Path of Repair: Jewish Wisdom on Transforming Harm

Description:

Ancient wisdom meets radical justice in this powerful reimagining of the Jewish path of teshuvah.

The Path of Repair is a bold spiritual and ethical roadmap for personal and collective transformation. Rooted in ancient Jewish wisdom and illuminated by contemporary practices of mindfulness and abolitionist theology, this book invites readers into the heart of what it means to be human: the capacity to confront harm, cultivate forgiveness, and commit to lasting repair.

Drawing on the teachings of medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides, Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari offers a profound reinterpretation of teshuvah--commonly translated as "repentance"--as a lifelong journey of healing, accountability, and liberation. With clarity and compassion, Fornari weaves together two decades of meditation practice with the urgency of justice work, revealing teshuvah not as a private spiritual exercise, but as a public act of courage and connection.

In a world fractured by violence, inequality, and disconnection, The Path of Repair speaks directly to our deepest longings for change. This book is not only a guide--it is an invitation to reclaim our moral imagination and participate in the ongoing work of transformation, both within ourselves and in the world around us.

Brief description:

Ari Lev Fornari (he/they) is the Senior Rabbi at Kol Tzedek, a Reconstructionist synagogue in West Philadelphia. He was ordained by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. Ari Lev has worked as a prison chaplain, served on the faculty of SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva, and teaches meditation at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.

Ari Lev loves to cook, bike, meditate, tend his house plants, and parent. When he is not at Kol Tzedek, he can be found coaching little league. He is deeply committed to the creation and embodiment of Torat Hayyim, a living Jewish tradition. This requires that our lives be deeply informed by ancient wisdom and practices, and that Jewish traditions learn and grow from our insights and lived experiences.