Customer Reviews

God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors with the Adventure Rabbi

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two people look at a redwood tree. One sees an incredible, living being; the other, a new backyard deck. The difference is found in the attitudes and virtues that inform our vision. Because they miss this basic point, most attempts to understand how wilderness can affect one's spiritual life fall short. Not so Rabbi Korngold, who clearly lives her subject matter. She organizes her book around the virtues of wilderness spirituality: mindfulness, awe, Sabbath rest and more. This book is excellent for people who know they feel something special in the natural world, but don't know why this is so, or what to do with it. It's small in the backpack, and big in the heart. Mike Comins, founder of TorahTrek, author of A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways into Wilderness, Wilderness Ways into Judaism

Rabbi Korngold's lessons are wonderful and so vital. After reading this, I felt an immediate desire to take a walk outside and reconnect with the world around me. We should all take her advice to find peace and meaning in our lives. Her personal stories and sense of humor makes this easy and fun reading. Anyone, regardless of his or her religion, can and should learn from Rabbi Korngold. I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone!

I grew up Catholic and went through the motions until I realized that so much in the Church didn't resonate with me, and I enjoyed hiking and camping and running/walking on my hometown's nature trails so much more. My outdoor pursuits, especially a pivotal camping trip in the Utah Backcountry left me with a connection to myself, to nature, to the universe even more so than any mass or ceremony behind stained glass windows had ever attempted. I found the divine spark in nature, and tried to reconcile the better texts and wisdoms from the church in light of what supported that. I also looked to other traditions, like Buddhism & Taoism, for a richer understanding of the holy wow. I never thought to look to Judaism for the same wisdoms & connection to the earth - even though the New Testament is chock full of natural revelations of the divine, of divine revelations in nature. Not to mention rituals and holidays/ceremonies that have been born of natural events, circumstances and phenomena. And who hasn't arrived at peace of mind (and bliss) after a walk or hike or zephyr-like run? The way that Rabbi Korngold meshes these two (at first) seemingly disparate traditions - that of Judaism and outdoor recreation - is a natural step back to a less disparate and separating understanding of ourselves in the world.

This book is a quick and engaging read, with an abiding passion for everything wild, and very good for certain audiences. If you are a disconnected or disaffected Jew who likes the outdoors, _God in the Wilderness_ is written for you. Consider this a five-star review. Non-Jews seeking to build an ecumenical outlook and non-religious readers trying to connect to the deeper meaning of the world may also find much of value. Korngold makes a few key aspects of Judaism accessible to novice readers through the vehicle of wilderness appreciation. She also tells a few stories that will touch any reader with a heart.

On the other hand, if you have already thought deeply about Judaism, about wilderness, and about the connection between the two, and now seek to expand your understanding, go elsewhere. You will likely find this book to be superficial, aside from the handful of moving stories I just mentioned. Consider this a two-star review.

This was fantastic. I am not able to be outdoors as I would like to. It brought the feelings indoors and brought New meaning as to what is felt when seeing beauty in your yard or in wilderness. Light-(pages)Thought provoking, Meaningful reading. I am not Jewish. Do not let the title fool you. Wounderful backbacking book. This is one to share.

Easily one of the best and most engaging books I've read in recent years. (Yes that includes non-religious / non-spiritiual books.) Rabbi Korngold does a first-rate job of asking and then answering the question of how to make religion relevant to our modern lives. A great read for all--from the casual hiker who appreciates nature, to the "spiritual but not religious," to those wholly committed to religious practice.
Rabbi Korngold's book provides lessons for our present day, and grounds them in text and tradition from the earliest days -when we found "God in the Wilderness." She reminds us that we can once again. The Adventure Rabbi guides us on a marvelous journey of rediscovery, and we are much the better for taking this journey.

Consider the sources of wisdom that Rabbi Jamie Korngold taps in her ready-for-the-trail paperback memoir, "God in the Wildnerness." Yes, we meet such venerable sages as Maimonides, Martin Buber and Abraham Joshua Heschel. But there's also room here for Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof" and even a bit of wisdom from "The Wizard of Oz."

Of course, the bulk of Rabbi Korngold's wisdom is drawn from scriptures - and from her experience in reading the natural world itself. She writes honestly, which is a mark of a solid, inspirational memoir. She shares with us some of her awe-inspiring moments in the wilderness - but she also shares with us some of her moments of doubt - and even moments of great danger in her relationship with outdoor sporting, including her obsession to run a marathon of 100 miles that nearly killed her.

In other words, this is a companion book. It's not a preachy, too-good-to-be-real, 10-step guide to spiritual perfection. In fact, when she reaches the end of her text, she offers us not 10 commandments for improving our world (and ourselves) - but 20, so we can pick and choose the 10 most relevant to our own lives.

I like the fact that Korngold insisted the book debut in a handy paperback edition - in itself, an invitation for us to stuff it into a pocket or bag and head outside to read it.

The book tells us a lot - but not too much - about how this congregational rabbi wound up establishing an "adventure" ministry in Colorado. She's a rabbi in the Reform movement but her approach to rethinking community - and where communities should gather - is a healthy creative force within American religion.

She's not alone, of course. Evangelical Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists - a whole host of faithful people -- are rethinking their spiritual relationship to God's Creation these days. What Rabbi Korngold is saying in her book is that this isn't some kind of trendy movement designed to welcome restless seekers into the fold. No, on the contrary, she's saying that this movement reconnects with the deepest roots of faith.

I also appreciate that she refuses to profess easy answers to complex problems. In fact, some of her best passages are about her encounters with puzzles she can't offer to solve for us. Instead, she invites us to join in the journey with her. And, in the end, that's really the most powerful message in this book: a call to journey together into the world God has made for us.

The book easily could become a guide to weekly discussion for small groups. While the book is divided into seven chapters plus an Afterword - groups could use the book for one month, two months - or on a weekend retreat outdoors. In the back of the book, you'll find helpful materials, including instructions for downloading supplements for group discussions.

I've been an avid hiker for the past 15 years and have summated all of the 52 14ers in Colorado. It was more of a challenge for me, a goal, and more of an exercise in physical stamina and endurance than a goal of connection to my surroundings. Perhaps needless to say, I've never considered myself religious or spiritual either. I picked up God in the Wilderness one rainy day after a friend of mine had left an advance copy at my home. The book is a fast read with enough depth of the biblical insights to make them readily accessible. Nothing bogs down this text - it's like packing light with out leaving anything necessary at home. As I read about Rabbi Korngold's experiences in the backcountry, and how she tied her insights to the explanation of certain biblical passages, I must say I was intrigued. Before I knew it, I had finished the book and had nothing to scoff at. In fact, on my next hike, I'll trek equipped with a new vantage point: a greater appreciation for my surroundings, a rooting of self to the mountain as my boots tread the trail, and feel of the air rushing into my lungs - a constant give and take of life - and I'll think about this connection to the world around me. Thank you, Rabbi Korngold for opening my eyes.

This is an important book because it draws the lines of worship back to the temple of nature, from whence worship in its most essential form began, before there were intermediaries between human and divine, when the raw divine was as close as the soil and its fruits. God in the Wilderness brings us back to nature at a time when nature needs us the most to recognize that we, as humans, are not a separate entity from the biological matrix of our environment. We are an integral part of what surrounds us - the air, waters, the animals, the plants, the soil, rocks, mosses, etc. - bound in a web of complex life systems on which we depend for our essential well-being. The health and vibrance of our life is dependant on the health and vibrancy of other parts of the web. In the face of global warming, the lost of species and habitats, and a potential end of the world as we now-know it, we need to be reminded of these connections to nature and shift our worldviews enough to encompass a notion that roots us back on the earth. Even though Rabbi Korngold paints this connection through the lens of Judaism, her reform approach brings us back to the earth in a heartening way.

I picked up this wonderful book last week at the Tattered Cover bookstore while in Denver for a conference last week. I bought it for my wife who is an ordained United Methodist pastor, and I couldn't put it down while flying home to WV.

This is such a great book. Down-to-earth and inspiring at the same time. It is full of humorous and intelligent insights. It was also great to learn more about our shared Judeo-Christian traditions.

As we move to our new home and charge this July, less than three miles from Beech Fork Lake nestled in the WV appalachian mountains, we will be sharing Rabbi Korngold's wisdom with our family as well as our congregation.