Poet, translator, and liturgist Marcia Falk states that this Jewish prayer book is "for those dissatisfied or frustrated with the traditional prayers and for those who appreciate the traditional texts and wish to build upon them." The author of The Song of Songs: A New Translation and Interpretation has created a beautiful crosscut of b'rakkah for the home and community. The paperback is divided into sections on weekdays, Sabbaths, and Rosh Hodesh-the festival of the New Moon. Interspersed throughout are some fine poems of Jewish women poets. The last segment of The Book of Blessings contains commentary on the Jewish texts.

Falk builds a bridge into the world of everyday spirituality with her devotional prayers to the source of all life. In a "Blessing of the Children" we read: "Be who you are — / and may you be blessed / in all that you are." A prayer for lighting the candles on the Sabbath is both simple and elegant: "May our hearts be lifted, / our spirits refreshed, / as we light the Sabbath candles." The feminist vitality that infuses these prayers is salutary.