I love Jewish-related prayer books, and have a few of them in my collection, sitting on my night table. Each one affords me a different perspective on Jewish life, Jewish culture, Jewish religious issues and thoughts and Jewish family dynamics. Some hold prayers within the pages that were written by women centuries ago, offering prayers for any life event and not just for holiday celebrations. I wouldn’t be without these books close to my bedside, where I can reach out for them when I want some comfort or reassurance, or just to read before going to sleep in order to gain some insight.
Here is a list of some of my night table security blankets:
The Women’s Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions
The Women’s Haftarah Commentary
A Jewish Woman’s Prayer Book, by Aliza Lavie
Hours of Devotion: Fanny Neuda’s Book of Prayers for Jewish Women, by Dina Berland
Seyder Tkhines: The Forgotten Book of Prayer for Jewish Women, by Devra Kay
The Koren Sacks Siddur, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
One book that speaks to me is entitled The Sabbath, by Abraham Joshua Heschel. You can read my review, here.
For Passover I recommend A Passover Haggadah, as Commented on by Elie Wiesel
I also recommend Pesach for the Rest of Us, by Marge Piercy
I can’t say enough about Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl. I refer to it often. It helps to ground me when I need to contemplate on a serious note. You can read my review, here.
For Lithuanian history I recommend: The Litvaks: A Short History of the Jews in Lithuania, by Don Levin
For recipes I recommend these two books: 1,000 Jewish Recipes, by Faye Levy
Quick and Kosher: Meals in Minutes, by Jamie Geller
The photograph above was taken a while ago, and shows some of my books relating to Jewish prayer.
The photograph below is one that I took in a synagogue of its Holy Ark (with permission)
All photography, writing, poetry, etc. is my copyright and may not be reproduced without my express written permission.
March 1, 2012 – 7 Adar I, 5772
Great suggestions! Lovely photo too. Why not submit it to JPiX – along with one or two of your most recent posts with photos?
http://www.leoraw.com/blog/jpix/
Thank you, Ilana. I intend to submit this post to JPIX.
I am taking note of your book on Jewish Lithuanian history. I have a book by Masha Greenbaum, Jews of Lithuania, also an interesting read.
Maybe I will try to read Viktor Frankl.
I have the Masha Greenbaum book, too. I hope you do read Viktor Frankl. His book is inspiring.
I enjoy reading inspirational works just before I go to sleep.
EG: it is calming.
I should read some inspirational works as I need to be more calm..I am going to look into this further
Thanks for the visit, Michelle
Well done! Do you ever read or review Jewish memoirs? I recently published my memoir about surviving the Holocaust and it won the Writer’s Digest Mark of Quality award for outstanding writing. I’m anxious to have others in the Jewish community read my story and share it with others. If you’re ever interested, I’d be more than happy to send you a copy for review or for a giveaway.
Thanks,
Charles
I read and review Jewish memoirs. It is what my blog is about. I am heavily involved in the perusing of Jewish memoirs and anything related to the Holocaust, regarding the Jewish people.