Synopses & Reviews
This exploration of the radical, yet ancient, idea that everything and everyone is God will transform how you understand your life and the nature of religion itself. While God is conventionally viewed as an entity separate from us, there are some Jews—Kabbalists, Hasidim, and their modern-day heirs—who assert that God is not separate from us at all. In this nondual view, everyone and everything manifests God. For centuries a closely guarded secret of Kabbalah, nondual Judaism is a radical reorientation of religious life that is increasingly influencing mainstream Judaism today.
Writer and scholar Jay Michaelson presents a wide-ranging and compelling explanation of nondual Judaism: what it is, its traditional and contemporary sources, its historical roots and philosophical significance, how it compares to nondual Buddhism and Hinduism, and how it is lived in practice. He explains what this mystical nondual view means in our daily ego-centered lives, for our communities, and for the future of Judaism.
About the Author
Jay Michaelson is a teacher who has written extensively on spirituality, Judaism, Buddhism, and meditation. He is the author of God in Your Body and the founder and chief editor of Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture. He is a columnist for The Forward and a contributor to the Jerusalem Post, Slate, Tikkun, and other publications. He has taught Kabbalah and spiritual practice at a wide range of religious and secular institutions, as well as online at learnkabbalah.com.