An Unexpected Teacher

When Rabbi Rachel Adler, esteemed feminist theologian, decided her new apartment needed a cat, she searched the local shelters. One gaunt feline caught her eye. Despite being caged, he radiated the spiritual beauty of face and dignity of bearing that mark a great soul. As he settled into his new home--purring at the Hebrew volumes in Adler's library, nodding attentively to the mezzuzot on her doorposts, and engaging in soulful meditation three times each day--Adler discerned that he was no ordinary kitty. He was an old soul with many lifetimes of Jewish wisdom to impart, reincarnated to a higher level in the form of a gray tabby--the Holy Mysticat.

This engaging book is a guide to Jewish literacy, using the behaviors of Adler's most peculiar cat to lead readers on a journey through thousands of years of Jewish thought, history, and practices. A collection of whimsical stories, interspersed with cleverly drawn black-and-white illustrations, Tales of the Holy Mysticat provides unique insights into Jewish mysticism by one of our generation’s most profoundly creative scholars--portrayed through the life of her cat. Just as the Holy Mysticat became Adler's teacher, so too can the Holy Mysticat teach us all.