With Roots in Heaven: One Woman's Passionate Journey Into the Heart of Her Faith

by Tirzah Firestone

Book Overview

The author recounts how, after growing up in a strictly Orthodox rabbinical family, she rejected Judaism, searching for spiritual meaning in other traditions, before returning to her Jewish roots and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452278856
• ISBN13: 9780452278851
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Really Good Book for Returnees to Judaism

I was a little taken aback by some of the caustic reviews of Rabbi Firestone's book, claiming that it was "self-centered" and "narcissistic." Well, duoh, folks --- it's a memoir! What else would it be about other than the author? Also, some of the reviewers seem to be offended by Rabbi Firestone's portrayal of the dark side of Orthodoxy and make questionable claims about there being lots of tolerance for different viewpoints in the Orthodox community. Based on my own experience --- my mother ran away from a dysfunctional Orthodox home --- I can attest to the truthfulness of Rabbi Firestone's depiction of the dark side of Orthodoxy. Actually I thought it was a very courageous book. In an effort to help other people returning to Judaism, Rabbi Firestone unsparingly described her stormy journey from Orthodoxy to the New Age to marriage with a Christian minister to ordination as a Renewal rabbi with humor, tolerance, and kindness, using her own story as a way to do compassionate outreach to other Jews with dysfunctional families, intermarriages, flight from Orthodoxy, and alienation from Judaism. Far from trying to aggrandize herself, Rabbi Firestone narrated many stories about her spiritual journey that someone more pompous or reputation-oriented would have gladly buried. There is a deep humility in sharing some of your worst stories in hopes that they might help others. I have met Rabbi Firestone. She is not a perfect person --- are any of us? --- but the reviews questioning her sincerity and honesty are way, way, way out of line. She is a deeply spiritual person, with a strong sense of humor and warmth. I got the impression of a very human, but learned, spiritual and caring woman who still has many journeys ahead of her. Admittedly, as a Renewal lay leader I would be biased towards Rabbi Firestone. But there are some Renewal books and teachers who do not "spark" me at all, and I don't post reviews about them, positive or negative. I have shared Rabbi Firestone's book with members of my Renewal women's havurah on several occasions, and it has always interested them. They have always been truthful with me about books that they liked and didn't like, which I regard as the acid test of a book!

She Shows The Dark Underbelly of Orthodox Judaism

I could really relate to this book in many ways. I was raised in a very traditional Jewish household, left that branch of Judaism, explored the New Age, and also still practice Judaism (I never really left it). I really love and admire this book. Firestone shows in sad detail what often happens when a child from a very religious background decides to head off in another direction - the parents, relatives, and community shun him or her. As I read along in the book, and I saw Firestone falling in love with her husband-to-be (a Protestant minister) I literally heard tense drumbeats in my head, as I knew her parents would cut her off from their lives. I also really appreciated the author showing her reaction, how distraught she was at her own wedding because her parents were so opposed to it, and her deep grief at her mother's refusal to even acknowledge her existence. Unfortunately, I have seen this "shunning" in the Orthodox community, as well as in other religious communities. This book also aptly explores the spiritual search a great number of Jews undertake - that is to what is commonly called "The New Age". Many Jews leave Judaism for good, but Firestone showed how she returned, and how she had to do it her way, in the Jewish renewal movement. This is a book that is courageous, honest, and very well-written. Anyone remotely interested in spiritual searching would love this book.

Familiar and foreign, all at once

I was born into a family of Holocaust survivors who had the "misfortune" (their perspective) to be born Jews at a time (pre-WW I) and place (Austro-Hungarian Empire) when anti-Semitism was official policy. They regarded Jewishness as a handicap - not to be denied but certainly not to be practiced or celebrated. My parents were raised as "Christmas-Tree Jews" ("It's for the maid, of course") and raised us the same way. I didn't set foot into a synagogue until I was well into my 40s. After an intense relationship foundered on the rocks of religious differences, I decided to explore this religion that was getting me into trouble without any knowledge or effort on my part. (Coincidentally, my older sister embarked on the same search at about the same time, and independently of one another, we have wound up in the same place.) While my spiritual needs are nowhere near as intense as Rabbi Firestone's, and it never occurred to me to seriously explore other faiths, our individual searches led us both to the Jewish Renewal movement.I approached this book expecting to read of a journey similar to mine, and was quite surprised to see how radically different it was! We both began with Judaism and wound up back there, but her search took her to places far beyond anything I ever seriously considered for myself. I was surprised to read of her search through the entire supermarket of New Age belief systems, and gratified to see how open she was to the influences of other faiths. I believe that there is something of value in every religion, and have tried to find a way to synthesize a practice that incorporates it all - hence the attractiveness of the Renewal movement, which I believe does so better than any other form of religious practice. And it's especially gratifying to know that this intelligent seeker came home again and found her place within Judaism. I hope our paths cross some day.I found the book fascinating reading - she is articulate, insightful, and honest. That said, I must also say that I do not share her adherence to Jungian precepts, and found those passages slow going. But here again, she demonstrates her ability to assimilate what she needs and incorporate it into a system that works for her within the greater context of Judaism. That's nothing but good, and I am encouraged that she - and maybe also I - will continue to seek and find and create a belief system that meets her needs within the flexible framework of Jewish practice. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the general subject of spiritual searching.

Important information for anyone on a spiritual journey.

Regardless of whether or not you are Jewish, this book offers insight to the spiritual journey itself. For anyone who quests for the truth of who they are, their relationship to spirit, and how to serve in their world, this book offers a perspective and a context for the uniqueness of each spiritual journey. Especially profound for anyone who has struggled to find truth outside any prescribed social or religious structure. Highly recommended.

A suspenseful story of one woman's search for rad amazement

A lot of books come by my desk each season, and I approached this book lacking any great interest. But after the first few pages I was actually addicted. If an autobiography can be called suspenseful, this one is. This book scores as both a primer in spirituality and the story of a woman who flees her Orthodox upbringing in Saint Louis, studies New Age and eastern religions, marries a Christian minister, but then returns to her roots to study for the rabbinate. Rabbi Firestone, a colleague of Rabbi Zalman Schecter-Shalomi, is now a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement, and serves the Jewish communities of Boulder Colorado and the Intermountain area. I will try not to ruin the suspense of the book's story, but suffice it to say the following: The book opens when Rabbi Firestone, born Miriam Firestone in Saint Louis, walks into a Miami hotel for the wedding of her niece. Her brothers, sisters, and mother will be there; some of whom she has not seen in decades, some of whom view her as dead! We must wait for the epilogue to discover what happens at the hotel. Between this intro and the epilogue, we follow Tirzah and her family and friends as she yearns for and seeks out spiritual connections, and desires to learn her bashert in life. She must realize the true path of her heart and discover the inverted tree that descends from the heavens. Along the way we learn why New Age and Eastern religions have been so enticing to Jewish youth, we meet Jew-Bhu's, Hin-Jews, and gurus. The late Rabbi Shlomo Carlbach, a cousin to Tirzah, even makes an appearance in the book, as do beautiful people and seekers of all religions, as well as rogue and manipulative gurus and rabbis. Regretably, her honest portraits of some of the Orthodox leaders she meets along the way brings shame upon some in our community. It took a troubled Christian minister to help Tirzah realize that what she sought could be found in her birth religion of Judaism and in the writings of Heschel, Buber, and the Lurianic Kabbalists. I think readers will try to read faster only to find out in each succeeding chapter what will happen to Tirzah. How will she react to her family's belief that her older brother's suicide was due to a faulty mezuzah? Like Jonah, will she survive a sailing ordeal on the Pacific with a racist rabbi? Will her marriage kill her parents? Will she learn to trust her own heart and break her need to follow strong male spiritual leaders? Can she overcome her personal issues and fear of reconnecting with organized religion? Who is that Yiddish jokester inner voice that saves her in many instances? Surely, this book should be a contender for the Jewish Book Award. This book may actually change some of leader's opinions on officiating at intermarriages in the future.