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9781966608110

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Reviews

“Anxiety is no new phenomenon. But amid today's wave of social, emotional, and political turmoil on a global scale … forthcoming books bring a faith perspective to dealing with the queasiness of stomach and soul that now afflicts so many of us…. Denver-based rabbi Caryn Aviv put the final touch on her book manuscript for Monkfish—Unlearning Jewish Anxiety: How to Live with More Joy and Less Suffering—on the very day that an antisemite firebombed Jewish people in nearby Boulder.” —Cathy Lynn Grossman, Publishers Weekly, July 7, 2025 “With fierce compassion and practical wisdom, Caryn Aviv’s Unlearning Jewish Anxiety is a necessary gift  for our trembling times. She names our inherited fears and invites us into the sacred work of tending our own lives so that healing might ripple outward. Again and again she reminds us: ‘It’s up to us’ to nurture our bodies and spirits, to claim safety, worth, and belonging. This book gently re-teaches the nervous system to choose purpose over panic. Read these pages slowly, share them in community, and let them guide you toward healing. You’ll be glad you did.” —Rabbi Menachem Creditor, author of And Yet We Love: Poems and Timeless Torah “Unlearning Jewish Anxiety is a radiant JEW-el in the murky stew of self-help books about managing anxiety, mindfulness and trauma healing. Rabbi Aviv offers a beautifully written, accessible guide to managing the unique habits, patterns and legacies of Jewish anxiety. Grounded in neuroscience, Jewish feminist wisdom and trustworthy ethics, she also ‘walks the talk’ by weaving her personal experience with managing Jewish anxiety with compelling insights from teaching these embodied practices to others. This is a powerful toolkit for friends, families, and communities to read and practice together in the spirit of transformation and healing at a time of urgency, brutality and division.” —Karen Erlichman, DMin, LCSW, spiritual director, psychotherapist, community facilitator “Filled with wise teachings, interviews, and stories that help us remember who we are beneath our fear, Caryn Aviv gifts us with a guidebook (to understanding and undoing our Jewish anxiety,) in service of the better angels of our humanity. An important read that is extremely relevant for our day.” —Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone, author of Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma

“Anxiety is no new phenomenon. But amid today's wave of social, emotional, and political turmoil on a global scale … forthcoming books bring a faith perspective to dealing with the queasiness of stomach and soul that now afflicts so many of us…. Denver-based rabbi Caryn Aviv put the final touch on her book manuscript for Monkfish—Unlearning Jewish Anxiety: How to Live with More Joy and Less Suffering—on the very day that an antisemite firebombed Jewish people in nearby Boulder.” —Cathy Lynn Grossman, Publishers Weekly, July 7, 2025

Author Information

Caryn Aviv is the rabbinic and program director at Judaism Your Way in Denver, CO. She’s a rabbi, recovering academic in sociology and Jewish studies, and (mostly) formerly anxious Jew. She creates spaces, stories, rituals, and practices that offer safety, healing, equity, compassion and justice for Jews and their loved ones and allies. As a professor and rabbi she’s taught Jewish history and culture for two decades, and she now teaches the material in this book in workshops, at conferences, with congregations, and online in partnership with national Jewish organizations all over the US. She lives in Denver, CO.

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