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God at the Edge: Searching for the Divine in Uncomfortable and Unexpected Places

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Many will view Niles Goldstein's, "God at the Edge" as a personal narrative of man's journey to becoming a rabbi. Some may see Goldstein's work as an instructional religious text written in a personal and conversational style. Others might find "God at the Edge" an historical text about individuals who deviate from religious norms, with Goldstein as a modern day example. However, none of these distinguish "God at the Edge" for what it truly is: a text about a young man's decision to "choose" religion and his second decision to "use" religion to make meaning in his life.

Goldstein's decisions come during an era when most people blindly accept, or mindlessly reject, their parents' religion; when nary a soul turns to religion for comfort and solace, let alone as a process, through which to grow and develop emotionally. Goldstein's way of looking at religion comes at a time when religion is not popular. Yet, "God at the Edge" might just change that.

Within this text, Goldstein illustrates how religion can be intentionally exciting. Through a series of adventures, Goldstein puts himself in situations many would not. By going into the wild, traveling without proper documents in foreign lands, walking into the wilderness without food, he sets himself up to over and over again, confront fear -- sometimes in the face of a grizzly, sometimes in the face of a woman, sometimes in the face of his father.

This determination to confront fear is perhaps best explained in Goldstein's prior work, "Forests of the Night" where he talks of Hassidic mystics and their belief that fear is necessary to approaching God. What Goldstein seems to have done is attempt to carry out what mystics touted as necessary for knowing God. The funny part about Goldstein's decision is that Goldstein is an Ivy League graduate, who travels the world, who lives a life filled with privilege and opportunity: Fear is something that Goldstein must intentionally create.

As he introduces both Jewish and Christian religious figures, who, over three thousand years, dared to deviate from religious norms, he simultaneously shares turning points in his life. As he weaves his tale filled with literary and religious texts, historical figures who seriously considered religion or made religion their lives -- some who lost their lives because of their choices -- he explains how he uses religion to turn himself inside out.

Goldstein's "God at the Edge" is a good read. While "moderns" apathetically reject thousand-year-old religious practices and Canonical religious texts, Goldstein, an imperfect man, who shares that he was once arrested for ripping out a toilet in a Manhattan bar, processes his life in a religious context. "God at the Edge" contrasts stereotypical ideas of religion -- children sleeping through Sunday school, young adults running from religious education, adults rolling their eyes sighing "religion is for the older generation" -- and offers an exciting way to live a religious life in a modern world.

So let's see. A guy, in a psychotic fit, concludes "We're all going to die!" and then rips the urinal out of the wall of a nightclub bathroom. He spends one (1) night in a New York City jail and receives a suspended sentence. He then finds God and compares his experience to those of many persecuted and imprisoned figures from Biblical and medieval times. Meet Rabbi Goldstein, your spiritual guide for the next 200 pages.

In another chapter he wanders into the White Mountains of New Hampshire to stay there for a few days without food or provisions. Elsewhere, he is spotted by a bear, runs, finds safety in his car, and feels the power of God.

OK, maybe I am too harsh, too cynical. But rather than feeling inspired by these tales, I found myself feeling sorry for the Rabbi. The impulsive, desperate actions and risks he takes seem more a cry for psychiatric help than a spiritual quest.

What is missing from these tales is some badly needed humor and self-awareness. Despite his alleged abject humility in all of these encounters with God's power, the author takes himself awfully seriously. After summarizing a bizarre adventure, he'll compare his experience to that of some Hassidic luminary or medieval monk or abbott or literary figure. Indeed, each chapter seems to be structured that way -- a few pages on "the crazy thing I did" followed by a humorless sermon on its connection to history and a reiteration of the message that God is everywhere.

There is something strained about the whole exercise. It's more interesting and scholarly than many mushy spiritual books, but that's not saying much. It's also much less entertaining than it could have been considering all the experiences to which the author insanely subjected himself.

There are many alternate paths to god, and god is present in the darkness as well as the light. Many people find god in pretty parks, humble houses of worship, massive mountaintops, and serene meadows. Others find spirituality in foxholes, in the muck and mire, in degradation, or in prison. In the bible, Avraham Avinu smashed the idols in his father's retail idol outlet. Rabbi Goldstein did not smash an idol, he just smashed a urinal in a fit of mortal rage and anger at a Manhattan bar two weeks prior to graduating college. He was promptly arrrested, and he spent a night in the Manhattan's Tombs Prison with accused murderers and transvestite prostitutes. But didn't Joseph spend time in jail, as did Shneur Zalman? Didn't Jonah have to go down to Jaffa, down to the hold of the ship, and down into a fish to turn around? These events led to spiritual awakenings and eventual leadership. A restless Rabbi Goldstein, 33, is seeking authenticity, meaning, wholeness, and rest. He is a police chaplain and DEA advisor, and a founding rabbi of the New Shul which met at HUC-JIR in Greenwich Village/Manhattan (now meets at Judson on Wash Sq). He is also a specialist in the Fear of God, as author of "Forests in the Night. Fear of God in Early Hasidic Thought." His book is part travelogue and part spiritual search. For example, on a trip to Nepal and Katmandu, he and his father attend a weekly animal sacrifice in Dakshinkali. As a goat's head is severed, and his father hugs him, Niles is reminded of the Akedah. When discussing the fine line between the spiritual and sacrilegious, he is reminded of Nadav and Avihu and the Golem of Prague. His trip `into the wilderness' of Alaska and meeting with a hungry grizzly bear brings on thoughts of the Rambam's discourse on fear and the awareness of one's meagerness in comparison to god. He has the ability to find God while dog-sledding in the Arctic Circle, while counseling police officers in the Bronx, getting dumped by a young girlfriend in Princeton, and while on additional excursions in Asia, Alaska, Boston, Africa, and the wilds of New Hampshire. Finding god isnt easy, isn't succinct and it doesnt happen in five steps, but Goldstein shows how a prepared mind can find spirituality in some of the grossest or most fearsome places.

Goldstein's personal adventures are certainly interesting. But a week after I read this book I had a difficult time remembering anything he wrote besides the autobiographical details. Having said that, Goldstein's life is interesting enough that I think I would get a lot more out of meeting him than out of reading him. And maybe after he has a little more seasoning, he will be a better writer and be able to explain more coherently how his spiritual quest can help the rest of us draw broader lessons.

GOD AT THE EDGE is a fascinating a powerful work--part spirituality book, part adventure memoir. Goldstein accomplishes what few other writers these days have been able to pull off: he treats the spiritual quest as a great adventure, and takes us to places and experiences (such as fear, struggle, confinement, even pain) most people never associate with God and the inner life. He also dumbs down nothing, offering intelligent and compelling insights into the lives and thoughts of various Jewish and Christian religious figures over the ages, some mainstream, some marginal. This is a must read for anyone fed up with the warm and fuzzy pablum that passes for spirituality writing today, or for anyone searching for meaning and purpose in an era of disillusionment and despair.

Curious about spirituality but not being a "religious" person, I was intrigued by this book's subtitle: Searching for The Divine in Uncomfortable and Unexpected Places." I was even more fascinated, however, by the author's ability to make this pilgrimage not just moving and thought-provoking, but witty and entertaining as well. I've read a number of books dealing with spiritual journeys, but this was told by someone who speaks my language. Goldstein is a real person -- not someone standing in front of congregants lecturing, not someone who has found some sort of easy-fix Holy Grail -- but someone who has fears, doubts (yes, even a rabbi has doubts sometimes) and even a dark side, and the courage to look them all squarely in the eye. The beauty here is that the author freely admits that he doesn't necessarily have all the answers, but the process of the search -- examining and interpreting the lessons of well-known and historical figures, looking deeply into our collective and individual psyches -- can itself be absolutely riveting.

It's a truism in many religions that G-d is often to be found in the most unlikely places. As the subtitle of this book indicates, that's the author's working principle here. In each chapter, he uses personal experiences, both good and bad, as a springboard to discuss different aspects of spirituality. As a rabbi, Goldstein's obviously well-versed in the Jewish tradition, but one of the strengths of his book is that he also brings examples of what other religions have had to say about spirituality.

There's much to consider in Goldstein's book. However, it left me with mixed feelings . He writes in a straightforward, easy to understand manner, which is a plus in a book that touches upon spirituality and mysticism, topics that can easily become vague and obstruse in the wrong hands. Goldstein's spirituality is not the kind that seeps into the quite crevices of the day. Instead, he has a restlessness that leads him to seek G-d in experiences that challenge him both physically and emotionally. The autobiographical sections were enthralling--who would have thought that a future rabbi would have found G-d in a prison cell after a drunken, escapade? But his discussions of the spiritual lessons he learned in such places seemed a bit pale in comparison.. Nonetheless, God at the Edge provides a useful example of how to mine personal experiences for spiritual meaning,

Every time I try reading a book on mysticism, spirituality or Divine presence, it takes multiple-passes and the book rarely gets completed.

"G-D At The Edge" is a compelling read I couldn't wait to continue. Its format is adventurous and it offers just enough history to get a non-historian like myself interested in ages past. Rabbi Goldstein's humility make him believable, and his humanity approachable.

Although he doesn't address all the life circumstances where you might find yourself "at the edge", if you've ever experienced an edge in life -- hunger, fear, loss -- or felt the Divine presence in the light of a candle, then you may see that Rabbi Goldstein knows where you're coming from. All-in-all very well done -- Thank You Niles!

Goldstein comes across as self-indulgent and immature in thisbook. ... [The] book opens with a description of the time he ripped a urinal out of the wall in a Manhattan bar (it was during his college days). The way he connects his ensuing arrest and imprisonment to an experience with G-d is, in my opinion, ludicrous. To have the gall to compare himself to the Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi is so far off it is almost comical. It gives a clear indication that he has no understanding of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, who was imprisoned for much different reasons than he couldn't control his drunken urges.

His numerous mentions of encounters with "beautiful women" make him seem exceedingly self-indulgent and unsure of himself. It seems as though he must mention that he slept with a number of women along his spiritual quest in order to validate his experiences. One point that came across as being unsure of himself, is when he was describing a visit to a girlfriend who was soon to break his heart. He mentions that the first night when he went to visit her at her college, they hardly even touched. He adds in parentheses that it was because she said she was tired. His need to offer an "explanation" seemed macho and lame.

Additionally, given the fact that he wrote the book from the perspective of a rabbi, I find it completely extraneous to mention members of other religions (Christianity) who also were imprisoned etc. As if there aren't enough examples within his own religion.

In sum, if you're looking for a good take on finding G-d in extreme circumstances, don't look here.