Dancing on the Edge of the World: Jewish Stories of Faith, Inspiration, and Love

by Miriyam Glazer

Book Overview

What does it mean to be Jewish? What are the struggles and joys Jewish people face? Through personal memoirs, fictions, and fables, this collection of stories provides a glimpse into the Jewish spirit... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0737303883
• ISBN13: 9780737303889
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very pleased

This book is a wonderful collection of stories which I am enjoying reading and which I am sure will be helpful in my work on various occasions. The author/editor is very skillful in her own writing and thoughtful in her selection of the works of others which she has brought together in this delightful volume.

I LOVED THIS BOOK

I've read are a lot of collections of "spiritual" Jewish stories, but this one was so warm and so loving, it is my favorite of all --the stories cover a wide range and touch so many bases --the gentle, the powerful,the learned, the easily accessible, the tender, the compelling, the "tear your heart out." I especially like how the book seems to encompass all of Jewish history, from the Torah, the Ethics of the Fathers, the ancient rabbis to the present moment. The Holocaust material was brilliant. The Israeli poems (" A Soldier's Sabbath") was extraordinarily moving. The sense of "Shabat" in the book is nearly palpable. There is a story, "Jacob who loves the Sabbath," about a father and his autistic child that touched me to the quick, and another about a learning disabled child that was overwhelming. I bought three copies so I could give my daughter and my parents a copy! I would love to see more such books from this author!

Do you laugh or cry?

After reading "Dancing,"I realized the book had been such a special experience,I owed it to the editor and to all the contributors to review it.I have loved this book. Using poems, midrash, personal experiences, stories, commentaries, it covers such a vast range of the Jewish experience -- from the ancient rabbis to the world of the shtetl to the horrors of the Holocaust to everyday Israeli life and everyday life in America, so much of our Jewish Story, told so beautifully. What an impressive list of contributors -- from some of the country's most prominent rabbis to poets like Israelis Yehuda Amichai and Nava Semel (I nearly wept at "A Soldier's Sabbath"), and Alicia Ostriker and Irena Klepfisz; there are several very touching and illuminating stories by Paysach Krohn,a storytelling mohel whose work I loved, and by Rabbi Ed Feinstein, about which ditto. Michael Lerner, Karen Golden, Sarah Graff, Harold Schulweis, Richard Levy, Bradley Shavit Artson -- works you can't forget; they keep echoing in my heart. I shouldn't really mention individual names, because so many of them are so memorable and it's hard to choose my favorites -- The title story by Miriyam Glazer, for example, affected me a great deal because I, too, have thought a lot about my name, and Aryeh Cohen's piece, even though parts were difficult for me, was in the end so powerful because I have a baby daughter too. And the two stories that relate to a place called "Beit Tshuvah" -- a Los Angeles halfway house for Jewish criminals, addicts, and alcoholics --are extraordinary. I would like to meet Harriet Rossetto! The three beautifully written and sensitive contributions by rabbinical students (all of which are radically different from one another!) made me feel really optimistic about the future of Judaism in this country! wrote about I've read a lot of Jewish "spiritual" books -- but because of the quality of the stories and poems in "Dancing," this book will be my companion for a long time! Thanks, editor and writers for a wonderful wonderful book.

what an inspiring book

I got this book as a gift and it has been just such a joy to read! The stories range from the lighthearted to the really gripping, and make you see life a whole new way. I felt my spirit really touched. I have loved every minute of it and I recommend it highly, particularly for Jewish readers.

What a joyful read!

I ordered this book at the recommendation of a friend, and I couldn't put it down -- read it from cover to cover at the first reading. It was so moving. Eloquent, is the word that comes to mind. I landed up wanting to order a dozen more for a Passover gift for friends/family. "Dancing on the Edge of the World" is a wonderful book -- Reading it is so inspiring. Miriyam Glazer and all her authors have done a great job -- the stories are truly wonderful. Some of the authors I knew well, many of them I hadn't been aware of. I like, too, how trans-denominational it clearly is -- Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, secular, feminist, traditional -- all the voices are in it. IT MADE ME FEEL VERY PROUD OF MY HERITAGE!