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The Receiving: Reclaiming Jewish Women's Wisdom Kindle Edition

by Tirzah Firestone (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 40 ratings
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A highly respected rabbi, therapist, and teacher restores women's spiritual lineage to Judaism and empowers women to reclaim their rightful connection to Jewish teachings, Kabbalah, and to their own spiritual wisdom.

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  1. Print length
    292 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    HarperOne
  5. Publication date
    October 13, 2009
  6. File size
    2799 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The astonishing stories of seven remarkable but almost unknown Jewish women form the centerpiece of this treatise on feminine spirituality. Mystics, sages, prayer leaders and miracle workers, the women lived in the second to 20th centuries, in countries from Germany to Kurdistan. Their recorded legacies survived precisely because they bypassed feminine norms. Firestone, a rabbi and psychotherapist, chose the women based on their abilities to bring life into balance, uniting opposites (practical/spiritual; purpose/action) to achieve wholeness. Each woman's story serves further as a springboard for exploring an aspect of Kabbalah, which literally means "the receiving." Wholeness, says Firestone, is "alive" in this mystical Jewish path that "not only acknowledges the feminine aspects of life, but also the fact that neither the human world nor God can be whole without the marriage of its masculine and feminine parts." To help contemporary women apply the mystical approach to their lives today, she includes practical teachings and techniques. Firestone argues for being connected to "one's fire and sensual wisdom," claiming that the subordination of the body to the spirit has created an "unhealed schism" and a disparagement of women. She admits beginning the book in anger at the ways women have been "devalued and omitted," but as she immersed herself in the women's lives, she says, she found their "determination and positive attitude contagious." Though Firestone's plea for wholeness can become repetitious, she writes convincingly of the power of the feminine to enrich and uplift the world.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Deploring the fact that Jewish history books and encyclopedias largely ignore the role of women, Rabbi Firestone challenges this inequity. The word receiving is the literal translation of the Hebrew word kabbalah, and Firestone focuses on the universal and psychological teaching within Jewish mysticism. The author has selected seven historical holy women whose chronology ranges from the second to the twentieth century. Each represents a different aspect of feminine wisdom, and each "guides us from across the ages by means of her own life story, to help modern women connect with crucial aspects of feminine spirituality." It is the author's intention to reconstruct the feminine legacy she believes has been lost. No prior knowledge of Jewish mysticism or of Jewish tradition is necessary to benefit from Firestone's incisive and thought-provoking work. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000OI0EF4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperOne (October 13, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2799 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 40 ratings

About the author

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Tirzah Firestone

Tirzah Firestone

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Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone is a Jungian psychotherapist, author, and a spiritual leader in the international Jewish Renewal movement. Widely known for her work on Jewish feminism and the modern applications of Jewish mystical wisdom, Firestone teaches nationally on ancestral healing and the common boundary between ancient wisdom traditions and modern psychology.

Dr. Firestone's publications include With Roots in Heaven: One Woman's Passionate Journey into the Heart of Her Faith (Plume,1999), The Receiving: Reclaiming Jewish Women’s Wisdom (Harper San Francisco, 2003), Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma (Monkfish Press, 2019). Drawing from neuroscience, depth psychology, and ancient Jewish sources, her latest work, Wounds into Wisdom, offers a roadmap for people of all backgrounds who wish to break free from limiting historical narratives, seize their power, and transform the future. Wounds into Wisdom received the 2019 Nautilus Gold Award in Psychology. Rabbi Firestone lives with her husband David in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Follow Rabbi Firestone at www.tirzahfirestone.com, on Instagram and Twitter @tirzahfire, and at http://facebook.com/tirzahfire.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
40 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Stefanie M.
5.0 out of 5 stars So deep and timely
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2024
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I love the way the author brings these women back to life! Their stories need to be shared, their voices cry out to be heard. It is time for the feminine to rise.

It is not a fast read, which was great. It forced me to slowly absorb the wisdom in each story, chapter and section.

So good. Thank you Tirzah!
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FireFly
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2022
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I'd rate this book among my favorites. Although the chapters are long, there is so much wisdom in the pages! I've learned many things about myself, the history of why women are treated the way they have been for so long, etc. This book is a definite aid to soul healing, in my opinion.
2 people found this helpful
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Lisa C. Tener
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring yet somewhat troubling
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2020
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It was exciting to hear about some of the Jewish Women mystics the author researched. It was disappointing to realize a) how little of their own writing (usually none) survived) and how they were often marginalized, with one or two exceptions. However, it did help me connect a bit with my roots. And I'm glad I read it.
4 people found this helpful
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K. Salinger
5.0 out of 5 stars Superior book on Kabbalah with a Womanist perspective. Great for women's spirituality readers or groups
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2015
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This is a really great discussion/interpretation of Kabbalah from a Womanist perspective (I avoid saying Feminist as the word has many connotations now days that aren't quite right for the meaning I hope to convey). Much of the work of controversial anthropologists such as M. Gimbutas is discussed as well as much on Shekinah, early Jewish traditions involving Asherah and other aspects of the religion that originally had a feminine meaning that have over time been purposely or inadvertently converted to masculine or neuter.

I recommend this book to any woman who is interested in Kabbalah or women's spirituality but looking for material without a new-age, wiccan, or patriarchal interpretation.
11 people found this helpful
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bj
5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
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i love this book! i was not very familiar with Judaism and was having difficulty finding real women in the Kabbalah. But Rabbi Firestone presented such a beautiful path for women (and men) to enter into the study by following historical visionary Jewish women. you will become a fan too
3 people found this helpful
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S. Elkins
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've read.
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2014
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It's a book that gives me new faith and offers great perspectives in the world and amazing history of Jewish women. I highly recommend this book for women over 30, particularly if you've struggled with how you believe women have been treated through generations of masculine leadership of the Jewish people. It is one of the very few books I've read multiple times - along with The Red Tent, The Tipping Point, and Anya Seton's Green Darkness.
8 people found this helpful
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Alberta Eaton
5.0 out of 5 stars but are more than halfway and love it. I have always wondered what happened to ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2015
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Not yet finished with the book, but are more than halfway and love it. I have always wondered what happened to the Divine Feminine, and this book is very revealing. I would recommend it for anyone, but especially those who have studied some Kabbalah, Judaism or ancient goddess religions and women in particular.
5 people found this helpful
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Julian M Blumenthal
5.0 out of 5 stars Making Kabbalah accessible
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2009
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This is an excellent book for learning about Kabbalah and the unknown (for most part) great Jewish women religious leaders of the past. Each woman history is used to set up one of Kabbalah's teaching. I come from a Jewish background which questioned Kabbalah and its mystic element. After reading this book, the differences between these two backgrounds were significantly lessen. It makes Kabbalah teachings accessible and connects it to day to day life.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rose McD
5.0 out of 5 stars Casual biography with comments here and there about Kabballah.
Reviewed in Brazil on July 1, 2015
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Almost a kind of a biography written in casual way where she adds comments here and there about kabballah and Jewish lifestyle. Agreeable reading. You just don't get bored.
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