FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Eve Viewed through Fresh Eyes – Hero or Villain – Your Choice if You Dare to Make It

San Luis Obispo, CA, - Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve (O-Books) comes at a most opportune time for women who have always played a powerful, if often unacknowledged, role in the history of the human family. In her latest book, Heather Mendel has done a superb job of integrating her cherished Jewish roots with her egalitarian vision of a less patriarchal world. The result is a contemporary introduction to Kabbalah and the Sacred Feminine that does not deprecate the masculine role.

There are four sections in the book that represent the Four Worlds of Kabbalah— Intuition, Thought, Emotion, and Action. The interaction of the archetypes that correspond to each of these levels reveal that the Sacred Feminine is present in the Jewish texts, moving elusively in and out of our awareness, both revealing and concealing clues to the mysteries of our past and future and our understanding of God.

The author’s research inspired her passionate interest in the synthesis and authenticity of both her Jewish and feminist selves just as it will inspire the reader. What she discovered was the dilemma of history as it has been taught and the concealed ‘herstory’ that felt strangely familiar and intuitively valid. Which was really true? Ironically, she realized both were true for her. She then approached the Bible with new vision and insight and, as a result, Eve emerged in a surprising and unique light. It became obvious that with only the well-known, literal interpretation of this story, no matter how exquisitely Eve has been depicted over time, she can never be viewed without some sense of guilt, remorse or shame – the same emotions that women continue to struggle with today in their courageous journey to empowerment, healing and hope.

In Mendel’s visionary book, Eve continues to reach for the forbidden fruit, now as a hero rather than as the villain she has been portrayed to be over the centuries. Mendel reveals a previously hidden path that, if taken, will enable women and men to learn to honor and appreciate both the feminine and masculine energies within us all and, in so doing, discover the possibility of an empowering future for the human family. Visit the author’s inspiring website at: www.dancinginthefootstepsofeve.com .

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TIP SHEET:

Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul: “Dancing…is a beautifully written book about the return of a sense of divinity. Heather Mendel is especially sensitive to the spiritual needs of women. But the real contribution of this book is to offer an intelligent, intimate, and relevant idea of God in a time of confusion and forgetting.”

Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and The Blade, Sacred Pleasure, and The Real Wealth of Nations: “Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve is a highly original book, an ambitious and creative undertaking…Mendel’s scholarship and knowledge of religious writings combine with her deeply felt reflections and enlightened consciousness to illuminate a remarkable personal journey by a woman steeped in Jewish tradition in search of the divine feminine.”

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, author of Kabbalah: A Love Story, and sixteen books on Judaism, Kabbalah, and spirituality: “Autobiography, history, theology, midrash, kabbalah and, of course, feminism all seamlessly woven together into a wise and wonderful literary adventure. From ancient tradition to New Age, Mendel sets a banquet table for the 21st century spiritual seeker…a beautiful book.”

Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of The Divine Feminine, and Minyan: “The return of the divine Mother, Hochmah, Shechina, Sophia, heralds the transformation of the human spirit from competing religious tribes to shared explorations of divine consciousness. She comes to us and through us, and every once in a while there is that rare soul among us with the capacity to help awaken us to Her presence. Heather Mendel is one of these souls and Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve is one of these awakenings. This book is a delight.”

Alice O. Howell, author of The Dove in the Stone: “Wisdom in every culture is deemed to be feminine…Wisdom is full of delight! Mendel proves this by making even her scholarly research a treat to read…restores the role of the feminine in an earthy, practical way while at the same time honoring the masculine and intellectual genius of traditional Judaism. In this book the Tree of Life blossoms with joy.”

Bettina Aptheker, author of Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech and Became a Feminist Rebel: “Mendel’s dance is an archaeology of hope, a vision of feminist values, of egalitarian life and of the interconnections between all beings and with the Earth…a re-memory of the Sacred Feminine in Jewish tradition…Mendel interprets and celebrates the Sacred Feminine honoring both our individual uniqueness and spectacular diversity.”