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To Begin Again: The Journey Toward Comfort, Strength, and Faith in Difficult Times
To Begin Again signals the arrival of an important new voice. In words that are as wise as they are comforting and as universal as they are specific, Rabbi Naomi Levy tells us how to survive, emotionally and spiritually, when we feel overwhelmed by grief, loss, or life itself. Her book provides a safe harbor where we can begin to reconstitute our lives.
Where do we find the strength to rebuild our lives after difficult times? Is it possible to recapture our hope? Our innocence? Our faith? The answers, never simple but always inspiring, are indeed found in this wonderful book.
Naomi Levy was a bright, cheerful fifteen-year-old girl who awoke to the devastating news that her father had been shot. His senseless murder shattered her belief in God and left her feeling helpless and full of rage. But, in time, she learned to fight her way through the darkness to conquer her heartbreaking pain. She describes, with humor and extraordinary honesty, how she managed to emerge victorious over sorrow.
Later, in her years as the rabbi of a congregation in Venice, California, Levy quickly learned that her own painful experiences were not unique. Many of her congregants had also suffered--divorce, addiction, rape, loss, illness. They too had searched long and hard for ways to bring joy back into their lives.
A natural and engaging storyteller, Levy weaves together her own story and the struggles of her congregants with the ancient lessons of great sages. She offers up exquisitely simple prayers, which--no matter what our religious beliefs--remind us that we are far, far stronger than we ever imagined. What emerges is a remarkable tapestry that teaches us how to mend our hearts and souls.
To Begin Again is a book that will be passed to friends when tragedy strikes, a book that will rest at our bedside tables during troubling times. It is a testament to the human spirit--to the undying strength that enables us to make our way through whatever darkness we may face and begin living once again.
Where do we find the strength to rebuild our lives after difficult times? Is it possible to recapture our hope? Our innocence? Our faith? The answers, never simple but always inspiring, are indeed found in this wonderful book.
Naomi Levy was a bright, cheerful fifteen-year-old girl who awoke to the devastating news that her father had been shot. His senseless murder shattered her belief in God and left her feeling helpless and full of rage. But, in time, she learned to fight her way through the darkness to conquer her heartbreaking pain. She describes, with humor and extraordinary honesty, how she managed to emerge victorious over sorrow.
Later, in her years as the rabbi of a congregation in Venice, California, Levy quickly learned that her own painful experiences were not unique. Many of her congregants had also suffered--divorce, addiction, rape, loss, illness. They too had searched long and hard for ways to bring joy back into their lives.
A natural and engaging storyteller, Levy weaves together her own story and the struggles of her congregants with the ancient lessons of great sages. She offers up exquisitely simple prayers, which--no matter what our religious beliefs--remind us that we are far, far stronger than we ever imagined. What emerges is a remarkable tapestry that teaches us how to mend our hearts and souls.
To Begin Again is a book that will be passed to friends when tragedy strikes, a book that will rest at our bedside tables during troubling times. It is a testament to the human spirit--to the undying strength that enables us to make our way through whatever darkness we may face and begin living once again.
267 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
37 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 31, 2016
Levy gives a convincing argument, similar to Kushner in Why Bad Things Happen to Good People, but more comforting to me. Kushner’s G-d appears powerless to me. Levy’s G-d acknowledges how we can feel let down when the omnipotent power we believed could save us does not. She discusses how prayer can help us connect with who we are and what is important to us. And she also says this, which really resonated with me: p. 232 “I pictured G-d as a powerful old man who sat on a throne in heaven and swooped down to protect the weak and innocent. And that G-d had let me down. At least that’s what I thought. So I tried to stop believing in G-d. But that never worked. It was like trying to stop breathing—I could only hold my breath for so long.”
In her book, Levy talks extensively about how she sees G-d as a power within ourselves that gives us the power to heal and dream again. She doesn’t emphasize how G-d is suffering with us the way Kushner does, she sees G-d as a source of strength, a source that can show us how to recover our appetite for life, to refrain from dying while living. Her approach speaks to me. I would highly recommend this book.
In her book, Levy talks extensively about how she sees G-d as a power within ourselves that gives us the power to heal and dream again. She doesn’t emphasize how G-d is suffering with us the way Kushner does, she sees G-d as a source of strength, a source that can show us how to recover our appetite for life, to refrain from dying while living. Her approach speaks to me. I would highly recommend this book.
June 17, 2018
I honestly reference this book in my head on a weekly basis. This hurdle won’t be the last hurdle, so don’t kid yourself.
August 1, 2022
To my disappointment, the author literally says that faith in G-d is how we begin again, that G-d will give us the strength to start over or keep going after tragedy. Although I am also Jewish—the author is a Rabbi—this is not a satisfying answer for me because I don’t have a faith in G-d as strong as hers. I was really hoping this book would give me answers for what I MYSELF could do, not rely on a deity to somehow keep me going.
I was also disappointed by how repetitive the book is, and how shallow are many of the chapters. She’ll say something that’s a good idea, such as “find a mentor,” but then her examples from her own life are of a mentor who just fell in her lap without her having to do any work to find him, followed by a bunch of stories from said mentor that I didn’t find helpful or relevant. What about those of us who have always lacked a mentor and have no idea how to find one?
To be fair, I found many of the stories from her biography or her rabbinical experiences very interesting— I just didn’t find them helpful to my own life. She claims to include many types of tragedies in her book, including chronic illness, but as someone with a chronic illness for which there is currently no cure or end in sight, I did not feel included in this book. She claims that our tragedies will give us new strength and insight, but quite frankly, that’s an offensive attitude that assumes we need improving. I already had deep wells of patience, and that’s helped me survive the extensive boredom of my chronic illness; I haven’t learned new patience, strength — or arguably, anything at all— from being sick long-term. There’s no way to start over, no silver lining or sigh of relief and step forward, when you are stuck in the same position, or progressively getting worse (my experience), year after year. I was hoping for advice that applied to my situation, and I didn’t find it in this book. And, as usual, in this book there are the stories of people who have tons of friends and relatives gather round them in their time of trial, which is frustrating to read about when you are someone like me who does not have any friends or support community.
I did like some of the prayers, and have marked them to copy down. Prayers such as praying to have the strength to keep enduring, to hold on to hope, to not become bitter and jealous. If I am ever well enough to attend services again, I would like to bring those prayers with me to read during the silent Amidah.
I was also disappointed by how repetitive the book is, and how shallow are many of the chapters. She’ll say something that’s a good idea, such as “find a mentor,” but then her examples from her own life are of a mentor who just fell in her lap without her having to do any work to find him, followed by a bunch of stories from said mentor that I didn’t find helpful or relevant. What about those of us who have always lacked a mentor and have no idea how to find one?
To be fair, I found many of the stories from her biography or her rabbinical experiences very interesting— I just didn’t find them helpful to my own life. She claims to include many types of tragedies in her book, including chronic illness, but as someone with a chronic illness for which there is currently no cure or end in sight, I did not feel included in this book. She claims that our tragedies will give us new strength and insight, but quite frankly, that’s an offensive attitude that assumes we need improving. I already had deep wells of patience, and that’s helped me survive the extensive boredom of my chronic illness; I haven’t learned new patience, strength — or arguably, anything at all— from being sick long-term. There’s no way to start over, no silver lining or sigh of relief and step forward, when you are stuck in the same position, or progressively getting worse (my experience), year after year. I was hoping for advice that applied to my situation, and I didn’t find it in this book. And, as usual, in this book there are the stories of people who have tons of friends and relatives gather round them in their time of trial, which is frustrating to read about when you are someone like me who does not have any friends or support community.
I did like some of the prayers, and have marked them to copy down. Prayers such as praying to have the strength to keep enduring, to hold on to hope, to not become bitter and jealous. If I am ever well enough to attend services again, I would like to bring those prayers with me to read during the silent Amidah.
April 17, 2025
This book and the author Naomi Levy spoke to me, the entire book, from every page ….It was supportive, encouraging and healing. I wanted to read it all at once, but instead read in small segments, it was feeding my soul and nourishing me, sometimes overwhelmingly so and I needed to take breaks to think through the power of thoughts and experiences presented. Beautiful prayers in the end is each chapter. I want to read this book again soon.
January 29, 2021
Written with compassion n honesty. While written by a Rabbi, one need not be religious nor spiritual to find a way to navigate the suffering, the human hurts that can crash upon us unknowingly or repeatedly. True stories help us to identify and the choose a map, suggestions of how to navigate that inevitable journey.
January 2, 2023
No matter what your beliefs are…this is a must read. She gets life and this helped me so damn much.
This is also one book you can not rush through. Read it slow. And at times back up and read some parts 5X. This will be a book I will have to read again in a few months to remind myself of the words that are so powerful.
This is also one book you can not rush through. Read it slow. And at times back up and read some parts 5X. This will be a book I will have to read again in a few months to remind myself of the words that are so powerful.
November 8, 2017
This is a real gem of a book, filled with wisdom, compassion and invaluable advice! Rabbi Levy has graced us with a path to wholeness after tragic and gut wrenching loss. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with loss of any kind.
September 15, 2020
So wonderful and very eye opening for people of any faith. Naomi Levy truly conveys advice to fulfill spiritual needs and physical needs, while using easy to understand language and relatable anecdotes. If I could give more stars to both her books, I would :)
September 1, 2023
I find Rabbi Levy's books to be amazingly thoughtful and very readable. This book focuses on struggle in difficult times and although I'm not dealing with that kind of experience, it still provided insight into prayer, community and connection with G-d.
December 16, 2018
I found the wisdom in this book to be helpful and supportive.
January 23, 2019
I loved this book, I can relate to some of the parts, but the self help in this book really helped me, I really needed the help, especially when unexpected things happened not to long ago for me.
January 3, 2020
Another one of my go to’s in challenging times. Always something new to discover.
March 15, 2020
Life-saving.
May 6, 2022
Well written book dealing with our broken selves and how we grow and overcome the brokenness.
September 21, 2022
*2.5 stars.
April 22, 2024
A very inspiring book. Thanks to the author, Naomi Levy.
July 7, 2012
This book BLEW me away.... in terms of how and why various losses can be hard to deal with. I had a sister who passed away many years ago a slighly differnt cirumstances than the author's father a robbery gone bad while in my sisters case it was a murder homindence at a family restutrant.
The unexpected loss had such an effect on me that I find it differcult to explain sometimes and sometimes being too cautious in life.
When Namnoi explained on the Lot of Losses she had when her father died I had to read it again to fully understand the compherision of loss itself !!
No wounder i was So angry and lonely (I have a disabity too which was another barrier to overcome as well) I do my Creative work to heal and now im am better with life thanks to Sprituality. My sister is with me everyday and i honor her life in many ways.
This book is recommned to anyone who has overcome obstacles in life to become a better person.
The unexpected loss had such an effect on me that I find it differcult to explain sometimes and sometimes being too cautious in life.
When Namnoi explained on the Lot of Losses she had when her father died I had to read it again to fully understand the compherision of loss itself !!
No wounder i was So angry and lonely (I have a disabity too which was another barrier to overcome as well) I do my Creative work to heal and now im am better with life thanks to Sprituality. My sister is with me everyday and i honor her life in many ways.
This book is recommned to anyone who has overcome obstacles in life to become a better person.
September 13, 2011
Awesome book for anyone who has gone through great loss and for anyone just desiring more depth and understanding regarding this issue...particularly deaths of those you deeply love. Naomi Levy is a rabbi and she adds to her writtings a Godly presence which gives one a peaceful strength when trying to move on in life from one's loss. Great book to keep!
December 24, 2013
A really great book detailing various types of loss, and how to pick up and go on again. Rabbi Levy also approaches the role of God in tragedy in a different way (less magic, more realism with miracles included).
August 31, 2007
most important book i have ever read. it brought me out of grief and back to life
November 11, 2008
This was recently given to me. I liked the authors approach to handling some difficult subjects. It never hurts to relearn a few things.
June 20, 2009
Comforting stories. My cousin recommended this book when a close friend passed on.
April 23, 2010
Very insightful book about loss & life changing events. Rabbi Naomi Levy tells her story about her Dad's death.
April 24, 2012
Terrific book, reflecting on shattering loss, struggle, and how we find healing and hope and sometimes just a badly needed lifeline through faith.
June 29, 2013
A bit too self-helpy for me ..... but still a beautiful book
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews