Rabbi Ian Bailey 2000 (www.thesevenways.com)
Rabbi Ian Bailey 2000 was in town last night to promote his new book, The Seven Ways.
Rabbi Bailey graduated from NYHS in 2000 and then spent two years at the yeshiva Derech Etz Chaim in Jerusalem, Israel. He was the first NYHS student to go there. He then received his Bachelor's Degree in Religious Education from the Talmudic University of Florida, Yorah Yorah Rabbinic Ordination from Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovitz at the Jerusalem Kollel (Jerusalem, Israel), and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with a concentration in Organizational Psychology.
The Seven Ways is Rabbi Ian Bailey's first book. You can purchase it here and know that Rabbi Bailey will be donating a portion of each sale to NYHS and SHA!
In his book, Rabbi Bailey examines seven prominent characters in the Torah who exhibit seven distinct personality characteristics. To bring the topic to life, Rabbi Bailey interviewed ten different people from a wide range of Jewish backgrounds and life experiences. Rabbi Bailey admits that he has always been "a fan of personality systems and studied them in the secular realm". While at Derech Etz Chaim, he took classes that examined the seven forefathers and how their lives related to the personality characteristics or middot. He blended these two bodies of knowledge together to create his new book.
Rabbi Bailey describes himself as a combination of yesod and hod characteristics. These middot/characteristics are associated with Joseph and Aaron and embody leadership and nurturing capabilities.
Rabbi Bailey and his wife Julia and young daughter, Bracha live in Baltimore these days. He is looking forward to being back in Seattle in August and expresses his gratitude to his alma maters, NYHS and SHA.
He says, "When I was a rabbi in Sacramento, I taught a lot of classes in basic Judaism. Most of my congregants did not have a day school background. I began to really appreciate how important it is for a community to have day schools. The overt learning that happens and the learning that occurs by osmosis are both so valuable. One gains a tremendous amount of knowledge through day school. This simple knowledge base helps keep Jewish communities alive and thriving. I wouldn't be where I am today if not for Seattle and the schools".
Rabbi Bailey has chosen to give a portion of the proceeds of the sale of his book to his schools, NYHS and SHA, in order to thank them for their generous support, while he was a student.
We thank Rabbi Ian Bailey for his support and wish him continued success.
From www.thesevenways.com:
The Seven Ways is an innovative new personality system that will radically change the way you understand yourself and others.
Based on a fresh new understanding of the sefirot of kabbalah, The Seven Ways offers keen insight into our unique temperaments and skill sets. The Seven Ways advises us on how to develop ourselves and interact with others by showing us that the subtext of stories of the Bible (Torah) is the same subtext that we experience on a daily basis.
Entertaining to read, The Seven Ways book is an active adventure filled with colorful, insightful interviews with members of each personality type. The Seven Ways sheds refreshing light on how each one of us can grasp our unique personalities and fulfill our potential.
