Israel--A Spiritual Travel Guide: A Companion for the Modern Jewish Pilgrim

by Lawrence A. Hoffman

Be spiritually prepared for your journey in Israel.

The only travel guide to Israel that will help you to prepare spiritually for your visit. Combining, in quick reference format, ancient blessings, medieval prayers, biblical references, and modern poetry, it helps today's pilgrim tap into the deep spiritual meaning of the ancient--and modern--sites of the Holy Land. For each of 25 major tourist destinations--from the Western Wall to Masada to a kibbutz in the Galilee--it gives guidance in sharply focused, four-step sections:



Anticipation: To read in advance. Information to help orient you in the site's historical context.

Approach: To read on the way there. Readings from traditional and modern sources to orient you in the site's spiritual context.
Acknowledgment: To read at the site. A prayer or blessing to integrate the experience into your spiritual consciousness.
Afterthought: Journaling space for writing your own thoughts and impressions.
More than a guidebook: It is a spiritual map of the Holy Land.

Genres: Travel, Jewish, Judaism, Israel, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Dr. Lawrence A. Hoffman was ordained as a rabbi in 1969, received his Ph.D. in 1973, and has taught since then at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, in New York. From 1984 to 1987, he directed its School of Sacred Music as well. In 2003, he was named the first Barbara and Stephen Friedman Professor of Liturgy, Worship and Ritual. He teaches classes in liturgy, ritual, spirituality, theology and synagogue leadership. For almost forty years, he has combined research, teaching, and a passion for the spiritual renewal of North American Judaism.

Rabbi Hoffman has written or edited over forty books, including My People's Prayer Book (Jewish Lights Publishing), a ten-volume edition of the Siddur with modern commentaries, which was named a National Jewish Book Award winner for 2007. His Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life (Jewish Lights Publishing) and his Art of Public Prayer (Skylight Paths) are widely used by churches and synagogues as guides to organizational visioning and liturgical renewal. In 2011, he received a second National Jewish Book Award for co-authoring Sacred Strategies: Transforming Synagogues from Functional to Visionary (Alban Institute).

His articles, both popular and scholarly, have appeared in eight languages and four continents, and include contributions to such encyclopedias as The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion, The Oxford Dictionary of Religion, The Encyclopedia of Judaism and The Encyclopedia of Religion in America. He syndicates a regular column which appears, among other places, in The Jewish Week and The Jewish Times; and writes a blog entitled "Life and a Little Liturgy."

For many years, Rabbi Hoffman served as visiting professor of the University of Notre Dame, and has lectured at such places as the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the University of Southern California, and the Yale Divinity School.

In 1990, Dr. Hoffman was selected by the United States Navy as a member of a three-person design team, charged with developing a continuing education course on worship for chaplains. He is a past-president of the North American Academy of Liturgy, the professional and academic organization for liturgists, and in January 2004, received that organization's annual Berakhah Award, for outstanding lifetime contributions to his field.

In 1994, he co-founded "Synagogue 2000," a trans-denominational project to envision the ideal synagogue "as moral and spiritual center" for the 21st century. As Synagogue 3000, it has launched Next Dor, a national initiative to engage the next generation through a relational approach featuring strong communities with transformed synagogues at their center.

He founded and is Academic Coordinator of the Tisch Fellowship Program.

Reviews

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was talking about my upcoming trip to Israel with a dear friend who gave me the same advice that his wife had given him, 'From what you're describing you want from this trip, you're not a tourist. You're a pilgrim.' And then he recommended this book. I was a bit worried at first because I've read LOTS of Rabbi L. Hoffman's work and in general can take it or leave it. Ths book was the exception, and I believe his best work. This is an excellent example of using knowledge of Torah, along with verses from Talmud and other ancient texts to create snippets of liturgy for places where specific liturgy doesn't yet exist and needs to. Hoffman's use of modern poetry (including quotes from speeches by David Ben-Gurion, the Declaration of General Allenby, and poetry from Yehudah Amichai, to name a few) takes the modern (Jewish!) pilgrim on a trip through space and time. Although I read this about a week before my trip, I'll definitely be using some of his suggestions during my travel. My trip is better for having read this first. Recommended.

[Steven R. Edelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. The notations and prayers are going to be useful. This will be my first trip to Israel. My Grandfather on my mothers side was the only other family member to have gone. He stayed for a year, but could not, at the time, handle the difficulty with installing a landline phone in his Netanyah apartment. I anticipate that I will love the tour because the tour group has been in business since 1980. The trip is for adults only, and is primarily for Jewish people. I was widowed on December 4, 2016 after 44 plus years of marriage, and my wife did not want to visit Israel. The book just made me want to go more. I am so looking forward to it, and have enhanced my interest by reading the book. Any Jewish person should read it before they go and take it with them.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice balance for the very secular trip I took. As the author writes, your tour guides will cover way more history than you ever wanted, and this book will help you think about the holiness of the land.

I didn't at all use this book as instructed, there was just no way I could have dragged the book out to read from on site even if I'd wanted to, but I'm glad I brought it along. Even with our ridiculous schedule it was easy to find a few minutes for the 1-2 page readings about each place. I was actually very impressed by the selections - recovered ancient texts and modern poetry alongside more traditional blessings. Good advice on how to make your own blessings and why this might be controversial.

Not tooo offensively zionistic. I rolled my eyes at the prayer "for seeing new homes in Israel's wasteland" but was mollified by the inclusion of a prayer of peace "for a place of muslim or christian worship."

[David Rubenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not a guide to Israel--it is a spiritual companion for someone who is touring the country, as a pilgrim. Various locations in Israel are briefly described, followed by some ancient and/or modern spiritual texts. My favorite text was the modern poem "Tourists" by Yehuda Amichai. Touring the country is always fascinating--this book can give your experience a much deeper meaning.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have just returned from a trip to Israel, and before I left, a dear Rabbi friend loaned me this book. I sat down and read through it today, remembering the spaces that I saw, the history, and the sacred places.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is coming along with me on my trip to Israel. I have found it very helpful to focus my thoughts about the experience I will be having.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent way to prep for a great trip to Israel - more than a guide book!