Story-Formed to Choose Life

Reviews the book, Healing and the Jewish imagination: Spiritual and practical perspectives on Judaism and health edited by William Cutter (see record 2007-05725-000). The editor of this volume, Rabbi William Cutter, considers the power of the written tradition for commanding Jews to choose life. The 16 contributions that make up this volume represent a broad sample of the ways that Jewish thinking can provide both a spiritual and practical perspective to address suffering that individuals face. The topics covered are diverse and include such issues as chronic illness, purity, disability, AIDS, and the ethics underpinning choice of medical treatment and end-of-life decisions. Each of the authors draws on scriptural text and commentary, and considers how they can be read as part of promoting healing. The reviewer believes that each is respectful of the many different ways that such material can be applied to the problem under consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)