Jewish Relational Care A-Z: We Are Our Other’s Keeper - Bloom, Jack H., ed. Haworth, 2006. 453p. $39.95, Paperback. ISBN-10: 0-7890-2706-2. ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-2706-1. $69.95, hardcover. ISBN-10: 0-7890-2705-4. ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-2705-4. www.haworthpress.com 296.6’1 Pastoral care. Social service—Religious aspects—Judaism. Caring—Religious aspects—Judaism. Helping behavior—Religious aspects—Judaism. Spiritual life—Judaism. Caregivers—Religious life.

This volume explores a remarkable model of pastoral care. The essays, contributed by a distinguished list of caregivers representing the spectrum of Jewish life, address a wide range of issues: the use of chanting or song in giving care, how to care for non-Jews within our communities, how to provide care in times of crisis, how to care for the aging, the traumatized, the impaired, the dying—and much more.

Rabbi Jack Bloom’s theory of Jewish relational care provides the foundation for this collection. Bloom described the theory in his earlier book, The Rabbi as Symbolic Exemplar (Haworth, 2002). The essays in the current volume provide working models of how this approach works.

Bloom’s approach rejects a static picture of humans in favor of a relational model that sees humans as both models of divinity and breath-taking creatures. As models of divinity, we receive thought and direction; as breath-taking creatures, we receive life, energy, and vitality. We live in the interacting relationship of these two forces. It is a vibrant portrait, and its power is presented clearly in the thirty-four essays of this collection.

I predict that the pages of this wonderful book will be well thumbed by those looking for advice and direction. It will be a valuable addition to any library.

Rabbi Louis A. Rieser
Etz Hayim Synagogue
Derry, New Hampshire