Sha'arei Refuah: Gates of Jewish Healing is the first book if its kind to present the theory and practice of Jewish healing. As more and more professional health care workers are finding their way into Jewish healing, they recognize that the present standards are just not sufficient to enable true and lasting healing. Therapists of every kind believe that a more clinical approach is needed to deal with the everyday, chronic problems, in addition to the life threatening illnesses, from which many of us suffer. We need a health system that includes spirituality in which we can participate to bring wholeness into our lives. The purpose of this book is to provide readers with Jewish thoughts on healing together with practical tools to help overcome illness of every kind. Jewish healing is entering a new phase, which goes beyond the prevalent standard of bikkur cholim (visiting the sick), supporting families facing medical crises, and comforting mourners.

This book examines the health/fitness interaction in an historical context. Beginning in primitive hunter-gatherer communities, where survival required adequate physical activity, it goes on to consider changes in health and physical activity at subsequent stages in the evolution of “civilization.” It focuses on the health impacts of a growing understanding of medicine and physiology, and the emergence of a middle-class with the time and money to choose between active and passive leisure pursuits. The book reflects on urbanization and industrialization in relation to the need for public health measures, and the ever-diminishing physical demands of the work-place. It then evaluates the attitudes of prelates, politicians, philosophers and teachers at each stage of the process. Finally, the book explores professional and governmental initiatives to increase public involvement in active leisure through various school, worksite, recreational and sports programmes.

An author and subject index to selected and American Anglo-Jewish journals of general and scholarly interests.

In Tails of Sha'ar Hagai, Myrna Shiboleth takes us with her on an extraordinary journey; as she emigrates from the United States, pioneers in Israel, lives and travels in Africa and Europe, and establishes the breed known as Israel Canaan Dogs. In episodes that are alternately hilarious and poignant, we join her as she struggles to set up home in a bullet-ridden, abandoned concrete bunker, and build a life shared with family, friends, and a variety of furred and feathered companions. From desert-living wild dogs, to Baba the hand-raised hyena; Ricky the overly curious raccoon, Shusha the fox and Um Fathi, the local village witch, she shares her stories, and gives insight into both struggle and strength. Every one of these amazing characters teaches us something about what it means to be human. Myrna Shiboleth is an animal behaviorist, world champion dog breeder and dog show judge, and is acknowledged as the authority on Canaans, one of the few remaining breeds of feral dogs. She lives and breeds dogs at Sha'ar Hagai in Israel.

Memoir of the mother of a boy stoned to death in the Judean desert.

In Sacred Therapy Estelle Frankel travels to the heart of Jewish mysticism to reveal how people of any faith can draw upon this rich body of teachings to gain wisdom, clarity, and a deeper sense of meaning in the midst of modern life. In an engaging and accessible style, Frankel brings together tales and teachings from the Bible, the Talmud, Kabbalah, and the Hasidic traditions as well as evocative case studies and stories from her own life to create an original, inspirational guide to emotional healing and spiritual growth.

Since the Brit Chadasha in Yirmeyeh 31:31-34 was given to Orthodox Jews (the passage is found in the Hebrew Bible, is it not?), and since most Orthodox Jews are in New York City, particularly Brooklyn it seems, then it surely must also be appropriate to make available a translation of the Brit Chadasha from the best original manuscripts in language devoid of goyishe (and non-frum) style. The following is a passage from this new translation, specifically from "The Besuras haGeulah According to Mattityahu (Matthew)" chp 28:19-20, and is illustrative of what we at AFII are doing and what we believe:

Where Judaism and health intersect, healing may begin. Essential reading for people interested in the Jewish healing, spirituality and spiritual direction movements, this groundbreaking volume explores the Jewish tradition for comfort in times of illness and Judaism’s perspectives on the inevitable suffering with which we live. Pushing the boundaries of Jewish knowledge, scholars, teachers, artists and activists examine the aspects of our mortality and the important distinctions between curing and healing. Topics discussed include: The Importance of the Individual Health and Healing among the Mystics Hope and the Hebrew Bible From Disability to Enablement Overcoming Stigma Jewish Bioethics Drawing from literature, personal experience, and the foundational texts of Judaism, these celebrated thinkers show us that healing is an idea that can both soften us so that we are open to inspiration as well as toughen us—like good scar tissue—in order to live with the consequences of being human.