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Life imitates art sometimes.<\/strong> The Intercessor<\/a><\/em>, my new book, is a novel made of linked stories, each narrated by a different person.\u00a0 They all have one thing in common: the desire for spiritual community in challenging times. <\/p>\n I did not set out to write another book. In the early days of the MAGA regime, I found myself stuck in confusion and disappointment. I decided to try to get unstuck through a spiritual practice that had been helpful to myself and others in the past. <\/p>\n I\u2019d learned the practice of melitz yosher<\/em> 20 years ago from a wonderful spiritual teacher<\/strong>, Rabbi Ruth Gan Kagan<\/a> (who is in no way responsible for errors in my understanding or expression). In essence, the melitz yosher<\/em> offers help to someone facing a dilemma, an illness, or another problem by interceding with higher powers, pleading and bargaining for the sufferer\u2019s well-being. <\/p>\n To do this, you cleanse yourself with prayer, argue for the need and worthiness of the sufferer, and if the intercession succeeds, receive an assignment or prescription which may be anything: reading, writing, singing, moving, chanting, drawing, etc. Each assignment comes with a specific length of time it is to be performed. If the person accepts and executes it faithfully, I have seen it help, sometimes greatly. <\/p>\n I hadn\u2019t done the practice for a while<\/strong>, so I located the folder holding the notes and documents from my study in 2005 to make sure I was following the instructions. In that same folder was a printout of a short story entitled \u201cThe Intercessor,\u201d now adapted as the first chapter of my new book. I\u2019d written it then and forgotten about it!<\/p>\n I followed the steps to ask what I should do, taking care to make myself a channel, clearing out any notions or feelings that might keep me from listening fully and deeply. The assignment I got was to write seven more intercessor stories! It wasn\u2019t until I completed an early draft that I understood the stories weren\u2019t just healing for me. Together, they made a book.<\/p>\n The flavor of Jewish practice I pursue is called Jewish Renewal<\/strong>. I\u2019ve heard people characterize it many ways: Hasidism meets feminism; neo-Hasidism; New Age Judaism, and more. There isn\u2019t a monolithic definition or dogma, nor is it a formal denomination like Reform or Conservative. The people praying side-by-side at a Renewal service may be strictly observant, following Orthodox laws and customs, or very liberal in pursuing their own interpretations, customs, and practices\u2014and everything in-between. But they all care deeply about equality, social and environmental justice, radical inclusiveness, and the liberty to create sacred space of their own choosing through prayer, study, meditation, movement, music, chant, and more. <\/p>\n This connects us to other liberal spiritual movements such as liberation theology and Zen Buddhism. Non-Jews who\u2019ve read my book found a great deal to relate to (and a handy glossary to explain any unfamiliar words). The problems that spur the characters in The Intercessor<\/em> to seek help are pretty universal. One person becomes the target of harmful gossip. Another\u2019s writer\u2019s block is resolved as he falls in love with his best friend. One must navigate a double identity as the Israel-Gaza war unfolds in the run-up to the 2024 election. One discovers her Jewishness; another, having succumbed to COVID, observes it all from the world to come. <\/p>\n There\u2019s more about the book here<\/a>, where you can also download and read the first chapter.<\/strong> Next week, I\u2019ll post links to buy it, or you can google it and find it at many online bookstores. <\/p>\n I\u2019ll be offering free Zooms to groups and communities, so please contact me<\/a> if you\u2019re interested, or if you want to review the book or write about it in your blog, and I\u2019ll send you a PDF.<\/strong> Please wish me luck in helping this book each its intended audiences!<\/p>\n \u201cOpen Unto Me<\/a>\u201d is a lovely song by Rabbi Shawn Zevit<\/a>, whom I also know from Renewal. <\/p>\n