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In the Narrow Places: Daily Inspiration for the Three Weeks
Dr. Erica Brown is one of the foremost Jewish educators of our time. In her latest book, In the Narrow Places, she brings her extraordinary teaching skills to the subject of the Three Weeks, the period of mourning commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. For each day of the Three Weeks, she presents a short, inspirational essay based on biblical texts followed by a kavana, a spiritual focus that involves reflection, imagination or action to transform these somber days of remembrance into a period of introspection and spiritual growth. Alongside the traditional prophecies of doom and consolation traditionally read during the Three Weeks, In the Narrow Places offers a new process for rebuilding and a re-affirmation of hope.
131 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2011
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37 people want to read
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Erica Brown
66 books21 followersLibrarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 20, 2017
While I do not generally like this sort of daily inspiration work, I will admit that The Thee Weeks is one of the few times in any religious tradition in which an entire people deliberately descends into a sort of artificial depression long enough to potentially understand what those who are struggling with clinical major depression go through, thus building not only compassion and sympathy but also the empathy to see where that person really is.
January 30, 2020
he best part of this book is the introductory essay, in which Brown tells us why we should mourn the loss of the Temple and pay attention to the Tisha'b'Av fast and the preceding three weeks (in which observant Jews follow a variety of mourning rituals). She points out that unlike other Jewish holy days, this period is retrospective, focusing on the past and thus supplying a missing element in a Jewish calendar generally oriented towards the present and future. While other holy days focus on joy, this period reminds us of the reality of suffering and failure. Brown also reminds us what we lost when we lost the Temple- a geographical center, a place of beauty when Jews were rooted. To be sure, we gained something over time from having an infinitely portable Torah and tradition-but just as a grownup can wish to have his/her own life and still mourn the destruction of a parental home and the memories it contained, we can still mourn the loss of this missing element in our lives.
After the introduction, Brown writes a short essay for each day of the three-week period. At the end of each essay, she suggests a project for the day. Some of these projects are the sort of thing that can be done in a few minutes by someone going through the book day-by-day (which I suspect is what Brown intended readers to do). But others require considerable thought and planning, and are thus not useful unless you read the book a month or so earlier and planned out a schedule in advance.
After the introduction, Brown writes a short essay for each day of the three-week period. At the end of each essay, she suggests a project for the day. Some of these projects are the sort of thing that can be done in a few minutes by someone going through the book day-by-day (which I suspect is what Brown intended readers to do). But others require considerable thought and planning, and are thus not useful unless you read the book a month or so earlier and planned out a schedule in advance.
July 25, 2021
I enjoyed this book greatly, although it especially reminded me of how different I seem to be from many other Jews.
August 8, 2011
A series of essays that are meant to be read daily during the 3 weeks before Tish B'Av.
I found them very interesting. It is a struggle to relate to the destruction of the Temple but these really did talk alot about lose, mourning and the long term effects of the events on Jewish life as we know it.
I found them very interesting. It is a struggle to relate to the destruction of the Temple but these really did talk alot about lose, mourning and the long term effects of the events on Jewish life as we know it.
August 5, 2014
This is a good book to read during the three week period leading up to Tisha B'Av. The author provides daily chapters that provide insights on key scriptural passages that end in daily meditations to help the reader improve relationships and expand spirituality. I hope to read this book again during the same time of year.
August 9, 2019
Great reading building up to Tisha B Av
The introduction was really good and set the stage for the three weeks of getting ready for Tish B Ab . She explained the mind set of remembering the destruction of the temples.
The introduction was really good and set the stage for the three weeks of getting ready for Tish B Ab . She explained the mind set of remembering the destruction of the temples.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews