Reading Group Guides

Meditation and Conversation: A Guide to Further Inquiry

Every good book raises at least as many questions as it answers. Here are a few questions inspired by this book’s dance with grace and tranquility, as a guide for further exploration beyond the bounds of these pages. The questions connect to the observations of each book section. More importantly, they connect to our daily motions through the world, and our common search for peace.

QUESTIONS FOR GENERAL DISCUSSION

1. Did Welcome to the Family! have relevance to you beyond simply acquiring knowledge about Judaism?

2. Have you attended any of the Jewish events described in the book? Were you comfortable in doing so? Did reading this book explain things you didn't understand? Will you be more comfortable in attending Jewish events after reading this book?

3. Do you have family members or close friends who have joined the Jewish family through intermarriage or conversion. Is this comfortable to you? Why or why not?

Chapter 1: History…Herstory

What hierarchies do you participate in? In which ones are you higher? In which ones are you lower?

In what ways do you see religious institutions promoting hierarchies? In what ways do you see religious institutions challenging or restricting hierarchies?

How do you think societies would function without powerful hierarchies in place? What effect has your position in hierarchical structures had on you?

Chapter 2: Eve

What awareness do you recall having of the garden story growing up?

Questions for Discussion

1. The author contrasts the Rizha culture’s patriarchal veneer with the fundamental matriarchy that holds it together. Coming from the West, Katherine struggles to find her place in the society. Does she succeed? How are the Rizha attitudes toward family and authority different from cultural structures in the West during the 1920s? Today?

About This Book

Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature delves into a new kinship with nature while acknowledging the treasures of urban life and the unique stake each person has in resolving critical and timely challenges. While avoiding doomsday scenarios, Lake offers a frank inquiry into a variety of causes leading to our current global peril while also providing a deep well of hope and profound insight.

A lifelong advocate for the environment and cultural transformation, Lake weaves together history, ecology, culture, governance, women's leadership and the arts to map out an integrated approach to working in partnership with nature while creating a more just and sustainable future. Her wisdom, lyrical style, and thorough research frame chapters such as “Around the Fire: From Global Warming to a Renewed Hearth”, “Anthem to Water”, “Democracy Ancient and Modern” and “Honor the Women”. Lake takes us along wild rivers as she explores water conservation and the mysteries of water science; sits us around a fire along with great minds of past and present to contemplate the climate crisis; and takes us to several continents where we navigate deeper into history of culture and land.

The author shows that “a culture or civilization bereft of its connection to nature will not be sustainable. The decades since Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring have clearly shown us this. We will need to reconnect with the rhythms of the natural world in contemporary society to generate inner and outer resilience, and to move through the uncertain times ahead.”

Questions for Discussion

1. What is religion? What is the purpose of religion? What is the difference between religious

doctrine and what religionists do in practice?

2. What is culture? How is it intertwined with religion? Is it so intertwined in the United

States? Why or why not?

3. What was your perception of Islam before reading this book and has it been transformed

or confirmed after reading Islam at Home? In what ways, if any, has it transformed?

4. What information or argument or perspective in the book did you find especially surprising or compelling?