's short two-page Introduction to his "Book of Words" he briefly describes in volunes of meaning: "According to the Hebrew Bible, God made the world with words. God just spoke and the world became reality. (The Aramaic for "I create as I speak" is avara k'davara, or in magician's language, abracadabra.) Not only are words the instrument of creation, in Judaism they are primary reality itself." I Was Hooked by That! The Hebrew words meaning most to me are, b'rahkah or blessing; hit-la-ha-voot or Ecstasy. Kushner stated: "There can be joy in silence or with tears...in their occasions joyous laughter turns out to be sacred." The word ecstasy also appears in Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms," coming in the most dramatic moment! The word for prayer has meant much: t'fee-lah as the Rabbi uses the phonetic spelling. In his last page for each word he writes a Kavanah or Living Spiritual Talk: "In prayer you need to know a 'script' so well that you can recite the words on 'auto-pilot' but not so well, that the words are habitual." I soon passed onto his "Book of Letters," then, "God was in this Place and I, i did not know." Again, it was Awesome: A Mystery! What a forcefully creative writer! Retired Chap. Fred W Hood

I thought I understood the meaning of the words presented here, but Kushner's definitions really startled me, challenged me, and engaged me! His unconventional definitions brought new light to so many words I thought I understood, and all too often took for granted. He poignantly demonstrates how words, and the way we define and understand them, affect more than our vocabulary! This is a small book, but it is far from a 'quick read' because its words will enter your thoughts over and over, often when you least expect it, each time offering a new insight, each time helping you understand how the very words we use--and the way we define them--affect our lives and the lives of those around us. It is a book whose 'words' continue to influence long after you close its cover, a book for which I greatly thank the author.