With Roots in Heaven

One Woman's Passionate Journey into the Heart of Her Faith

Rabbi Tirzah Firestone

Paperback
9781958972212
US $18.95 Indiepubs Bookshop Barnes & Noble Amazon
eBook available
March 2024

A riveting story of how one brave and adventurous woman turned her life upside down for God. Firestone teaches us, through the joys and sorrows of her life, how our ancient traditions are calling out to us for renewal, and how, through faith, honesty, and struggle, we are learning to respond.

At age seventeen, Tirzah Firestone left the oppressive home of her Orthodox Jewish parents and set off on a spiritual odyssey. With Roots in Heaven is the story of that journey, a fascinating and moving account of her evolution from rebellious young seeker to renegade rabbi. This is an inspiring, true account of a courageous woman with strong convictions and a passion to know and feel God. It is also a book that goes beyond one person’s story of wandering and redemption to explore the dangers of modern religion and the joys and conflicts of intermarriage and raising interfaith children. An unforgettable story of love, sacrifice, and transformation–of grace sought and found–With Roots in Heaven offers hope, wisdom, and encouragement to anyone seeking deeper spiritual meaning in today’s world.

Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Ph.D., is an author, Jungian psychotherapist, and a leader in the international Jewish Renewal Movement. Ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi in 1992, she is the founding rabbi of Congregation Nevei Kodesh in Boulder, Colorado. Rabbi Firestone served on the board of directors and as Co-Chair of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.

Raised in a large Orthodox family as the younger sister of the late, groundbreaking radical feminist Shulamith Firestone (author of The Dialectic of Sex), Firestone’s spiritual curiosity called her to search beyond the confines of her family’s strict Jewish upbringing. Leaving home, she embarked upon a life-changing spiritual odyssey that she chronicled in With Roots in Heaven: One Woman’s Passionate Journey into the Heart of Her Faith. After immersing herself in a wide variety of spiritual practices and worldviews, Firestone returned with fresh vigor to become a rabbi in a pluralistic and egalitarian Judaism.

Now Rabbi Emerita of her congregation, Firestone maintains a private practice in depth psychology and teaches internationally about Kabbalah, depth psychology, intergenerational trauma healing, and the re-integration of the feminine wisdom tradition within Judaism. In all of these topics, her emphasis is on honing ancient wisdom practices to assist us at this critical time in world history.

“Filled with profound teachings from spiritual leaders, advice on intermarriage issues, and other practical nuggets of learning, With Roots in Heaven is a work as important as it is controversial, providing courageous insight into the core of religious belief systems.” —Ingram

“Candid, intense, and compulsively readable, this is spiritual biography at its very best.” — Letty Cottin Pogrebin

“Rich and inspiring…a page-turner. A daring exploration of different spiritual paths…filled with joy, story, community, and a celebration of ancient wisdom. I absolutely loved this book.” — Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind and A Woman’s Book of Life

“Firestone's autobiography has all the suspense and excitement of a good novel as it details her complex journey from a meticulously observant Orthodox Jewish background to her current faith. She takes readers from the static faith she experienced growing up through the geography of her spiritual search in many religious traditions to her marriage to a Christian minister and rejection of her birth family (with whom she later reconciled) and then to her rediscovery of her Jewish roots in a renewed form. Her story is a wonderful example of the transformation of what was, to the author, almost a dead faith into one that is vital and transformational yet accepting of Jews who define their faith more narrowly. Recommended reading for spiritual seekers and feminists in various religious traditions.” —Library Journal