Dr Peter Pitzele writes, "In her ground-breaking Spiritual Direction for Jewish Children, Rabbi Leslie Schotz has made an original and inspiring argument for the importance of a multi-faceted approach to spiritual direction of young children within the Jewish community. Her book, with its informed survey of the existing literature, will be of immense value to educators and clergy who are challenged with passing on traditional values to children and families in the 21rst century. What Rabbi Schotz realizes so clearly is the necessity of approaching the children with many different modalities. Implicitly she extends the by-now familiar insight of multiple intelligences to apply to the soul by suggesting that there are multiple pathways to reach the inner life of children. Resisting the pull of purely knowledge-based and rote-driven approaches to education, Rabbi Schotz is willing to experiment with yoga, music, meditation, journaling, and special kinds of children's literature. Moreover, she models the skills of reflective presence and spiritual listening which are the real tools of spiritual direction. Her book traces her progress and that of two enlightened teachers in developing new approaches to spiritual direction for children. These approaches seek to nourish the inner life of the child. While recognizing the need for a certain level of preparation for her students, Rabbi Schotz is willing to go to unusual lengths to cultivate their innate spiritual gifts. She records her attempts and those of her team to read and to reach each child. She tells eloquently of many small interactions in which we see her penetrate the initial deflections of students who are understandably wary and bored with enforced religious education. Bit by bit we see her win their trust and open their eyes and hearts. Above all what Rabbi Schotz shows us is the power of caring curiosity. She is willing to be eclectic and inventive, to adapt and to explore. While her book inventories the many methods she pressed into the service of spiritual direction, its real story is the journey of a committed rabbi to find the heart of learning and longing in her students. Her lively observation of the lives of her students brings home the quality of attention she brings to her task, making it clear that spiritual direction can only be undertaken by a person who is herself spiritually awake. Reading Reading Rabbi Schotz's book, I was reminded of the familiar Chassidic story of the prince who thinks he is a chicken. After many physicians attempt to cure him, the prince is finally restored to sanity only by the sage who is willing to join the prince where he is, pecking about for food under the table. To direct the soul of the child one must first discover the nature of the soul, its place, its needs, its ways of growth. Such an approach demands empathy and a deep faith that each child is already longing for the gentle touch of spiritual direction. Unlike education with its preconceived curricula, spiritual direction requires intimate and patient acts of cultivation. This book will encourage and inform those who wish to find a children where she or he is and to celebrate how each is made "in the image of God." Included is a Spirituality Survey for Jewish Students, a Methodological Bibliography: Resource Material for Teaching Ideas that Require Modification in Application to Hashpa'ah/ Spiritual Direction for Jewish Children and a Spiritual Direction Book List for Jewish Children: Bibliography of Resource Material to Read to Jewish Children in Hashpa'ah / Spiritual Direction.
About the Author: Rabbi Dr. Leslie Schotz submitted this dissertation for a Doctorate in Ministry at the New York Theological Seminary. Rabbi Dr. Schotz currently serves an egalitarian Conservative congregation as Rabbi and Principal. She was ordained at the Academy for Jewish Religion as a rabbi and holds a Master of Library Science degree with both certificates in Public Libraries and as a School Library Media Specialist. She is a past President of the Association of Jewish Libraries - Long Island chapter. Rabbi Dr Schotz' learning has been extraordinarily broad, bringing her to the learning centers of every Jewish denomination. She has studied at Neve Yerushalayim (an Orthodox women's yeshivah) in Israel, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations now known as URJ and is expecting ordination in January 2014 from the Hashpaah Program of the Aleph Ordination Programs of the Jewish Renewal movement. This was part of a three year course of study in Spiritual Direction. In pursuing her doctorate she integrated her many career paths into her research and teaching. This included her many years experience as a Children's Librarian in a public library and also in a synagogue library. She also worked as an academic librarian at Touro College in Manhattan and at C.W. Post Long Island University. Before becoming a rabbi, Rabbi Dr. Leslie Schotz worked as a college certified fitness instructor. She integrated these skills in teaching movement in the implementation of her project in Spiritual Direction for Jewish Children. Rabbi Dr Schotz also included her musical proficiencies as a folk musician in the musical expression component of her project. This book documents all the author's proficiencies in teaching Spiritual Direction to Jewish Children. Rabbi Dr. Leslie Schotz also served student pulpits in New Jersey, North Carolina, Missouri, and as an ordained rabbi on a cruise ship to Alaska. The cruise was a gift to her mother Elenore who supported her in her studies over a six year full time rabbinical studies program and drove the 'rabbi mobile' when she served her student pulpits.