Everything Is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism [Paperback]

Jay Michaelson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1590306716 | ISBN-13: 978-1590306710 | Edition: Original

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the most widely read Jewish writers of his generation…Michaelson's deeply contemplative, thoughtful book will open the doors of the heart and mind to the possibility that what we have come to take for the “self” is just a way to label the way things look from a certain angle.”—Spirituality & Health magazine 

“[Michaelson] writes with clarity, passion, and a poetic sensibility.”—Jewish Week


“Jay Michaelson’s captivating post-secular musings present for the generation of the new Jewish culture a vision of expanded religious possibilities.”—Forward 

“Stripping away the barnacles of outdated concepts, Jay Michaelson aligns the best nondual thinking in Judaism with the best nondual thinking in other profound systems. Everything Is God is a timely and necessary contribution.”—Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, coauthor of Jewish with Feeling

“Jay Michaelson has written a poetic, detailed, and radical book expressing a Jewish language of oneness: not the oneness of a bearded man in the sky but the Oneness of a universe not divided against itself. He gives the reader a gift of self-beyond-the-self, a gift that cannot be owned but is well worth having.”—Rabbi Jill Hammer, author of The Jewish Book of Days

“This is an awesome, highly recommended presentation of crucial mystical concepts.”—Rabbi David A. Cooper, author of God Is a Verb

“Fantastic—a book that offers a compelling theology for thinking Jews! Read this book, and buy a copy for your rabbi as well.”—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness

“Michaelson patiently explains, again and again, truths that are beyond words. He shares this treasure generously and passionately.”—Rabbi Jacob Staub, Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

“If my mind were not already God’s unstretchable Mind, I’d say the book is a mind-stretcher. And if the book were not already God, beyond even delight, I’d say the book is a delight.”—Rabbi Arthur Waskow, author of Godwrestling: Round 2

“Compelling . . . jolts us from an ego-centered illusion of separateness. The author’s language of oneness is certain to resonate with a younger generation of spiritual seekers.”—Jewish Book World 

About the Author

Jay Michaelson is a scholar and activist who has written extensively on spirituality, Judaism, sexuality, and law. He is the author of God in Your Body and the founding editor of the award-winning publication Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture. He is a columnist for The Forward, the Huffington Post, and Tikkun. He holds a JD from Yale University and is completing his PhD in Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Trumpeter; Original edition (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590306716
• ISBN-13: 978-1590306710
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Theology
  • #27 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Jewish Texts > Kabbalah
  • #53 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Jewish Life

More About the Author

Jay Michaelson is the author of three books and two hundred articles on the intersections of religion, sexuality, and law. Jay is a contributing editor to Religion Dispatches, the Forward, and Tikkun, and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. His work has been featured in the New York Times and NPR. Jay is the author of God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality (2011), God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness, and Embodied Spiritual Practice (2006), Another Word for Sky: Poems (2007), and Everything is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism (2009). In 2009, he was included on the "Forward 50" list of the fifty most influential American Jews.

Jay is a longtime advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people, particularly in religious communities. He has taught for the Human Rights Campaign, Empire State Pride Agenda, and many other organizations, and founded Nehirim, the largest national provider of community programming for GLBT Jews, partners, and allies. His work on this subject has been published in anthologies including Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice (2007), The Passionate Torah (2008), and Queer Religion (2011).

Jay holds a J.D. from Yale, an M.A. in Religious Studies from Hebrew University, and an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. He is currently completing his Ph.D in Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jay teaches across the country, and has held teaching positions at Boston University Law School, City College of New York, and Yale University.

A practicing Buddhist in the Theravadan tradition as well as a student and teacher of Kabbalah for fifteen years, Jay lived in Jerusalem for three years, and in 2008-09 spent five months on silent meditation retreat, mostly in Nepal. In 2011-2012, he is crisscrossing the country and appearing on national media to combat the devastating and false dichotomy of "God vs. Gay."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A New Type of Judaism, November 29, 2009

By 

Eric Maroney (Trumansburg, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Everything Is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism (Paperback)

Everything is God is a book with a great deal of heart. The reader can easily tell that Jay Michaelson is a very sincere thinker on Jewish matters and in the wider world of spirituality. With this in mind, it is easy to forgive the book some of its shortcomings. For one, the work is not overtly Jewish. Michaelson quotes Hindu and Buddhist sources far more than traditional Jewish ones. The reader gets the impression that Michaelson is more comfortable in that world. Second, the book is organized in a way that does not help the reader access this difficult subject matter. Michaelson should have thought more about the arrangement of his materials. With that said, this is a grounded and beautiful work. Michaelson presents a picture of God, spirituality, and Jewishness which appealing, productive and humane.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nondual Judaism made accessible to all, November 14, 2009

By 

Gary Reiner (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everything Is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism (Paperback)

There is a growing segment of Judaism which is nondual in nature -- it joins other nondual paths such as Buddhism, Vedanta Hindusim, Sufism, and nondual Christianity as a specific iteration of the universal. Nonduality is found at the summit of nearly every mystical tradition in the world.

Everything is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism is groundbreaking in its scope, intellectual honesty, and devotional fervor. The book is divided into two sections: theory, and practice. Throughout are many quotes from Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Rabbi Arthur Green, and other nondual luminaries.

Reading Everything is God is a blessing -- discovering the language and methods of nondual Judaism provides insights into delving deeper into other traditions, in particular Vedanta Hindusim. And, it is refreshing and rewarding to begin to understand that Judaism and other nondual paths are enriched, not impoverished, when they come in contact with other traditions.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Read for the Spiritually Inclined Thinker, August 5, 2010

By 

Coach K (NY,NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everything Is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism (Paperback)

For the traditional Jew on the spiritual path, there are few contemporary books that can help him or her find his way toward reconciliation of organized religion, rationality, and spirituality . This is one of them, and is a highly recommended read.

There are many different layers to this book. For one, the book can serve as a guide to other teachings and readings. Michaelson is clearly a scholar of this highest order, and the wealth of knowledge that he brings is vast. Every other page, I found myself looking up online another name, adding more and more books to my Amazon queue, as I try to take in the big picture of the spiritual path.

Second, after Michaelson explains the nature of non-dualism, he shares, with much detail, how non-duality within Judaism has a rich history. He shows how such an understanding follows the mystical traditions of Kabballah and the devotional inclinations of the Hasidic movement, and more. While non-duality may not be your mainstream Young Israel Judaism, it isn't beyond the pale either.

Last, Michaelson describes how a traditional observance of Halacha today is not entirely inconsistent with such a non-dual understanding. While Hasidic Rabbis were somehow able to reconcile a divine Torah and the commandments with non-duality, Michaelson's approach is very different and doesn't invoke a divinely given Torah -- he sees observance of Mitzvot as acts of love toward one's non-dual God. "Stupid" acts, he calls them, but valuable practices nonetheless.

This last section is the most practical one, and the one that left me with the most questions. While I respect Michaelson's approach and methods of reconciliation, I doubt that it could work for many people other than philosophers of Michaelson's ilk. For the non-philosopher, such as myself, one's response is more likely to be, "ok, I get it, but still - wear tzitzit every day?"

In summary, the book led me to realize the devotional path to enlightenment (Bhakti) is well served by religion. But the path of knowledge (Jnana) is far more difficult. I still can't help but wonder - why would a seeker of spiritual truths choose, or stay with, Judaism? Are there not better systems -- Buddhism, Vedanta or better yet, non religious approaches such as Harding's Headless Way -- that are specifically geared toward helping a person along the spiritual path -- and that these might be better approaches? Why struggle to make it work in a religion where spirituality is a fringe movement and where one has to write a book whose title alone, incorporating the word "Radical", attests to the hoops that one must go through to make it work with the truth that one has come to discover?

This book is a wonderful read to those who have been "awakened" and have learned a bit, either through books or experiences, and are now looking to explore spirituality in the context of Judaism. I can't promise it holds all the answers for you, but it is a worthwhile part of the journey.