The Avian Rebbe Takes Flight: Volume 1: Central Texas. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.The Avian Rebbe Takes Flight: Volume 1: Central Texas

The Avian Rebbe teaches Jewish wisdom seen in the beauty of birds.

The Avian Rebbe Takes Flight is a compilation of the author's full-color bird photography coupled with insightful drashot, short teachings of Jewish wisdom. Each entry explores the bird - individually; Jewish tradition - individually; and then how the two are juxtaposed to reveal unexpected connections. The inevitable conclusion is that there is something deeply, profoundly Godly in the natural world of which we are an integral part, and so too Jewish wisdom isn't confined to study halls and synagogues.

Written during the darkest days of COVID-19, The Avian Rebbe Takes Flight pushes back with light. There are eternal verities and enduring questions that transcend even the most horrific ephemera.

This is a book that can be read straight through, but it's intended both to inspire and to require more cogitation. Consider a single page each week. Sages have wrestled with many of these themes for over two thousand years, so surely they merit a week's reflection.... Faith, doubt, intention, science, music, and silence are just some of the topics that you'll be inspired to consider from different perspectives.

Volume 1 portrays birds of Central Texas. The Austin area is the border between North America’s Western and Eastern bird populations and also is a critical way station on the north-south migration path. This nexus attracts a wonderful and diverse variety.

Early readers have been effusive and insightful in their appreciations:

"Judaism has long affirmed how the natural world awakens the depths of religious spirit. In this work, the photographer Aaric Eisenstein captures the beauty of birds and combines them with words of wisdom from Jewish tradition to inspire and teach us. His is a book of spiritual sensibility."
Rabbi David Ellenson - Chancellor Emeritus, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

"The Avian Rebbe Takes Flight is a delightful book that combines the author’s passions of birding, bird photography and Judaism. The photographs are beautiful and the lesson that accompanies each photograph is beautifully selected and well related to the lesson. Many birders feel the spiritual component to their birding as does the author."
Frances Cerbins - Director at Large, Texas Ornithological Society & Past-President, Travis Audubon Society

"Aaric Eisenstein, my former student, in this volume, artfully demonstrates his dual loves of ornithology and Torah. His perceptive observations of a large variety of birds become a religious experience for this Avian Rebbe. I highly recommend Aaric’s book for all who find beauty in nature and in our Jewish tradition."
Rabbi Samuel M. Stahl - Emeritus, Temple Beth-El in San Antonio, TX

"With a camera and devoted attention, the Avian Rebbe discovers wonder – and even joy – in the darkest days of the pandemic by refining his powers of perception to reveal the light of Creation radiating from the wonder of bird life. The Avian Rebbe links spectacular avian photography with reflections on Jewish texts to welcome readers into the ever-present revelation of the Divine in nature, as accessible as the backyard or any urban park."
Elizabeth Allison, PhD - Founder and Chair of the Graduate Program in Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA

"This book captures the beauty and wonder that birds inspire. After soaking in the rich color of each photo and the spectacular language of each reflection, I am reminded that it is no wonder bird imagery finds its way all over our Jewish and Christian Biblical witness."
Rev. Hilary Marchbanks, Senior Pastor, Saint John’s United Methodist Church in Austin, TX