"Life changing wisdom from one of Judaism's most powerful texts the Haggadah, which can be found in Jewish homes around the world, has guided Jewish families and friends through Pesach celebrations for millennia. In The Telling: How Judaism's Essential Book Reveals the Meaning of Life, author Mark Gerson shows how even the most familiar passages from the Haggadah are sitting on top of buried treasures ready to help us live more meaningful and fulfilling lives today. The Telling will enable readers to make their seder the most engaging, inspiring and important night of the Jew's year - and readers generally to understand how Jewish wisdom can help them to live their happiest, most purposeful and worthwhile lives. The fundamental questions of life that TheTelling addresses include those of freedom, blessings, parenthood, dreams, education, idolatry, family, forgiveness, willpower, dreams, memory, wisdom, goodness, analogies, habits, newness, music, food, aging, false humility, the role of the imagination,the purpose of political debate, the cultivation and expression of gratitude, the State of Israel, our relationship with God, the secret of joy, the meaning of history, the presentation of miracles - and much more. The Telling, which calls on disciplinesfrom Talmudic discussion to evolutionary psychology to understand the Haggadah, is a groundbreaking reexamination of one of the most powerful texts in Judaism - and an indispensable source of wisdom and insight for people of all faiths"--Provided by publisher.
God didn’t design the Seder to put your kids to sleep.
Instead, the Seder is an experience your family should love, treasure and remember.
Have you ever wondered that there might be something more to Passover, the Seder and in the Haggadah—something that just might hold the secrets to living the life of joy and meaning that you were intended to?
In The Telling, Mark Gerson, host of The Rabbi’s Husband podcast and renowned Jewish philanthropist, shows us how to make the Seder the most engaging, inspiring, and important night of the Jewish year. By using this book, you’ll be able to:
· Lead the Seder with wisdom, confidence and fun that guests will remember
· Make the Haggadah burst alive with insight for our opportunities, questions and challenges
· Show Gentile friends the richness of the Jewish tradition
· Instill a lasting love of Judaism within your children
· Bring your family closer together and closer to God
The Telling will enable you to see what the Haggadah really is: The Greatest Hits of Jewish Thought. This understanding will enable you to provide your guests with the most interesting, insightful and practically helpful night of the year—with teachings and lessons that will continue to brighten in the year to come.
What leaders are saying about The Telling:
Senator Joseph Lieberman:
In The Telling, Mark Gerson brilliantly illuminates some of the big questions from the Haggadah whose answers can define what constitutes a meaningful life. By showing how the Haggadah enables its readers to deploy ancient Jewish wisdom to help answer the most contemporary questions, this book will help your Pesach to be what it can be: a life-guiding event, every year, for anyone who learns enough to give it the opportunity.
Yossi Klein Halevi, Author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor and Like Dreamers
Once a year, shortly before Pesach (emphatically not Passover!), Mark Gerson steps out of his role as a world-class entrepreneur and becomes a teacher of Torah—or more precisely, of the Haggadah. Those sessions have become legendary, and this book helps explain why. Here is Gerson's inimitable voice—passionate, erudite and most of all deeply in love with Jewish wisdom. Read this book to understand why the Haggadah has endured as a seminal Jewish text and why it remains no less relevant today than when it was first written.
Gordon Robertson - CEO, The Christian Broadcasting Network
"The Telling is the perfect introduction for those desiring to explore this aspect of Jewish life. This book is full of knowledge and thought-provoking questions and answers to the many mysteries that surround this sacred Jewish holiday."
Sarah Waxman - Founder, At the Well
"Just when I thought I knew everything about the Haggadah, I opened up Mark's book, and sure enough, I found myself thinking differently, questioning, and wrestling with big new ideas. I am excited to bring these ideas forward to my family's Seder and meaningful conversations all year round."
Pastor Judy Shaw - Judy Shaw Ministries
"As believers, there is so much we can gain from the story of the Exodus Passover, when God brought the children of Israel out of bondage by His mighty hand. With the powerful book The Telling by Mark Gerson, you will learn from a Hebrew perspective many hidden aspects of the Passover story that will bless your life. Get ready to encounter the God of the miraculous like you never have before!"
