Invisible Lines of Connection: Sacred Stories of the Ordinary [Paperback]

What do ordinary stories about stamp collecting, Federal Express packages, Hershey bars with almonds, a child's blue hat and trout fishing have in common? In Kushner's hands, they turn into a road map showing how the mundane can become avenues for exploring the sacred connections in our lives. In each of 42 short chapters, Kushner develops a picture of something tactile-a bowl of peaches, a navigational computer-then tags it with a spiritual punch line. On wool pants: "Of course organized religion itches. It is trying to hold a crease in life." Instead of being devoid of meaning, everyday encounters resonate with symbolism, paths to uncovering a reverence for God, appreciation of family and acceptance of responsibility to others. A Massachusetts rabbi and author of eight books on spirituality, Kushner writes with compelling lyricism that's easy to read. But his final product is uneven. Sometimes, the connections between what we see and what we don't offer sparks of insight that produce a shiver of recognition. At other times, the chapters are lightweight, falling short of the spiritual edge Kushner tries to hone.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Rabbi Kushner's (The Book of Words, LJ 1/94) stories reveal epiphanies in the many circumstances of everyday life where we least expect to find them: in family arguments over the car, at a fruitstand selling peaches, in an old hand-knit baby's hat. With grace, humor, and wit, Kushner reflects on matters of family, friendship, work, and play; he shares with the reader his appreciation for the "invisible lines of connection"?the gifts and guises of everyday life that bind us to each other and to our divine source. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The stories in this wonderful collection are charmingly told by a gifted storyteller. Every story--poignant, playful, full of insight--attends to detail with an unwavering faith that, in the words of Rabbi Zaddok HaKohen of Lublin, "every detail, small or great, [is] from the Holy One." Although these are breathtakingly ordinary stories, readers will encounter the sacred in every one of them. Steve Schroeder --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

“Suppose there is something going on in the universe which is to ordinary, everyday reality as our unconcious is to our daily lives? Softly, but unmistakably guiding it. Most of the time, we are unaware of it. Yet, every now and then, on account of some ‘fluke,’ we are startled by the results of its presence. We realize we have been part of something with neither consciousness nor consent. It is so sweet—and then it is gone. You say, ‘But I don’t believe in God.’ And I ask, ‘What makes you think it matters to God?"’ —from Invisible Lines of Connection Lawrence Kushner, whose previous books have opened up new spiritual possibilities, now tells us stories in a new literary form. Through his everyday encounters with family, friends, colleagues and strangers, Kushner takes us deeply into our lives, finding flashes of spiritual insight in the process. Such otherwise ordinary moments as fighting with his children, shopping for bargain basement clothes, or just watching a movie are revealed to be touchstones for the sacred. This is a book where literature meets spirituality, where the sacred meets the ordinary, and, above all, where people of all faiths, all backgrounds can meet one another and themselves. Kushner ties together the stories of our lives into a roadmap showing how everything “ordinary” is supercharged with meaning—if we can just see it. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, one of the most widely read authors on Jewish spiritual life, is the Emanu-El Scholar at San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El and visiting professor of Jewish spirituality at the Graduate Theological Union. He is the bestselling author of such books for adults as Filling Words with Light: Hasidic and Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer; Honey from the Rock: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism; The Book of Letters: A Mystical Hebrew Alphabet; and The Way Into Jewish Mystical Tradition (all Jewish Lights), among many others. His children’s books include Because Nothing Looks Like God (with Karen Kushner) and In God’s Hands(with Gary Schmidt) (both Jewish Lights), among many others.

"Entertaining and instructive....A deeply human book and at the same time a compendium of instructions for seeing religious epiphanies and revelations, the ultimate game of hide-and-seek."-Thomas Moore, author of The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Lawrence Kushner, Rabbi at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, is widely regarded as one of the most creative Jewish theologians in America. He has lectured extensively on the themes of personal and institutional spiritual renewal. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.