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Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline
After her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, Lauren Winner found that her life was indelibly marked by the rich traditions and spiritual practices of Judaism. She set out to discover how she could incorporate some of these practices into her new faith. Winner presents eleven Jewish spiritual practices that can transform the way Christians view the world and God. Whether discussing attentive eating, marking the days while grieving, the community that supports a marriage, candle-lighting, or the differences between the Jewish Sabbath and a Sunday spent at the Mudhouse, her favorite coffee shop, Winner writes with appealing honesty and rare insight.
162 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
148 people are currently reading
3033 people want to read
About the author
Lauren F. Winner
45 books329 followersLauren F. Winner is the author of numerous books, including Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath. Her study A Cheerful & Comfortable Faith: Anglican Religious Practice in the Elite Households of Eighteenth-Century Virginia was published in the fall of 2010 by Yale University Press. She has appeared on PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, Books and Culture, and Christianity Today. Winner has degrees from Duke, Columbia, and Cambridge universities, and holds a Ph.D. in history. The former book editor for Beliefnet, Lauren teaches at Duke Divinity School, and lives in Durham, North Carolina. Lauren travels extensively to lecture and teach. During the academic year of 2007-2008, she was a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, and during the academic year of 2010-2011, she was a visiting fellow at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University. When she’s home, you can usually find her curled up, on her couch or screen porch, with a good novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 399 reviews
February 5, 2017
I remember loving this little book. I gave it one more read before I mailed it to a friend.
Winner writes about bringing her former Orthodox Jewish practices into her Christian faith. She underscores the differences between individualism (most Christians) and living in community with shared rules (most Orthodox Jews).
I especially liked the rhythms of Jewish grieving: aninut (the time after death, before burial); shiva (seven days of intense mourning); shloshim (the first month after death, edging back to quotidian rhythms); kaddish (full year of mourning, praying twice daily in community required); yahrtzeit (fasting on the anniversary of death).
This makes sense. But. A Christian mourner can't sit shiva if there isn't a community to sit shiva with. So Winner's take-away is that we ought to slow down the grieving process and allow time to truly mourn.
Some quotes I copied:
"The ancient disciplines form us to respond to God, over and over always, in gratitude, in obedience, and in faith."
"Food is part of God's creation. A right relationship with food points us toward Him."
"To invite people into our homes is to respond with gratitude to the God who made a home for us."
"Sure, sometimes it is great when, in prayer, we can express to God just what we feel; but better still when, in the act of praying, our feelings change."
Winner writes about bringing her former Orthodox Jewish practices into her Christian faith. She underscores the differences between individualism (most Christians) and living in community with shared rules (most Orthodox Jews).
I especially liked the rhythms of Jewish grieving: aninut (the time after death, before burial); shiva (seven days of intense mourning); shloshim (the first month after death, edging back to quotidian rhythms); kaddish (full year of mourning, praying twice daily in community required); yahrtzeit (fasting on the anniversary of death).
This makes sense. But. A Christian mourner can't sit shiva if there isn't a community to sit shiva with. So Winner's take-away is that we ought to slow down the grieving process and allow time to truly mourn.
Some quotes I copied:
"The ancient disciplines form us to respond to God, over and over always, in gratitude, in obedience, and in faith."
"Food is part of God's creation. A right relationship with food points us toward Him."
"To invite people into our homes is to respond with gratitude to the God who made a home for us."
"Sure, sometimes it is great when, in prayer, we can express to God just what we feel; but better still when, in the act of praying, our feelings change."
November 25, 2024
After Winner converted from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, she found that she missed how Jewish rituals make routine events sacred. There are Christian sacraments, of course, but this book is about how the wisdom of another tradition might be applied in a new context. “Judaism offers opportunities for people to inhabit and sanctify bodies and bodily practices,” Winner writes. There are chapters on the concept of the Sabbath, wedding ceremonies, prayer and hospitality. Fasting is a particular sticking point for Winner, but her priest encourages her to see it as a way of demonstrating dependence on, and hunger for, God. I most appreciated the sections on mourning and ageing. “Perhaps the most essential insight of the Jewish approach to caring for one’s elderly is that this care is, indeed, an obligation. What Judaism understands is that obligations are good things. They are the very bedrock of the Jew’s relationship to God, and they govern some of the most fundamental human relationships”. By the way, Mudhouse is Winner’s local coffeehouse, so she believes these disciplines can be undertaken anywhere.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
July 22, 2013
I like to think of myself as a Christian with a better-than-average knowledge of Jewish faith and traditions. (Some of my best friends are Jews! :) ) In that vein, I found this book fascinating. It was presented in a factual and anecdotal manner, without judgement - just a commentary on what Jews do/believe/have/say versus what Christians do/believe/have/say. Had I not split this audiobook between two different road trips months apart, I may have enjoyed the book even more / rated it even higher.
May 10, 2015
The third or fourth time I have read this little jewel of a book, reminding me to make life holy. A quick but rich read.
September 27, 2017
Just what I needed. Highly recommended by a good friend. Review to follow.
October 7, 2023
Spiritual practices don't justify us. They don't save us. Rather, they refine our Christianity; they make the inheritance Christ gives us on the cross more fully our own. The spiritual disciplines--such as regular prayer and fasting, and tithing, and attentiveness to our bodies--can form us as Christians throughout our lives. Are we obligated to observe these disciplines? Not generally, no. Will they get us into heaven? They will not.
Lauren Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath is a short, well-written, insightful book about Judaic practices whose embrace could enlighten and enhance a Christian's faith. She looks at holding the sabbath, diet, mourning, hospitality, prayer, body, fasting, aging, candle-lighting, matrimonial ceremonies, and identifying your faith through knick-knacks around doorways. Her intentions are sincere and heartfelt; she converted from Judaism to Christianity (the Episcopal branch) and longs for past spiritual practices. So she wrote a book telling her new people about the ways of her old people.
She idealizes Jewish practices, which undermines her argument: If these practices were so soul-enriching and fulfilling--and she still pines for them--then why did she leave them for the austerity of Christianity? What is it about Christianity which beguiles her? The allure of Christianity to Winner is never as clear as the allure of Judaism. This unwillingness to fully embrace Christianity weakens this book, since the underlying message is spiritual practices in the Christian faith don't hold a candle (pun, hmmmm, intended?) to the Jewish faith. In a strange way, Winner argues Christianity would be a richer experience of faith if it was less Christian and more Jewish.
Still, this book is still insightful, still applicable. Just be aware going in that the focus is narrow and limiting, hardly universal.
Lauren Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath is a short, well-written, insightful book about Judaic practices whose embrace could enlighten and enhance a Christian's faith. She looks at holding the sabbath, diet, mourning, hospitality, prayer, body, fasting, aging, candle-lighting, matrimonial ceremonies, and identifying your faith through knick-knacks around doorways. Her intentions are sincere and heartfelt; she converted from Judaism to Christianity (the Episcopal branch) and longs for past spiritual practices. So she wrote a book telling her new people about the ways of her old people.
She idealizes Jewish practices, which undermines her argument: If these practices were so soul-enriching and fulfilling--and she still pines for them--then why did she leave them for the austerity of Christianity? What is it about Christianity which beguiles her? The allure of Christianity to Winner is never as clear as the allure of Judaism. This unwillingness to fully embrace Christianity weakens this book, since the underlying message is spiritual practices in the Christian faith don't hold a candle (pun, hmmmm, intended?) to the Jewish faith. In a strange way, Winner argues Christianity would be a richer experience of faith if it was less Christian and more Jewish.
Still, this book is still insightful, still applicable. Just be aware going in that the focus is narrow and limiting, hardly universal.
December 12, 2019
An Orthodox Jewish woman converts to Christianity, then proceeds to share with her fellow Christians about the riches of Judaism's approach to spiritual formation as opposed to Christianity's. This is the unique tale of Lauren Winner and her memoir Mudhouse Sabbath, written just seven years after her conversion to Christianity. She had not yet gone on to earn seminary degrees, be ordained in the Episcopal Church, or become a professor of Christian Spirituality at the prestigious Duke Divinity School. Why did she become a Christian only to deeply miss and yearn for her old Jewish ways? In short, Jesus. While in the book she never wavers on her commitment to Christianity, she nevertheless misses the Jewish rhythms and routines that “drew the sacred down into the everyday."
Winner riffs on eleven “spiritual disciplines”, loosely speaking, that both Jews and Christians share to some degree: sabbath, fitting food, mourning, hospitality, prayer, body, fasting, aging, candle-lighting, weddings, and doorposts. Some of these disciplines are completely shared ones that she believes “Jews do better.” Others maintain specifically Christian forms that “would be thicker and more vibrant if we took a few lessons from Judaism." Fewer are more explicitly Jewish and would seem foreign to most Christian traditions, yet may still have a word to say. This was a short and extremely pleasant read that provides much to ponder--and more importantly, practice--in the realm of spiritual formation.
Winner riffs on eleven “spiritual disciplines”, loosely speaking, that both Jews and Christians share to some degree: sabbath, fitting food, mourning, hospitality, prayer, body, fasting, aging, candle-lighting, weddings, and doorposts. Some of these disciplines are completely shared ones that she believes “Jews do better.” Others maintain specifically Christian forms that “would be thicker and more vibrant if we took a few lessons from Judaism." Fewer are more explicitly Jewish and would seem foreign to most Christian traditions, yet may still have a word to say. This was a short and extremely pleasant read that provides much to ponder--and more importantly, practice--in the realm of spiritual formation.
December 28, 2020
Excellent. The author considers her younger years growing up Jewish, and what faith practices she misses in her conversion to Christianity. In memoir style, she writes about these practices that form her faith, then and now.
October 23, 2015
My introduction to Lauren Winner's writing came more than a decade ago. My wife had read and liked Girl Meets God and loved it. I picked up her other book, Mudhouse Sabbath because I loved the premise. Winner's turn toward God took her through Orthodox Judaism to Christianity (the story recounted in her first memoir). Mudhouse Sabbath was about the nourishing spiritual practices she found in Judaism and missed after her conversion to Christianity. She wrote appreciatively about what she found in Judaism and how these practices continued to nourish her, and weren't incompatible with her new faith.
Paraclete Press has just released the study edition of Mudhouse Sabbath. This is not a rewrite. The chapters have the same format as they did when Winner first conceived the book. In Winner's new introduction she notes a couple of places where she would now write it differently, especially in her failure to explore God's justice and her expectation of encountering Him as we work toward it (viii). For example, the practice of fasting and Sabbath have implications for justice in the Hebrew scriptures which Winner left unexplored in the earlier edition (ix-x). She also acknowledges her growing cautiousness about borrowing from Judaism as a Christian (urging humility and grace).
The difference between this edition and its earlier incarnation (other than the new introduction) is the study notes. Winner's words remain the same but the chapters are peppered with quotations, selections from Jewish authors and Hebrew scripture and discussion questions. While Winner's original was thoughtful and engaged Judaism, it was much more a personal reflection on how she as a Christian convert could still appropriate these practices as part of her own spiritual life. That was the charm of the book. The study edition helps Christian readers engage these concepts and practices more thoughtfully for themselves.
Personally I like this edition a lot. It is possible to treat this book like the original, reading the main body of text as an exhortation to beef up your personal spiritual practices. But a study edition invites you into something more demanding and rewarding. The first edition was more privatized. This edition invites engagement. I gave the original four stars once upon a time, this I give five. Christian readers will find a deep well of spiritual practice. Jewish readers may find a book from a Christian borrowing from their traditions off-putting, but will be put at ease by the care and sensitivity with which Winner engages their religious tradition. If you never read the original, skip it. This is the definitive edition.
Note: I received this book from Paraclete Press in exchange for my honest review.
Paraclete Press has just released the study edition of Mudhouse Sabbath. This is not a rewrite. The chapters have the same format as they did when Winner first conceived the book. In Winner's new introduction she notes a couple of places where she would now write it differently, especially in her failure to explore God's justice and her expectation of encountering Him as we work toward it (viii). For example, the practice of fasting and Sabbath have implications for justice in the Hebrew scriptures which Winner left unexplored in the earlier edition (ix-x). She also acknowledges her growing cautiousness about borrowing from Judaism as a Christian (urging humility and grace).
The difference between this edition and its earlier incarnation (other than the new introduction) is the study notes. Winner's words remain the same but the chapters are peppered with quotations, selections from Jewish authors and Hebrew scripture and discussion questions. While Winner's original was thoughtful and engaged Judaism, it was much more a personal reflection on how she as a Christian convert could still appropriate these practices as part of her own spiritual life. That was the charm of the book. The study edition helps Christian readers engage these concepts and practices more thoughtfully for themselves.
Personally I like this edition a lot. It is possible to treat this book like the original, reading the main body of text as an exhortation to beef up your personal spiritual practices. But a study edition invites you into something more demanding and rewarding. The first edition was more privatized. This edition invites engagement. I gave the original four stars once upon a time, this I give five. Christian readers will find a deep well of spiritual practice. Jewish readers may find a book from a Christian borrowing from their traditions off-putting, but will be put at ease by the care and sensitivity with which Winner engages their religious tradition. If you never read the original, skip it. This is the definitive edition.
Note: I received this book from Paraclete Press in exchange for my honest review.
January 5, 2016
What a fantastic book. Lauren Winner realizes that her Christian faith, while sustaining and wonderful, is missing something, and turns to her Jewish upbringing and the rituals and traditions found there to fill the gaps. Exploring traditions such as Sabbath, Kosher eating, hospitality, prayer, and fasting, Lauren explains how they are practiced by Jewish people, then ties it together with how Christians specifically can look at and potentially incorporate these rituals into their faith. The book is practical, informative, well-written, and full of take-aways that I'm looking forward to use in my own practice.
April 19, 2022
Peaceful little book - perfect for reading in snippets before bed. The author grew up Jewish and later converted to Christianity, and this book reflected on 11 practices of spirituality and how the traditions of one faith can impact and provide a framework for other faith practices. (Included mourning, Sabbath, doorposts, weddings, and more.) I found this a very accessible read, and really appreciated its notes on both religions, as my relationship to Judaism is complicated. (Dad's side of the family is Jewish, but he's an atheist, so I was not raised on religion until my Protestant mother decided we needed to get churched, and I didn't meet my small extended Jewish family until I was an adult. I would like to say I wish I had been able to experience more of my grandparents' faith for myself, but I'm not even confident Judaism was more than just tradition for them, rather than a true experience of faith. I'm having an existential crisis writing this review! Nothing I'm writing about my own life is is sounding right!)
February 25, 2024
Lauren Winner, professor of spirituality at Duke University, was raised as a Jew; converted to Orthodox Judaism during her early college years, and, finally to Christianity by the end of college. She received her M. Div. at Duke and was later ordained an Episcopal priest.
In the introduction of Mudhouse Sabbath, she writes: "Practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity...the essence of a thing is a doing, an action." This book is a compilation of actions incorporated within the Jewish faith that she believed the Jews did better than the Christians; certain practices she misses, e.g., shabbath (sabbath), avelut (mourning), and hiddur p'nai zaken (aging.) The latter, I am now experiencing.
Our church chose this book for an adult forum book read and discussion. Thus far it has yielded a great disucssion. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the Jewish faith or enhancing ones own faith, especially during the time of Lent.
In the introduction of Mudhouse Sabbath, she writes: "Practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity...the essence of a thing is a doing, an action." This book is a compilation of actions incorporated within the Jewish faith that she believed the Jews did better than the Christians; certain practices she misses, e.g., shabbath (sabbath), avelut (mourning), and hiddur p'nai zaken (aging.) The latter, I am now experiencing.
Our church chose this book for an adult forum book read and discussion. Thus far it has yielded a great disucssion. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the Jewish faith or enhancing ones own faith, especially during the time of Lent.
March 30, 2018
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I just adore Lauren's work. The way she writes is so simple and honest, and it endears me to her. I picked this up after having owned it for years because I've been studying Exodus and Mosaic laws go completely over my head. I loved these little vignettes about the similarities and differences in between Jewish traditions and Christian ones. It fascinates me to learn how a culture who also seeks to worship God with their lives has completely different ways of doing so, that are strict but beautiful. Particularly their emphasis on community, which I feel like we as Christians are finally starting to value in a meaningful way that truly affects how people feel about the Church.
I just adore Lauren's work. The way she writes is so simple and honest, and it endears me to her. I picked this up after having owned it for years because I've been studying Exodus and Mosaic laws go completely over my head. I loved these little vignettes about the similarities and differences in between Jewish traditions and Christian ones. It fascinates me to learn how a culture who also seeks to worship God with their lives has completely different ways of doing so, that are strict but beautiful. Particularly their emphasis on community, which I feel like we as Christians are finally starting to value in a meaningful way that truly affects how people feel about the Church.
September 10, 2021
Lauren Winter was an Orthodox Jew who converted to Christianity. In the book she talks about rites, rituals and customs from the Jewish faith that she feels enhance her Christian walk. I found this book most interesting and especially appreciated her chapter on grieving. This is something we don’t do well in our modern society of hustle and bustle. The year of grieving seems to have become non-existent. This chapter made me stop and think that I need to be more aware of those who have lost loved ones and give them opportunities to share their grief with me for weeks, even months, after their loved ones have past. What is impressive about all these rites, totals and customs is how they center the Jewish believer on God.
March 25, 2017
In Mudhouse Sabbath, you'll discover a rich picture of Christianity informed alongside a contemporary Jewish perspective. Having grown up Jewish, Lauren Winner is able to weave together Christian and Jewish practices, allowing each to inform the other in the context of everyday life. The book begins with Sabbath, but extends to include such topics as hospitality, aging, candle-lighting, doorposts and more...
November 27, 2020
I greatly appreciate the way she weaves the Jewish traditions she grew up with, with the new to her Christian faith and traditions she is living out. Jesus was a Jew, He was raised following and taking part in the Jewish rhythms, the more I learn about them the more connected to Him I feel.
August 28, 2022
A lovely, small book that seems helpful to keep handy. Lauren Winner’s work here is so accessible, I feel like I could pick this up anytime and experience a moment of reflection and gratitude for reading a few pages of it. Likewise, I can see someone who is interested in diving deeper in spiritual discipline taking this as a great entryway.
June 20, 2024
It would be easy to quickly breeze through this short series of essays on mindful spiritual practice, but you would be doing yourself a disservice if you did. Beautifully written and poignant, this book deserves to be savored and to let the author's words and ideas sink in to your soul.
June 24, 2021
This was an interesting, very short read that looked at some of the practices of judaism and what we can learn from them. I admittedly expected more of the book to be about the sabbath, which is why I picked it up, but while that chapter came up a bit short, a lot of other ones were fascinating enough to make up for it. I was particularly intrigued by the chapter on mourning and the role of the community in reentering society after a death.
February 25, 2021
A very small, personal writing about what Christians can learn from everyday Jewish practices.
October 29, 2007
I was curious about what this girl, raised Jewish in NY, currently living out Christian Faith in North Carolina. While I despise religion, and even Jesus says in Luke 15 that religion is more spiritually dangerous than overt immorality, I also find that adhering to certain dictates, rites is important, especially one like Sabbath day observance. "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath." It is for our own good that we have a day of complete focus on nothing. No errands, no shopping, no nothing, but community with others who are also celebrating the sabbath. This is the day of rest that our bodies need! Our minds need it, too. And with it, we are able to have community the way that we were intended.
Sorry, I diverted a bit, but this book definitely gets into that, but on the flip side, I find it easy for Lauren Winner to extol her virtues considering she was a Jew where it was easier to be a Jew and a Christian where it's easy to be a Christian! Try being a Christian in New York and a Jew in North Carolina!!
She just seems a little immature to be doling out reasoning for certain religious rites, I agree with her in maintaining some of those rites, but not with her reasons.
Sorry, I diverted a bit, but this book definitely gets into that, but on the flip side, I find it easy for Lauren Winner to extol her virtues considering she was a Jew where it was easier to be a Jew and a Christian where it's easy to be a Christian! Try being a Christian in New York and a Jew in North Carolina!!
She just seems a little immature to be doling out reasoning for certain religious rites, I agree with her in maintaining some of those rites, but not with her reasons.
May 9, 2010
As detailed in her memoir Girl Meets God (which is amazing and a must-read, in the world according to me), she was an Orthodox Jew before converting to Christianity. In this book, she talks about 11 specific things Jews do that would possibly enrich Christian lives.
For example, she says that much of Judaism is an action--specific prayers, for instance, and rituals--and there tend not to be counterparts for that in Christianity.
So she compares and contrasts things like weddings and the Sabbath/Shabbat and mourning and even eating.
I think the mourning chapter was my favorite (I know, right?) but it's so fascinating and, I think, appropriate the way the Jewish faith deals with mourning. (It's broken up into specific segments--the first week is the one most people have heard of, where the bereaved sit shiva and don't leave the house. But then there's another month where each Shabbat, they get increasingly involved back in their lives (specifically getting more involved in synagogue again). And then there's the rest of the first year of mourning. There are specific prayers and rituals, and I think it's just a really meaningful thing that makes a lot of sense. Mourning isn't something that's done by the time the funeral's over.
For example, she says that much of Judaism is an action--specific prayers, for instance, and rituals--and there tend not to be counterparts for that in Christianity.
So she compares and contrasts things like weddings and the Sabbath/Shabbat and mourning and even eating.
I think the mourning chapter was my favorite (I know, right?) but it's so fascinating and, I think, appropriate the way the Jewish faith deals with mourning. (It's broken up into specific segments--the first week is the one most people have heard of, where the bereaved sit shiva and don't leave the house. But then there's another month where each Shabbat, they get increasingly involved back in their lives (specifically getting more involved in synagogue again). And then there's the rest of the first year of mourning. There are specific prayers and rituals, and I think it's just a really meaningful thing that makes a lot of sense. Mourning isn't something that's done by the time the funeral's over.
February 18, 2018
Maybe a memoir, maybe a book review of Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren F. Winner
Honoring my body, it is safe to say, is something at which I have failed. Gratitude for this conglomeration of blood, bones, organs, skin, tissues that God bestowed upon me has not been high on my priorities. Indeed, it would be also safe to say that I was taught to use it but not pay too much attention to it. Mom taught me to call certain body parts by made-up words. No doubt she was continuing a tradition her mother taught her and who knows who taught grandmom? Thing is, I thought those words were the correct ones which led to an embarrassing incident in fifth grade when we girls were locked in the auditorium with black paper over the glass so the boys couldn’t see in. We were to watch The Movie, you see, and I was astounded to find the narrator using other words for Down There.
Up until fifth grade, I don’t recall actually thinking about my body too much though. I have one memory as I sat on the toilet to defecate, I leaned over to peer in between the rim of the toilet and the seat to watch my poop descend. Maybe I was six. But as I said, I never paid too much attention to it as long as my body did what I wanted it to do: run; walk; play; master the bicycle (what a challenge that was); leap over the hopscotch chalk; hide during hide and seek; seek during hide and seek; chase balls; chase the dog; chase the cat; attempt to climb the maple tree in the backyard until the All-Seeing Mom stopped me.
All this carelessness changed in fifth grade. My younger brother and I were transferred from the Roman Catholic private school to public school. In public school, we had gym class. We girls had to change our clothes in the auditorium with black paper over the glass so the boys couldn’t see in. Where the boys changed, I no longer recall. From thence we were lead to the playground upon which lay a bunch of sticks, mostly straight but with a foot on them. The other girls ran to grab a stick and the teacher had to tell me what to do. We are going to play field hockey, you see, which I had never played. Those girls knew how to play, knew the rules, and I just stood there. For the first time, my body didn’t know what to do.
I was a complete failure in gym class until freshman year in high school when we learned to play basketball. None of the other girls knew how to do that either and for the first time in gym class, I was equal to them. In fact, I excelled at basketball and despite being the second shortest kid in the school, I played center forward because I was really good at basketball and had an extremely reliable layup shot. The teacher, who was once our gym teacher for fifth and sixth grades until she was promoted to the high school wanted me on the school’s basketball team but by that time, I despised all sports. I had been miserable at them all until basketball and by then the habit of being failed by my body and me failing to respect my body was entrenched.
So it went for a number of decades. Oh, there were exceptions when I enjoyed having a body and enjoyed the body of another, but on the whole, the purpose of my body was to contain my brain and that I valued.
However, this habit of failing to honor my body has caught up with me and the end result of is a lymphedema issue which requires, among other treatments, that I take a diuretic. I am sure we all know what the natural result of that is and to tell you the truth, I resent having to interrupt my intellectual pursuits to honor my body and deal with the logical consequences of taking a diuretic.
One morning, though, I thought to do something different. Since I had to sit there, why not read? I have no idea what Ms. Lauren F. Winner would think, but I have been reading her book, Mudhouse Sabbath, during these moments. Ms. Winner is a convert from Orthodox Judaism to The Episcopal Church. Well, I betray my Episcopalian chauvinism. She is a convert to Christianity, of course, who chooses to be one within TEC.
In this book, she talks about various rituals and observances of Judaism, compares them to the teachings of Jesus and the early church, as she reflects upon their meaning on her life today. It is riveting. It grabs my attention, fascinating me while at the same time increasing my admiration and understanding of certain rituals and practices of Christianity, particularly within The Episcopal Church.
It happens to be Lent as I experience both the effects of failing to honor my body and as I read this book. Reading this book, perhaps more especially because of when I am reading it and what my body is doing as I read it, tells me I have been wrong to live ignoring my body. Christianity is, after all, an in-the-body religion. It is all about God being in a human body. God honored the human body enough to be born into one so who am I to simply inhabit and use mine? Christianity is such an in-and-of-the-body religion that we in spiritual form eat God’s body and drink God’s blood. Hard to beat that for honoring and respecting the body.
In every chapter, Ms. Winner discusses how in-the-body is Judaism and Christianity. The body is a part of every Jewish spiritual practice. The body becomes something much greater than the sum of those individual parts of blood, bones, organs, skin, tissues that God bestowed upon each of us. We use it not only when we eat but when we worship, mourn, are hospitable, pray, fast, age, celebrate weddings, and pass through doorways. Body, mind, soul, and spirit are a unified whole and I have been very wrong to think of mine only as a vehicle for hauling my brain from point A to B.
Thank you, Ms. Winner, for writing so deftly, in a manner that not only challenges me but unashamedly shares your own challenges. I’ve had a Salami Sandwich moment of my own.
Honoring my body, it is safe to say, is something at which I have failed. Gratitude for this conglomeration of blood, bones, organs, skin, tissues that God bestowed upon me has not been high on my priorities. Indeed, it would be also safe to say that I was taught to use it but not pay too much attention to it. Mom taught me to call certain body parts by made-up words. No doubt she was continuing a tradition her mother taught her and who knows who taught grandmom? Thing is, I thought those words were the correct ones which led to an embarrassing incident in fifth grade when we girls were locked in the auditorium with black paper over the glass so the boys couldn’t see in. We were to watch The Movie, you see, and I was astounded to find the narrator using other words for Down There.
Up until fifth grade, I don’t recall actually thinking about my body too much though. I have one memory as I sat on the toilet to defecate, I leaned over to peer in between the rim of the toilet and the seat to watch my poop descend. Maybe I was six. But as I said, I never paid too much attention to it as long as my body did what I wanted it to do: run; walk; play; master the bicycle (what a challenge that was); leap over the hopscotch chalk; hide during hide and seek; seek during hide and seek; chase balls; chase the dog; chase the cat; attempt to climb the maple tree in the backyard until the All-Seeing Mom stopped me.
All this carelessness changed in fifth grade. My younger brother and I were transferred from the Roman Catholic private school to public school. In public school, we had gym class. We girls had to change our clothes in the auditorium with black paper over the glass so the boys couldn’t see in. Where the boys changed, I no longer recall. From thence we were lead to the playground upon which lay a bunch of sticks, mostly straight but with a foot on them. The other girls ran to grab a stick and the teacher had to tell me what to do. We are going to play field hockey, you see, which I had never played. Those girls knew how to play, knew the rules, and I just stood there. For the first time, my body didn’t know what to do.
I was a complete failure in gym class until freshman year in high school when we learned to play basketball. None of the other girls knew how to do that either and for the first time in gym class, I was equal to them. In fact, I excelled at basketball and despite being the second shortest kid in the school, I played center forward because I was really good at basketball and had an extremely reliable layup shot. The teacher, who was once our gym teacher for fifth and sixth grades until she was promoted to the high school wanted me on the school’s basketball team but by that time, I despised all sports. I had been miserable at them all until basketball and by then the habit of being failed by my body and me failing to respect my body was entrenched.
So it went for a number of decades. Oh, there were exceptions when I enjoyed having a body and enjoyed the body of another, but on the whole, the purpose of my body was to contain my brain and that I valued.
However, this habit of failing to honor my body has caught up with me and the end result of is a lymphedema issue which requires, among other treatments, that I take a diuretic. I am sure we all know what the natural result of that is and to tell you the truth, I resent having to interrupt my intellectual pursuits to honor my body and deal with the logical consequences of taking a diuretic.
One morning, though, I thought to do something different. Since I had to sit there, why not read? I have no idea what Ms. Lauren F. Winner would think, but I have been reading her book, Mudhouse Sabbath, during these moments. Ms. Winner is a convert from Orthodox Judaism to The Episcopal Church. Well, I betray my Episcopalian chauvinism. She is a convert to Christianity, of course, who chooses to be one within TEC.
In this book, she talks about various rituals and observances of Judaism, compares them to the teachings of Jesus and the early church, as she reflects upon their meaning on her life today. It is riveting. It grabs my attention, fascinating me while at the same time increasing my admiration and understanding of certain rituals and practices of Christianity, particularly within The Episcopal Church.
It happens to be Lent as I experience both the effects of failing to honor my body and as I read this book. Reading this book, perhaps more especially because of when I am reading it and what my body is doing as I read it, tells me I have been wrong to live ignoring my body. Christianity is, after all, an in-the-body religion. It is all about God being in a human body. God honored the human body enough to be born into one so who am I to simply inhabit and use mine? Christianity is such an in-and-of-the-body religion that we in spiritual form eat God’s body and drink God’s blood. Hard to beat that for honoring and respecting the body.
In every chapter, Ms. Winner discusses how in-the-body is Judaism and Christianity. The body is a part of every Jewish spiritual practice. The body becomes something much greater than the sum of those individual parts of blood, bones, organs, skin, tissues that God bestowed upon each of us. We use it not only when we eat but when we worship, mourn, are hospitable, pray, fast, age, celebrate weddings, and pass through doorways. Body, mind, soul, and spirit are a unified whole and I have been very wrong to think of mine only as a vehicle for hauling my brain from point A to B.
Thank you, Ms. Winner, for writing so deftly, in a manner that not only challenges me but unashamedly shares your own challenges. I’ve had a Salami Sandwich moment of my own.
September 3, 2013
Lauren F. Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath is a great tune-up. We Christians putter along life's road with church and disciplines and spiritual gifts. We're so on autopilot that we don't hear our engines sputtering. What we need is to learn the heart behind our traditions. Winner's simple approach ~ showing through stories the reasons behind certain Jewish customs ~ effectively adjusts understanding to open the heart. Before I read this book, I thought my life was centered around God. I found out it wasn't. It needs tweaking. I have much to learn from Jewish traditions.
January 17, 2023
A great read I pick up from time to time. Easy to read a chapter here and a chapter there when you have a few spare minutes. Shares how her past faith (Judaism) affects the way she views and lives out Christianity. Which I think Christians could use a lot more of, seeing as our faith came from Judaism to begin with. Great for expanding the way you look at things like death, hospitality, and aging.
April 3, 2007
I really like Lauren Winner's integration of Judaism and Episcopalianism. She is somewhat rule-oriented, or at least "I'm not going to do this" oriented, which I find disturbing at times, but on the whole I found this little book rather encouraging. She's an academic and a Christian and she really cares about studying her faith(s). I love that there are notes at the back of the book.
March 11, 2008
Easy introduction into some of the spiritual disciplines practiced in the Old Testament and by modern Jews.
I heard Winner speak a few months ago at a conference, and I think I had too high of expectations of Mudhouse Sabbath after hearing her talk. I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read, but I think I was expecting a little something more.
I heard Winner speak a few months ago at a conference, and I think I had too high of expectations of Mudhouse Sabbath after hearing her talk. I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read, but I think I was expecting a little something more.
September 17, 2012
interesting read. i may read it again. Raised a Jew and now an Episcopal priest, she discusses Jewish ritual that would add so much to any spiritual life. Much to think about here and even to pit into practice.
June 2, 2016
Beautiful. A library read, it's now added on wish list for my own copy.
So many spiritually impacting and challenging thoughts of which I want to be reminded, not just for thought but for implementing.
Loved it.
So many spiritually impacting and challenging thoughts of which I want to be reminded, not just for thought but for implementing.
Loved it.
December 28, 2010
A concise, beautifully written explanation of the relevance of Jewish traditions both to Jews, and to Christians who are aware of and respect these origins
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