This book is the culmination of almost two decades of Jewish spiritual teaching, practice, and experimentation within the context of Congregation Beth Or of Miami, Florida. I founded Beth Or with the express purpose of providing myself with a think tank for Jewish mystical and spiritual exploration. I wanted a place where I would be free to learn and share what I learned with others who were hungry for a liberal Torah-based spiritual practice. It grew to become that and much more. Beth Or is my extended family.

The tenfold path of spiritual practice presented here has been tested by members of my congregation, as well as by hundreds of students and religious seekers who have participated in my services, seminars, and workshops over the years. Not all of them found it satisfying or compelling. Yet many did, enough to persuade me to continue my teaching and outreach. It is to them that I owe a great debt of gratitude. Without their love and support I would not have continued to travel the road of a congregational rabbi. Instead I would have privatized my spiritual search and turned inward for meaning and purpose. It would have been a less fulfilling path.

The impetus for this book, however, came not from my practice or my congregation, but from my friend and editor, Toinette Lippe of Bell Tower. It was Toinette who saw in my teaching a “primer for Jewish spirituality.” It was she who helped me shape my practice and ideas for publication. It was she who believed not only in me, but also in my teaching. For that I am eternally grateful. And while I bear sole responsibility for the accuracy and authenticity of the ideas presented here, I owe the clarity of what I write to her.

I owe you, my reader, a debt of thanks as well. There are thousands of books dealing with spiritual teaching and practice. The fact that you would take the time to read mine is humbling, to say the least. I hope you find in these ideas and practices a compass for your own spiritual journey toward awakening.

Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro