The Big Read 5786

Order it online today
also available in the CBJ Library

Each year, choosing the Big Read book involves careful thought and consideration. Should it be contemporary or timeless? Fiction or nonfiction? Accessible to all readers, yet deeply meaningful?

This year’s selection is This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation by Rabbi Alan Lew. First published in 2003, this powerful work explores the spiritual arc of the High Holiday season—from Tisha B’Av through Sukkot—as a time of deep personal reflection and transformation.

Blending storytelling, personal experience, and spiritual insight, Rabbi Lew invites readers to explore how Jewish ritual and liturgy connect to life’s biggest questions. It’s a book that speaks to the heart and soul, offering timeless wisdom for anyone on a journey of growth.

Book groups will begin forming in late August and early September, and all are welcome to participate—whether or not you’ve read the book. Copies are available in the synagogue library and online.

We hope you’ll read along with us and take part in this year’s Big Read experience.