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New Year’s Book Review: To Begin Again

© Beth Lewis

Rabbi Naomi Levy's new book, To Begin Again: The Journey Toward Comfort, Strength, and Faith in Difficult Times, offers a precious gift to people in emotional pain. As she walks the reader through the immediate aftermath of a loss to the ultimate emergence into healing, she tells the stories of people who have been there. Whether you've lost a job, a dream, or a loved one, Levy offers choices for how to put one foot in front of the other, and how to at least begin the psychological journey to a better place.

As the first female Conservative rabbi to lead a West-Coast synagogue, Levy is confident and wise. But, at the age of fifteen, after the shocking murder of her father, she was anything but strong. In To Begin Again, Levy weaves a tapestry of tales, featuring her own personal tragedy and the trials of her congregants.

A central issue is the reintegration of God into your heart, after your heart has been senselessly and profoundly broken. Levy argues against the concept of a God who punishes good people; she makes a strong case for the more comforting view of God as a sort of parent, unable to stop all of the heartache, but consistently available to the mourner as a source of love, solace, and compassion. Rather than feeling abandoned by God after our losses, we can turn to Him through prayer and ritual to help us through the darkest times.

Levy, thankfully, only lingers on lofty, philosophical lectures, and instead leans towards practical steps for starting the quest for healing. Practices such as meditation, conscious gratitude, and observance of the Sabbath are examined as specific acts that facilitate the work of mending the soul.

Levy does not disregard the inevitable emotions of anger, envy, and fear that come hand in hand with a senseless personal tragedy; instead, she suggests methods for working through these feelings, and presents examples of people who have succeeded in this task. The author also touches on the importance of living your dreams, and making major changes, regardless of your age and position in life.

To Begin Again joins Rabbi Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People in the canon of definitive resources for mourners. In a perfect world, we would not need their wisdom; but, as it is, their words soothe and inspire, and assure us that we are not alone in our suffering.

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