Rabbi Shohama Wiener, D.Min.

Books & Tapes

"I was singing your song "Waters of Healing" this morning, and it brought back the memory of the wonderful service you brought to B'nai Or of Boston. Your healing energy and beautiful songs were a great gift to our community." -Matia Angelou, Arlington, Massachusetts

About Rabbi Shohama
SHOHAM: Spiritual Healing
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"Seeking and Soaring: Jewish Approaches to Spiritual Direction"

Introduction by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (ed. Goldie Milgram, Reclaiming Judaism Press 2009)

Seeking and Soaring

Seeking and Soaring provides a fascinating opportunity to individually meet and appreciate many of the leading Jewish spiritual directors, teachers and scholars of our time. Advances in the field of Hashpa'ah, Jewish spiritual direction, are carefully presented with special attention to session structure, boundaries, supervision, grieving, fear, impulse, addictions, middot and mussar - cultivation of personal ethical qualities, and serving as a doula to the dying. Teachings also present traditional and contemporary Jewish practices regarding intercession, angels, guides, and sacred stories. Unique populations addressed include Holocaust survivors, B'nai Mitzvah students, couples, and those seeking to renew their Jewish spiritual connection. User-friendly scholarly translations occur throughout, as well as guides to working with rare pieces of Jewish spiritual literature.

Books
"Love is the Answer: A New Paradigm," by Rabbi Shohama Wiener, in LifeCycles: Jewish Women on Biblical Themes in Contemporary Life, eds. Rabbi Debra Orenstein & Rabbi Jane Rachel Litman, Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT, 1997, pp. 312-315.
QUOTE: "I choose to believe that there are no difficult people; there are only people in difficulty because they are in need of spiritual light and healing. Therefore, for me, prayer, meditation, and visualization are essential tools of leadership."

"S.H.O.H.A.M. Spiritual Healing of Heart and Mind"

Meditations with Rabbi Shohama Wiener

Meditation DVD

Meditation selections include Mayim Chayim, Waters of Healing, Ner Tamid, Priestly Garments, and V'yasem L'cha Shalom (Priestly Blessing). Forty minutes, available on VHS or DVD.

"Spiritual Types: One Size Doesn't Fit All" in Jewish Spiritual Direction. Edited by Rabbi Howard Addison & Barbara Breitman, 2006.

QUOTE: "The Four Worlds, or Realms of Spirituality, and the sefirot, divine energies...help me in intuiting which questions to ask, and assessing what avenues of growth
might be most beneficial to an individual."

 
"Connecting God's Name and My Name: A Spiritual Journey," by Rabbi Shohama Wiener, in The Fifty-Eighth Century: A Jewish Renewal Sourcebook, ed. Shohama Wiener, Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ, 1996, pp. 65-72.
QUOTE: "In the last couple of years, I have felt a shift, a new name for God. I see it as shimmering white light. I hear it as Noga, Bright One. I feel it as Love. Bright One does not have a gender, but does have a heart, reminding me of the Talmudic expression, rachmana liba ba-ay, the compassionate one seeks the heart."

"Healing and Meditation," by Rabbi Shohama Wiener, in Meditation from the Heart of Judaism, ed. Avram Davis, Jewish Lights, 1997, pp. 157-160.

 

QUOTE: "The best-known Jewish prayer, the Sh'ma, is a prayer that tells us to listen. For me, the purpose of listening is to hear the beating heart of the universe--to know that we're all part of a realm of light where the heart sings, the eyes feel, and the hands hear. It is where souls embrace without touching and where love is the breath of life. ...Of course, that place is right here...We can enter it by achieving an altered state of consciousness through meditating."

 

"Ritualizing the Birthday as Sacred Jewish Time," by Shohama Harris Wiener, in Worlds of Jewish Prayer, eds. Shohama Harris Wiener and Jonathan Omer-Man, Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ, 1993, PP. 221-225.

 

QUOTE: "...All birthdays are times of transition and importance to the individual. The greeting card industry has taken note of this phenomenon more than has Judaism, and that is a shame. For this holiday can easily be made a holy day, and in so doing, secular and religious life can be merged."

 

"Are There Jewish Ways to Observe and Mourn the Death of a Pet?" A response from Rabbi Shohama Wiener, in Jewish Family & Life: Traditions, Holidays, and Values, by Yosef I. Abramowitz and Rabbi Susan Silverman, Golden Books, NY, 1997, pp.105-106.

 

QUOTE: "When pets die, people may feel sad, empty, angry, depressed, and alone...On hearing of a loved animal's death, a simple response such as 'Tell me about [name of animal]' can be very helpful. A willingness to listen and a sympathetic ear can go a long way in easing grief."

 

"Waters of Healing," by Shohama Wiener, on the CD Let There Be Light, Vol. 1: Jewish Songs of Healing and Wholeness," by Moshe Halfon and Friends © Moshe Halfon, 2001.
QUOTE: "Shohama wrote this as a guided meditation, in which God's gifts of water and light can be visualized flowing through our four worlds of soul, mind, heart and form."