Book Review of:
A Rabbi’s Journey to Heaven
By: Felix Halpern
Published by: It’s Supernatural Press
“I found death to be as beautiful as birth.” Felix Halpern compares his death to a birth. He said that each are generally preceded by pain, then followed by joy.
Halpern also described death as if his body were a hotel room that he checked out of to enter another, more glorious, realm. His spirit naturally and harmoniously stepped out of the confines of his physical frame and was met with a lightning bolt of joy and peace and tranquility.
I love this reframing of death! However, the best part of his book is the 30-day prayer challenge at the end. Halpern lists the Psalms (and parts of Psalms) that exalt God. He encourages us to pray only those Psalms for 30 days; he calls it “30 Days in His Glory.”
The challenge is to refocus our prayer patterns from me-centered to God-centered. Halpern even encourages not to thank God, because that again is me focused (Thank You, God, for blessing me). The idea is to simply adore our Lord, Master, King and Creator. Just to meditate on His beauty and His majesty. Praying this way will transform our hearts and minds to align with the atmosphere of heaven.
I began this 30-day prayer challenge on the 1st of September. I thought it was fitting to focus exclusively on God during the fall feast season. I am 13 days into the challenge and loving it so much that I am planning to extend it to 40 days!
If your heart is burning to exalt God in prayer, I encourage you to take up the challenge. Halpern’s book is a quick and fun read, so I do recommend it. However, if you want to refocus your prayers TODAY, make your own list of Psalms to pray back to God. Don’t choose the “help me” Psalms. List only the Psalms that exalt, glorify and praise God. Your heart will soar with the psalmist’s, just like mine has.
To God be the Glory!