The first-ever English translation of and commentary on The Book of Departure, which compiles the end-of-life stories of 42 holy men, sheds light on Jewish traditions about death, the afterlife and how to care for people in their final days. Modern insights drawn from these stories help caregivers make greater meaning out of end-of-life care.

Rabbi Joel H Baron is a hospice chaplain at Hebrew Senior Life (HSL) Hospice Care in Boston. Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow is the director of Spiritual Care at Hebrew SeniorLife. Rabbi Baron and Rabbi Paasche-Orlow are available to speak to your group or at your event.

The first-ever English translation of and commentary on The Book of Departure, which compiles the end-of-life stories of 42 holy men, sheds light on Jewish traditions about death, the afterlife and how to care for people in their final days. Modern insights drawn from these stories help caregivers make greater meaning out of end-of-life care.

Originally published in 1994, Jewish Views of the Afterlife is a classic study of ideas of afterlife and postmortem survival in Jewish tradition and mysticism. As both a scholar and pastoral counselor, Raphael guides the reader through 4,000 years of Jewish thought on the afterlife by investigating pertinent sacred texts produced in each era. Through a compilation of ideas found in the Bible, Apocrypha, rabbinic literature, medieval philosophy, medieval Midrash, Kabbalah, Hasidism and Yiddish literature, the reader learns how Judaism conceived of the fate of the individual after death throughout Jewish history. In addition, this book explores the implications of Jewish afterlife beliefs for a renewed understanding of traditional rituals of funeral, burial, shiva, kaddish and more. This newly released twenty-fifth anniversary edition presents new material on little-known Jewish mystical teachings on reincarnation, a chapter on “Spirits, Ghosts and Dybbuks in Yiddish Literature”, and a foreword by the renowned scholar of Jewish mysticism, Rabbi Arthur Green. Both historical and contemporary, this book provides a rich resource for scholars and laypeople and for teachers and students and makes an important Jewish contribution to the growing contemporary psychology of death and dying.

This book delves into creative renditions of key aspects of Jewish Mysticism in Latin American literature, film, and art from the perspective of literary and cultural studies. It introduces the work of Latin American authors and artists who have been inspired by Jewish Mysticism from the 1960s to the present focusing on representations of dybbuks (transmigratory souls), the presence of Eros as part of the experience of mystical prayer, reformulations of Zoharic fables, and the search for Tikkun Olam (cosmic repair), among other key topics of Jewish Mysticism. The purpose of this book is to open up these aspects of their work to a broad audience who may or may not be familiar with Jewish Mysticism.

Stepping Stones to a Higher Vision examines the development of religious consciousness from religion to spirituality to mysticism. This developmental path imaginatively described as "stepping stones" in the title of the book and as "elevators of religion" in chapter one, has its rewards but also its dangers and pitfalls. Intended for the non-specialist lay person interested in religion, as well as the scholar, the book focuses on Jewish tradition and its sources (Hebrew Bible, Talmud-Midrash, and Kabbalah), but in a broad cross-cultural interdisciplinary context. Ritual, prayer, including meditation and contemplation, ethics and morality, religious leadership, and the afterlife are analyzed in the context of sociology, science, and the history of religion.

This companion in sorrow offers compassionate guidance for putting the insights of Judaism into practice and finding new strength in ancient traditions. Beloved and respected spiritual leaders from across the Jewish denominational spectrum share insights from their experience, Jewish tradition and their personal encounters with grief and healing.