An insightful and intimate look at the end of life.
A rabbi reflects on death and dying.
Leder, senior rabbi at the well-known Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, shares insights on the end of life, drawing on both pastoral and personal experiences. Having recently lost his father to Alzheimer’s, the author has deepened his thought on the subject. “Sure, I had seen a lot of loss, but vicariously, one degree removed from the truth,” he writes in a refreshingly candid passage. “I was an experienced rabbi well-schooled in the craft of death. But my dad was right—I was full of shit.” The text is a solid mixture of advice, reflection, and catharsis. He begins with a reassurance for readers: “When someone is really, truly dying, there is no fear, only peace.” With that in mind, he urges friends and family to be present for their loved one and to remind them that there is no unfinished business and that survivors will be OK. Regarding end-of-life care, Leder takes a pragmatic approach to decision-making and even gives a measured nod of approval to assisted suicide, at least where it is legal. In the case of those who die young or suddenly, the author notes that theirs is “a death like all others—perfect sleep. The deepest peace.” Later, he points out that “a body is not a person. It is a vessel. There is so much more to us than our physical presence.” Throughout the book, Leder weaves in the story of his father’s death and often distinguishes between his job as a rabbi and his role as a son, seeking to investigate the complexities of the experience. Of course, seeing his once-strong father slowly decline, ending his days unable to speak and wheelchair-bound, affected the author deeply. The process helped him round out his understanding of death after years of helping others through the process.
An insightful and intimate look at the end of life.Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-18755-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Avery
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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