Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler
Rabbi Joseph Meszler
Temple Sinai
25 Canton Street
Sharon, MA 02067
United States
ph: 781-784-6081
fax: 781-784-2616
jmeszler
Publications
Rabbi Meszler is a noted educator in Jewish adult education, recognized for his ability to connect the importance of Jewish tradition with everyday life. His publications are accessible to all.
Rabbi Meszler has spoken extensively to Jewish, Christian, and other groups seeking to deepen their knowledge of their spiritual roots and envision an inclusive, thoughtful, and responsible future.
Browse through these publications:
Facing Illness, Finding God
How Judaism Can Help You and Caregivers Cope
When Body or Spirit Fails
by Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler
Available from Jewish Lights, Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble
Find spiritual strength for healing in the wisdom of Jewish tradition.
Whether you are facing illness yourself, serving as a caregiver, providing pastoral care, or simply wondering where God is when we get sick, the teachings and wisdom of Jewish tradition can help you cope with the difficulties of illness and infirmity.
With a format designed to accommodate the stressful life of people dealing with illness, Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler helps you focus on spiritual well-being as an essential aspect of physical healing and wholeness. He provides comfort and inspiration to help you maintain personal balance and family harmony amid the fear, pain, and chaos of illness. Combining the stories of real people with insights from Jewish sources, he offers practical advice and spiritual guidance for:
• Reaching inward to the soul when the body fails
• Reaching outward to provide strength, comfort, and compassion to the ill or infirm
• Reaching upward to God through prayer and daily gratitude
“Deeply personal and professionally inspiring.… Moving and yet practical … helps us reach into our unique inner resources, out to our friends and community, and up to the ultimate Source of Healing and Wholeness.”
—Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, JBFCS/National Center for Jewish Healing; editor, Healing of Soul, Healing of Body: Spiritual Leaders Unfold the Strength & Solace in Psalms
“A rich resource for congregational bikkur cholim and caring committees, rabbis and chaplains, and anyone who has ever felt alone…. Speaks to our human need for relationship with God and with each other. A wonderful gift.”
—Rabbi Ruth Alpers, Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor, Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati
“Very accessible ... provides knowing companionship for those living with illness and the people who care for them. Reflecting on many dimensions of the experience of illness, he shares a universally human as well as a particularly Jewish wisdom.”
—Nancy Flam, co-director of programs, Institute for Jewish Spirituality
“Reach out to others. Reach out to God. Reach inside yourself. Then reach for this book. In it, you will find healing and hope.”
—Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky, author, Jewish Paths toward Healing and Wholeness: A Personal Guide to Dealing with Suffering
“Offers essential help … provides practical tools and wisdom to journey through pain toward healing, love, and spiritual strength.”
—Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz, author, Healing from Despair: Choosing Wholeness in a Broken World
“A wonderful book of hope and encouragement…. Provides comfort to all who struggle with issues of frailty and disability and their carers. Written in small vignette style with additional resources, it offers rich material for reflection.”
—Marty Richards, author, Caresharing: A Reciprocal Approach to Caregiving and Care Receiving in the Complexities of Aging, Illness or Disability
“Calls us to read as carefully as [Rabbi Meszler’s] own story urges us to listen to people in distress…. Demystifies illness, and defines us all as human: possessed of infinite hope even as we are finite in our daily achievements.”
—Rabbi William Cutter, director emeritus, Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion; editor, Healing and the Jewish Imagination: Spiritual and Practical Perspectives on Judaism and Health
A Man's Responsibility:
a Jewish Guide to Being a Son, a Partner in Marriage,
a Father, and a Community LeaderWhat is Jewish men’s spirituality?
In today’s world, is it necessary?A provocative look at how a new generation of Jewish men can grow spiritually, and in doing so, strengthen the intangible bonds of family, love, duty, and truth which ultimately lead to God. It unearths the male stereotypes that exist in Judaism and color our expectations for what it means to be a Jewish man in today’s world. It examines Jewish sources that reveal the traditional life cycle of a man—from son to partner in marriage to father—and in doing so uncovers the ideals that define being a Jewish man. It also views Jewish men within the context of a sacred community and what that means for the sacred obligations of manhood.————————————————————————————————“An insightful contemporary explication that speaks to the modern man.”—Rabbi Charles Simon, executive director, Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs“Combining biblical tales, Talmudic precepts, Jungian observations, cogent references from contemporary writers, and his own personal stories and reflections … it succeeds in fashioning a very accessible, and very valuable, guide for Jewish men grappling with key relationships in their life’s journey.”—Doug Barden, executive director, Men of Reform Judaism“Opens up an important conversation on gender issues that both men and women need to address.”—Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, rabbinic director, Kolel: Adult Center for Liberal Jewish Learning; editor, New Jewish Feminism: Probing the Past, Forging the Future“Warm and accessible … invites self-reflection, and maps a contemporary Jewish path for the journey from boy to man to mensch.”—Rabbi David A. Teutsch, author, Spiritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy“A thoughtful, engaging reflection on a central question of our time: what does it mean to be a mature, responsible Jewish man in the contemporary world? Provides helpful answers without being overly prescriptive. Like having a helpful friend in your corner.”—Sam Osherson, PhD, psychologist; author, Finding our Fathers“Beautifully written … a wonderful combination of scholarship and personal insight that will surely help draw Jewish men back to the center of Jewish life and striving.”—Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, author, Searching for My Brothers: Jewish Men in a Gentile World; editor, A Dream of Zion: American Jews Reflect on Why Israel Matters to ThemALSO, SEE RABBI MESZLER'S ARTICLES IN THESE BOOKS:
Edited by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, foreword by Anita Diamant
The Modern Men’s Torah Commentary :New Insights from Jewish Men on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions
“Hear O Israel, the Eternal is Our God, the Eternal is One!”
There is arguably no more important statement in Judaism than the Sh’ma. Its words—calling us to hear, to listen, to pay attention—defy direct translation and have meant different things throughout history.
In a deeply personal exploration of this sacred proclamation, command and prayer, Rabbi Joseph Meszler delves into the spiritual history of the Sh’ma, inspiring you to claim your own personal meaning in these enduring words.
By examining how the Sh’ma has been commented upon by ancient sages and contemporary thinkers, he opens the doors between each generation that has found a different dimension of truth in the Sh’ma.
Each chapter focuses on a major historical figure and includes a sacred story, an exploration into the story’s many meanings and a suggestion for a new way of “hearing” the voice in the story.
Experience the Sh’ma through the lives of:
• Moses—Fighting Idolatry
• Akiba ben Joseph—The Sages Offer Their Lives
• Saadia Gaon—Proving the One
• Moses Maimonides—Nothing Like God
• Haim Vital—Communing with the One
• Moses Haim Luzzatto— “Master of the Universe”
• Abraham Isaac Kook—A Nation Reborn
• Leo Baeck—One Moral Standard
• Abraham Joshua Heschel—A Prophecy: “One World or No World”
Download a copy of the Witnesses to the One Discussion Guide
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“Insightful and engaging…. A creative and thoughtful exploration of the spiritual depth contained in this most familiar and beloved reflection of Jewish belief.”
—Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, editor, My People’s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries series
“An inspiring meditation on the Sh’ma, filled with the resonances of Jewish history and thought.… Will arouse readers to experience new dimensions of God’s presence.”
—Professor Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College
“A thoughtful reading of Judaism and its history through the prism of this single verse. Inspiring.”
—Dr. Arthur Green, author, Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology
“A fine presentation of our most important statement of faith.… Confronts the deepest issues of life in the mirror of the Sh’ma.”
—Tamar Frankiel, PhD, coauthor, Entering the Temple of Dreams: Jewish Prayers, Movements and Meditations for the End of the Day
“An illuminating study of the life and thought of the pillars of Jewish spirituality…. Rabbi Meszler has a great deal to teach us and he does it very well.”
—Dr. Neil Gillman, Aaron Rabinowitz and Simon H. Rifkind Professor of Jewish Philosophy, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; author, Traces of God: Seeing God in Torah, History and Everyday Life
“A beautifully written tapestry of story, history and spirit. With each chapter we are drawn into the magical awareness of our tradition.”
—Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar, author, Our Dance with God: Finding Prayer, Perspective and Meaning in the Stories of Our Lives
Gifts for the Poor:
Moses Maimonides' Treatise on Tzedakah
Annotated Translation and Introduction by Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler
(The College of William and Mary)
Download now: Click now
to download a free copy of
Gifts to the Poor (PDF, 605kb)
The College of William and Mary Department of Religion released this Hebrew-English annotated translation of Moses Maimonides' treatise on tzedakah, Gifts for the Poor. This section of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah also describes the philosophy and history of Jewish giving. Beginning with legislation found in the Torah, Maimonides traces the origins of Jewish philanthropy from the individual Israelite farmer to Maimonides' contemporary scene where tzedakah had become a communal obligation.
The translator's introduction to the treatise compares Maimonides' rationale for giving tzedakah to other rabbinic literature as well as his own statements in the Guide of the Perplexed. Rather than see tzedakah as a commandment to be fulfilled for a divine reward, as described by earlier Jewish thinkers, Maimonides views giving tzedakah as a way of ennobling the giver on a path of virtue.
Rabbi Joseph Meszler
Temple Sinai
25 Canton Street
Sharon, MA 02067
United States
ph: 781-784-6081
fax: 781-784-2616
jmeszler
