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Return from Exile: One Woman's Journey Back to Judaism
At midlife, a spiritually hungry author of self-help books leaves her professional life to enroll in divinity school. Return from Exile is the engaging, often profound story of Carol Matzkin Orsborn's first year at Vanderbilt Divinity School, the year that transformed her life.
In this spiritual "pressure cooker", we share the author's friendships with similarly searching students, her encounters with challenging and supportive professors, and her first serious engagement with Jewish and Christian literatures.
In a largely Chrsitian environment, Orsborn confronts her unconsciously held prejudices and loyalties and discovers the hidden riches within her own tradition. Eventually she finds her way back to the heart and soul of Judaism, but it is a very different Judaism from the one she left behind.
In this spiritual "pressure cooker", we share the author's friendships with similarly searching students, her encounters with challenging and supportive professors, and her first serious engagement with Jewish and Christian literatures.
In a largely Chrsitian environment, Orsborn confronts her unconsciously held prejudices and loyalties and discovers the hidden riches within her own tradition. Eventually she finds her way back to the heart and soul of Judaism, but it is a very different Judaism from the one she left behind.
220 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1998
1 person want to read
About the author
Carol Orsborn
37 books14 followersCarol Orsborn, Ph.D. is Founder of http://www.FierceWithAge.com, the Digest of Boomer Wisdom, Inspiration and Spirituality. Dr. Orsborn is the best-selling author of 25 books including her newest book: The Spirituality of Age: A Seeker's Guide to Growing Older, coauthored with Dr.Robert L. Weber. (Inner Traditions, Oct. 2015.) Website is http://SpiritualityofAge.com.
She is an internationally-known thought leader specializing in issues related to Boomer women, spirituality, adult development and quality of life. She received a doctorate in the History and Critical of Religion and masters of theological study from Vanderbilt University.
She is an internationally-known thought leader specializing in issues related to Boomer women, spirituality, adult development and quality of life. She received a doctorate in the History and Critical of Religion and masters of theological study from Vanderbilt University.
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August 30, 2014
This is a wonderful book about one person's struggle to find God within her religious upbringing. I found a kinship with her in that I too am attracted to the mystical, spiritual experience which is not supported in my denomination, either the one I grew up in, or the one I am affiliated now. Yet, I have a solid conviction that the people with whom I worship are people of God. That with them I regularly am called to a close, personal relationship with my God.
This book helped me understand what is Anti-Semitism and how it came to be. I never realized how the Jews reacted to what I considered common Christian/Biblical beliefs. It rocked my thinking to realize that the New Testament was written many (30-60) years after Christ lived and that the political pressures of the day, namely Rome, was a great threat. The Christians could no way assign the blame for the death of Christ to Rome, for fear of having to deal with Roman accusations of revolutionary thinking. So the Jews were blamed.
Also, the New Testament ignores the existence of the multiple Jewish sects that existed at the time of Christ. Christ certainly was upset with the Pharisees and Sadduces, but there were many other Jewish sects that became followers of Christ.
Any Christian who cannot find tolerance of a person with a differing belief system is a sorry Christian indeed.
This book helped me understand what is Anti-Semitism and how it came to be. I never realized how the Jews reacted to what I considered common Christian/Biblical beliefs. It rocked my thinking to realize that the New Testament was written many (30-60) years after Christ lived and that the political pressures of the day, namely Rome, was a great threat. The Christians could no way assign the blame for the death of Christ to Rome, for fear of having to deal with Roman accusations of revolutionary thinking. So the Jews were blamed.
Also, the New Testament ignores the existence of the multiple Jewish sects that existed at the time of Christ. Christ certainly was upset with the Pharisees and Sadduces, but there were many other Jewish sects that became followers of Christ.
Any Christian who cannot find tolerance of a person with a differing belief system is a sorry Christian indeed.
Displaying 1 of 1 review