Sacred Books

Newsletter July 21, 2025 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

Jewish sacred books are like a magical portal into the world of Jewish thinkers across time and space. They transport the reader into a whole new sacred space. Not a physical sacred space, but a sacred space of the spirit. Of the heart. Of the mind. Through the pages, the reader is given new insights into Jewish morals and values and ethical considerations.

And the most precious part of older Jewish books, parts of them that I love the most, are the bookplates inside the front cover. The image above is one image in one book that I own, but if you go into any Jewish library or find older Jewish books, you will find bookplates like these. Bookplates that give a hint to a sacred truth: that books are the cathedrals and sanctuary spaces of the Jewish people. We may not have physical spaces of grandeur that dot the global landscape. But bookplates like these allude to the spaces that the Jewish people revere. Not ornate marble work or vibrant paintings. But thought.

Look at how detailed the drawings of the columns and fresco are here. This particular book is revered as valuable as the most ornate physical strucutres. While we might not have giant buildings that connect us with the Divine, a simpler truth is revealed: we can connect with God through the portal that books provide. Access to our people across time and space is possible through the pages of our sacred literature.

And this truth is remarkable. I mean, in eighth grade when I studied Mishnah, I was reading the thoughts of some of the greatest rabbinic minds that ever lived. I was reading their thoughts and their words from 1800 years prior, reviving their principle approaches and debates, and wrestling with them alongside my own classmates in my day. What a thrill!

When the coronavirus first broke out, it was fortifying to read the words of the rabbis who had lived through the Black Plague. When we think about the ethical considerations of abortion, it is good to know we aren’t the first to dedicate countless hours of thoughtful rumination on the subject— we can benefit from the rabbis’ way of thinking through this topic. When we consider the public square debate over gun ownership, we can look to ancient rabbinic thinking about the limits of owning dogs or even lions as a method by which we defend our homes. In the pages of books, we can learn the principles they employed to inform their thinking.

Through books, we enter a magical portal into these discussions across time and space. And, we can join the conversation with the writing of our own thoughts to be recorded for others to discover in due time.

At Keeping It Sacred, we define ourselves as a nerdy community. And what makes us nerdy is our absolute love for diving through the ornate book plates of books into the cathedrals of thought that lie within their pages. And we love to do this together. Together, we’re #keepingitsacred…

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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GOOD TROUBLE GATHERING

These are Rabbi Miller's thoughts on the recent nationwide Good Trouble gatherings-- photos are from the Van Nuys, CA gathering she attended:

We, in the Jewish community, are in a 3 week period of mourning commemorating a calamity that took place 1,955 years ago. This three week period remembers the breaching of the walls at the Temple Mount and the eventual destruction of that holy site. We remember when we were denied access to all we held sacred.

This last Friday, we were also in mourning of erosion all that we hold sacred. The diminishment of all that America holds sacred. The iconic American welcome of immigrants penned by Jewish immigrant Emma Lazarus emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty-“Give me your poor your tired your weak…” has been reversed and desecrated. Families seeking refuge and a good life of working hard and contributing to this nation, separated and terrorized and locked up.

We are gathered here today because the walls have been breached and without our rising up and protests coming from the masses, all that is sacred to us stands to be destroyed.

We know we must stand up for and with immigrants as we are a nation of immigrants.

We know we must stand up for and with all who are targeted by this cruel and inhumane state of the nation.

We know we must stand up for and with all who stand in love and justice and peace and the flourishing of every member of this nation, not just an elite few. Because no one should be discarded. Or worse ripped from the loving arms of their families — or tragically killed while fleeing from a workplace raid of masked agents with pistols and shotguns.

In Judaism, we say that killing another person is akin to idol worship because it insults and denies the Creator who made them.

We are compelled by moral conscience to oppose this repugnant desecration. And we stand together to say enough!

Let the sanctity of every human life be honored!

Let the dignity of every human life be honored!

Let the presence of every human life be honored, now and forever! Amen!

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The above is an excerpt from a Keeping It Sacred newsletter. If you want to read the entire newsletter or any from our archives, please head over to: keepingitsacred.com/news 

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 Thanks for your interest, and thanks for #keepingitsacred...