Back in June, I wrote an article briefly describing the Jewish Renewal movement and its founder, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.  As a quick recap:

Source: http://www.algemeiner.com

Over the past few decades, the growing interest in Hasidism and Hasidic philosophy among the likes of Abraham Joshua Heschel, Michael Lerner, and Arthur Green has led to the creation of a movement known as Jewish Renewal. Members of this movement seek to spiritually reinvigorate Judaism by bringing kabbalistic and Hasidic philosophy into an egalitarian framework. The result is a Judaism infused with spirituality and liturgical creativity, blended with elements of Sufism and Buddhism, and stridently supportive of feminism, LGBT rights, pacifism, and the environmentalist movement.

Perhaps the most recognizable name associated with the Jewish Renewal movement is that of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Reb Zalman, one of the major founders of Jewish Renewal, has propelled the movement forward through the promotion of ecumenical dialogue and the establishment of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. He is an expert on Jewish mysticism and psychology of religion, and has published many books on those subjects, including Spiritual Intimacy: A Study of Counseling in Hasidism, Credo of a Modern Kabbalist, and – his most recent, published by the Jewish Publication Society – A Heart Afire (see the end of this post for a preview of A Heart Afire!).

Now, as a part of our author book recommendations series, Reb Zalman recommends ten great books to guide you in an exploration of Jewish spirituality (in no particular order):

1. Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow, by Arthur Green
2. The Path of Blessing: Experiencing the Energy and Abundance of the Divine, by Marcia Prager
3. Jewish Views of the Afterlife, by Simcha Paull Raphael
4. Inner Space: Introduction to Kabbalah, Meditation and Prophecy, by Aryeh Kaplan
5. The Tanya: Bi-Lingual Edition, by Shneur Zalman of Liadi
6. Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer, by Arthur Green and Barry W. Holtz
7. Jewish With Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice, by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
8. Spiritual Intimacy: A Study of Counseling in Hasidism, by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
9. Meditation and Kabbalah, by Aryeh Kaplan
10. God Is a Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism, by David Cooper

Check out Reb Zalman’s newest book, A Heart Afire, an intimate guide to Hasidism and Jewish spirituality, which he co-wrote with Netanel Miles-Yepez:

-Naomi