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God Was in This Place and I, I Did Not Know: Finding Self, Spirituality and Ultimate Meaning

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The title of this book, `God was in the Place, & I, i Did not Know', may seem a bit cumbersome (and even, to some, looks like it has a typographical error. However, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner draws this title from the Torah, the book of Genesis to be precise. It is the exclamation of Jacob who, upon waking from his dream about the ladder connecting heaven and earth, makes a startling realisation about the reality of the seemingly mundane and ordinary place where he had stopped for the night.

In the prologue, Kushner develops an exegesis and hermeneutic of Genesis 28:16 more fully, and in so doing, illustrates many of the problems we regularly encounter, both in reading scripture as well as in interpreting daily life experience. He places this story in strong connection with the ordinary, even relating the angels on the ladder to common humanity:

`There is another, even more obvious interpretation. The angels did not reside in heaven at all. They lived on earth. They were ordinary human beings. And, like ordinary human beings, they shuttled back and forth between heaven and earth. The trick is to remember, after you descend, what you understood when you were high on the ladder.'

Kushner examines the way in which sages have interpreted this passage, and provides insights into history, psychology, philosophy, and scriptural study in the process. Each interpretation has had what one might call a personal conversation and experience with Jacob. In fact, each of these interpreters is portrayed as being on the ladder, rising and descending. The text is structured in this way. The interpreters are:

+Rashi
Schelomo ben Yitzhaki, Rashi
The key word for this interpretation is awareness. This is very important for making the kind of realisation that Jacob made. It is very important for us as we perceive the presence of God in our own lives.
If I had known God was here, I wouldn't have gone to sleep.

+Kotzk
Menachem Mendl of Kotzk
The key concept here is egotism. Only by stripping away the ego can one begin to understand the presence and the personality of God.
God was here because I was able to subdue my ego.

+Ludomir
Hannah Rachel Werbermacher, the Maid of Ludomir
A remarkable woman, a teacher of the Hasidim (who listened to her teaching through a half-open door, so as to preserve distance, and perhaps preserve a fiction that they were not in fact being taught by a woman), whose insight gave her access to the other side, or the many other sides, of stories being considered.
God is present, even in the midst of evil.

+Mezritch
Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezritch
The word Maggid means 'storyteller'. Through the stories, here the key is self-reflection, to find meaning in the innermost being, to find that still, small voice that can only speak in silence and the absence of our own activity.
God was here because I stopped being aware of myself.

+Nachmani
Shmuel bar Machmani
Who was Jacob, and why should he know this? Who is God, and why should God do this? These are questions that are historical as much as theological or psychological, and it is in our history and God's history that we find meaning and identity.
I could have climbed this ladder of history.

+De Leon
Moses ben Shem Tov de Leon
A remarkable book, lost for a time, whose existence was denied even by Moses de Leon's widow, the Zohar, gives astonishing insight into the interior of God, reality, and our selves, and how to find a deep connection that is always present and never finished. Attributed to another author, Shimon bar Yohai, Kushner speculates that perhaps they shared the same soul. The completeness of the self of the universe connects through Jacob's story here.
I is the Lord your God

+Ostropol
Shimshon ben Pesach Ostropoler
Beyond the question and awareness of the self of God and the self of the universe is the self, basic and simple, complex and intricate. Rabbi Shimshon put names to the kelipot, the broken shards of creation. We are all a part of a whole, a broken piece in and of ourselves. Our awareness of this helps begin the process of reunion.
I didn't know that my name was part of God's name

Each interpreter's chapter stands on its own merits, but each is connected to the other, and to a wider body of interpretation and scholarship, by the use of side notes and references done in (what I would describe as being) a proto-talmudic structure. The Talmud has been described by some as one of the world's first hypertexts, with cross-links and chains that lead through the text -- this book does similar linking.

Rabbi Kushner concludes by linking all the stories to the reader:

`Each person has a Torah, unique to that person, his or her innermost teaching. Some seem to know their Torahs very early in life and speak and sing them in a myriad of ways. Others spend their whole lives stammering, shaping and rehearsing them. Some are long, some are short. Some are intricate and poetic, others are only a few words, and still others can only be spoken through gesture and example. But every soul has a Torah.'

The relative place of self (both as an I and as an i) in God's life and universe becomes more apparent through these stories. Human beings are important, yet who can be important in relation to God? Yet, who is not important in relation to God? May this work help you discern where God is in your life, and what you are called to be.

As you have gathered from the main review, this book focuses on the meaning of just one verse in Genesis, when Jacob awoke from the ladder dream. Usually Rabbis pick up on a verse just a couple verses back where "the Angels of God were going up and down the ladder". The focus is that they start on Earth and go to Heaven - not the other way around.

This book is great because it is like there is a dialog accross the space-time continuumn with 7 Rabbis in different locations and centuries arguing about their 7 different interpretations.

One interpretation based on the fact that there are two "I's" in the verse spelled differently in Hebrew. It is that my Godlike "I" did not know God was present because my ego "i" was in the way. Jacob's chance to experience God was diminished because the ego "i" was ragiling off its commentary. This concept is similar to Buddism.

Kushner adds an 8th interpretaion in his prolouge - which I won't spoil by going into detail. I heard Kushner talk at a Synagouge in Austin, Texas and he summarized his interpretation by finishing, "Hold up your hands before your eyes. You are looking at the hands of God."

A great book on modern Jewish mystism.

Kushner walks us through the exegetical vantage points of seven different rabbis, each looking at the same text. Jacob awakes from a dream about a ladder (Gen 28:16), and declares that he has experienced God. Kushner then poetically imagines the seven rabbis ascending and descending the ladder to teach us how to read the text. What results is a beautifully poetic look at the biblical text itself, a clever mode of teaching us Jewish history and midrash, and a fully postmodern system of acknowledging the existence of multiple perspectives. As with Kushner's other works (cf. Jewish Spirituality) it evolves into a mystical climax in which the reader and text are equated.

The seven are:
1. Rashi (Rabbi Shelomo ben Yitzhaki, @1050). He calls us to focus on the literal text without distraction, without background noise. He says that the real miracle of the burning bush required Moses to pay attention for more than a minute to realize that it was not burning (p. 24).
2. Kotzk (Menachem Mendl of Kotzk, 1787-1859). He said that we needed to destroy our egos and should begin by calling ourselves liars (p. 38, 54). We should do this through gemilut hasidim, acts of selflessness (p. 51). Kotzk later in life condemned himself to solitude, only occasionally stepping onto his balcony to yell into the crowd, "You are all liars!"
3. Ludomir (Hannah Rachel Werbermacher, 1805-1892). The only woman on the list, she called us to see that God was there even in the midst of evil. Teaching men through a half open door (p. 58), she taught them that God does not intervene in human affairs without human agency (p. 62). In fact, we are to assume that the fall in the garden was an act of God. God was present with Jacob in the angel that wrestled with him.
4. Mezritch (Dov baer of Mezritch, d. 1772). He says that the goal of the religious life is devekut, cleaving to God (p. 84). Forced to follow a monk whose job it is to wash dishes (p. 87), he discovers that the purpose of life is to escape self-reflection to throw one's self whole-heartedly into one's role. Otherwise, as in a game of racquetball (p. 89), the self is always distracted when it focuses on anything other than its purpose. The self then becomes fragmented, with one part looking back at the rest to analyze its existence. "Too much concentration can be worse than none at all" (p. 90). We should be like the husband whose quest it is to find the right food for the pregnant wife in the middle of the night (p. 103). The "I did not know" of the Genesis text really refers to not paying attention to the "I."
5. Nachmani (Samuel bar Nachmani, late 3rd c.). He sees in the story the issue of Jacob needing to become part of history, to take hold of history and enter into it.
6. De Leon (Moses be Shem Tov de Leon, 1240-1305). De Leon wrote out a book called the Zohar (p. 130), and though he attributed it to a long-dead rabbi, he seems to have produced it himself. He says that the we are to accept who we are and put aside the veil of deceptive pseudo-identities. God's primary activity is to free us from the slavery to those self-deceptions. If God had a business card, the subline would read, "Frees slaves," and then "Call anytime" (p. 144). God is the sense of self, the "I," the Anochi, which is free.
7. Ostropol (Shimson ben Pesach Ostropoler, d. 1648). He would say that it should be read, "God was in this place and I did not know it was i." We are somehow an indispensable part of God (p. 173). To look at your own hands is to look at the hands of God (p. 174). Somehow Abraham's father Terah was redeemed by the activities of Abraham himself. There is an old legend of Abraham smashing Terah's idols, and the conclusion is that the idolatries are redeemed by the son who is a part of him.

The conclusion is that the text can be read legitimately through multiple lenses, and as we do so, our eyes are increasingly opened by and to the text. God may speak in any number of ways through our interaction with the text.

It's a brilliant book, unlike most, both poetic and intelligent.

Rabbi Kushner takes a single line from the Torah and then gives seven traditional commentaries ranging from a 3rd century Palestinian rabbi to the "Maid of Ludomir," who flourished 1500 years later. With each commentary, Kushner is able to shed light on a different aspect of God and extend each rabbinical reading into a comtemporary perspective. This is a marvelous melding of rabbinical scholarship and the renewed sense of spirituality in Judaism.

I discovered this book in a search for something new about the story of Jacob to enhance a short sermon. The book drew me into the world of 2500 years of Torah scholarship; into its great traditions of exposition, argument and story telling.

The clear way in which Rabbi Kushner presents great thoughts of Torah scholars, his writing style, and love of their wisdom, allow the reader to "be" at once a yeshiva student and a friend worthy of intimate conversation. The chapter on De Leon - Rabbi Luria - which presents the 10 commandments as a circular system, offers unique insight.

Rabbi Kushner's longing for the Messiah, which is so evident in his writing has added much to my understanding of my own faith.

Rabbi Kushner's liberal use of story to explain on many levels that which is difficult to explain at all sheds a new light on the "parables" of Jesus

I eagerly seek out any word of a new book. It is a blessing that when other baby boomers were rejecting their faith and their heritage, Lawrence Kushner was embracing his, and doing all the hard work with the result that his readers are drawn to the Light. He is my most precious spiritual mentor.

This is an awesome book. Life changing. An awesome book. It is one of the best I have ever read. A must read. Very healing. I have given it to literally dozens of friends over the years. Get it. You will not be disappointed!

What I didn't like about this book, was that I had finished reading it! Do you know the feeling of being so engaged you don't want it to end? This is what I am speaking of. The truth of the matter is we can continue to learn what a vast multitude of sages and scholars have to say about this quote from Genesis. One of the things which makes life interesting is just when you think you have given thought to every possible explanation, there are always those you haven't thought of, read, etc. What is even more amazing is that these diverse interpretations are all correct!
Kushner is a wonderful author whose writings invite you in for a nice hot cup of tea, like an old friend, or member of the family. His writing is scholarly, and yet at the same time, warm and friendly. His light shines so brightly in this world! Buy this book, pull a blanket onto your lap on the sofa, have a nice hot cup - or 7 - of tea. Relax, enjoy, and allow yourself to be taken to a wonderful and interesting place. A place of wonder, and awe. This book not only gives one pause, but also leaves one feeling G-d's love.
This was one of my favorite books!
What The Torah Teaches Us About Spirituality/ Through Isaac's Own Spiritual Journey
What the Torah Teaches Us About Survival
Companion Workbook to What The Torah Teaches Us About Survival

A marvelous book! It was easy to read, thought provoking, and inspirational. I highly recommend it.

The only problem I had with this book was that it seemed to brush over some big ideas. Things would be stated that the author seemed to assume the reader would agree with without delving further into it. But I would still reccomend this book, because it's a great example of the many meanings that can be found in the Torah -- even in just one verse!