Mudhouse Sabbath

Lauren Winner converted from Judaism to Christianity in college, but a few years later, though very satisfied with her choice of religion, she realized that there were aspects of the Jewish religious and spiritual experience that she valued and wanted to incorporate back into her spiritual life. In this touching and heartfelt book the author describes aspects of the Jewish spiritual experience with respect to prayer, the sabbath, fasting, weddings, aging, hospitality, and other spiritual and life experiences, that she decides to incorporate into her spirituality and her everyday life. It does seem that she likes the discipline of Judaism, and also finds that it resonates with her own sense of self and spirituality. When described, many of the Jewish practices make perfect sense, such as the strong sense of community that many Jewish rites, like weddings, focus on. It is fascinating to see how a very devout person can merge aspects of two religions to realize a spiritual approach that is fulfilling to her even as she continues to identify more strongly with one of those religions. Winner explains aspects of Jewish worship and spiritual practice that dovetail quite nicely with Christian practices and shows that different faiths can learn from each other and each come to a greater spiritual satisfaction through understanding of each other’s practices. Written in a warm and engaging style, this book and the many lessons in acceptance and inclusion it provides, opens readers’ eyes to the commonalities and the complementary ways of worship and spirituality between two of the world’s major religions. I learned a lot about both Christianity and Judaism from this book.