Dreaming Against the Current:

A Rabbi’s Soul Journey

By Haviva Ner-David
Projected Publication Date: December 1st, 2021

After struggling for over ten years to earn Orthodox rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Haviva Ner-David left the Orthodox movement…

After struggling for over ten years to earn Orthodox rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Haviva Ner-David left the Orthodox movement and became a post-denominational rabbi. Ten years later, in a spiritual crisis, Ner-David decided to embark on another journey, studying for interfaith-interspiritual ordination and spiritual companionship certification at the One Spirit Seminary. This book is the story of Rabbi Ner-David’s journey to the depths of her soul, to take the final steps towards listening to her inner voice and feeling into her true calling. 

In this honest and revealing book, which weaves memoir narrative with windows into Ner-David’s dreamscape and unconscious, we are invited into the inner work of this continually ground-breaking spiritual traveler who is not afraid to evolve, expand and move beyond. This is the story of a rabbi who comes to question not only her Jewish identity, but her relationship with the notion of organized religion and nationalism all together. This is a brave memoir that will serve as a model for others who are willing to question everything they have taken for granted as sacred in order to be true to themselves.

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About the Author

Haviva Ner-David is a writer and rabbi. In 2006 she became the first woman to publicly receive Orthodox rabbinic ordination, only to leave Orthodoxy and call herself a post-denominational rabbi. Ten years later, she received interfaith ordination from the One Spirit Interfaith-Interspiritual Seminary and now goes by post-denominational inter-spiritual rabbi.

She writes both fiction and non-fiction and is the author of three spiritual journey memoirs, a novel, short stories, essays, a blog on Times of Israel, scholarly articles and a guidebook for engaged couples. Her short story, “Blame,” won the 2016 Lilith Magazine short fiction contest.
Link to short story.

Her rabbinic specialties are spiritual companionship, water immersion rituals, wedding and marriage preparation, coming of age ceremonies and other ritual and ceremony creation and innovation. Founding rabbi of Shmaya: A Mikveh for Mind, Body and Soul on Kibbutz Hannaton in the Lower Galilee, she officiates and helps create on-site personalized immersion ritual ceremonies and facilitates group mikveh workshops. As a spiritual companion, she works with individuals and couples and specializes in dreamwork, inner child work and nature soul work, as well as general sacred listening.
Rabbi-Haviva2

Photo credit: Carmel Avivi

Other books by the author

Life on the Fringes:
A Feminist Journey Towards Traditional Rabbinic Ordination

Chanah’s Voice:
A Rabbi Wrestles with Gender, Commandment, and the Women’s Rituals of Baking, Bathing and Brightening

Hope Valley:
a Novel

 

Getting (and Staying) Married Jewishly:
Preparing for your Life Together with Ancient and Modern Wisdom

Yonah and the Mikveh Fish

To Die in Secret