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…
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…
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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.
Gila Green – Guest Post: Author Haviva Ner-David
Bedazzled Ink: Conversation between Orna Taub and Haviva Ner-David
Essay of an adapted excerpt from Dreaming Against the Current memoir published in Evolve magazine
Book Club: Jewish Women’s Archive
One Spirit Gathering Book Event
Book Talk: Rituawell Event: Dreaming Against the Current
Speaking the Elements of a Dream – Spiritual Companionship & Dreamwork
Listening to my dreams – Part 3
Talking to my 16-year-old self – Part 1
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.
Photo credit: Carmel Avivi
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