Stalking Elijah: Adventures with Today's Jewish Mystical Master [Hardcover]

Rodger Kamenetz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 1997

The Jew in the Lotus found Rodger Kamenetz in Dharamsala, India, witnessing a historic dialogue between rabbis and the Dalai Lama. That highly charged visit blasted open Kamenetz's view of what it means to be a practicing Jew and launched him on a six-year journey to find and learn from the teachers who are revitalizing the ancient spiritual practices of Judaism. In Stalking Elijah, Kamenetz takes us along for the ride.

Whether exploring the old tradition for its meditative silences or hearing the new Kabbalah being created by today's women, whether welcoming the sabbath bride with Jewish drug addicts and convicts in the slums of West L.A. or practicing the Hasidic method of "calling out" to God while driving the San Bernadino freeway, Kamenetz will introduce readers to the amazing new landscape of Jewish practice and will provoke and inspire them to dig down for the richness of their own spiritual traditions.

Stalking Elijah will be coveted by all those who loved The Jew in the Lotus and conscientiously studied by everyone curious about the Jewish path to the inner life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stymied by a question from the Dalai Lama and thirsting for a religious foundation of equanimity, Rodger Kamenetz goes back to his roots in search of a Jewish inner spirituality. Through encounters with a range of teachers inspired by kabbalah, Kamenetz discovers a wealth of practices that cultivate equivalencies to the Buddhist ideas of balance, emptiness, compassion, etc. Kamenetz personalizes his experiences and delights in finding them in an idiom that connects him with his own tradition. When the story culminates in a Seder with the Dalai Lama, Kamenetz is brought full circle, even offering methods of maintaining Jewish cohesion to the Tibetan diaspora. Penetrating, poignant, and full of discoveries, Stalking Elijah is like an archaeological dig in your own back yard that yields one precious treasure after another.

Review

Stalking Elijah is valuable not only for Jews interested in the mystical tradition as practiced today but for Jews yearning to find a clearer expression of the divine in their lives. In fact, Judaism is not a prerequisite for learning from this book. Kamenetz's message is: If I can do it, so can you. -- The New York Times Book Review, Bob Rosenthal

"Kamenetz unveils the fascinating secret world of Jewish mysticism in its uniquely American idiom. Combining the crystalline wit of the poet and the guideless honesty of the seeker, Kamenetz renews our faith in God and the human heart." -- Ellen Frankel, author of The Five Books of Miriam

"Valuable not only for Jews interested in the mystical tradition as practiced today but for Jews yearning to find a clearer expression of the divine in their lives. In fact, Judaism is not a prerequisite for learning from this book. Kamenetz's message is: If I can do it, so can you." -- New York Times Book Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (October 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060642319
• ISBN-13: 978-0060642310
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,331,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rodger Kamenetz lives in New Orleans where he works as a dream therapist. His journeys have taken him to Dharamsala, India where he witnessed an historic dialogue between rabbis and the Dalai Lama that he recounted in The Jew in the Lotus, and to rural Vermont where he met the dream teacher Marc Bregman of North of Eden, as told in his History of Last Night's Dream. His latest book, Burnt Books, is a dual biography of Franz Kafka and Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and also recounts his journey to the grave of the rebbe in Uman in Ukraine along with tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims.

For more information about Rodger Kamenetz, visit his website at http://kamenetz.com, or meet him on Facebook, or follow him on twitter at
www.twitter.com/Jewinthelotus

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding new spiritual values within Judaism-- a must read!, September 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Stalking Elijah: Adventures with Today's Jewish Mystical Master (Hardcover)

I am very grateful to have read this book-- it offers me additional insights into Judaism and has enhanced my appreciation of its central tenets. The men and women visited by Rodger Kamenetz in Stalking Elijah are making great strides in reinterpeting Judaism in a more spiritual fashion. If you are looking for fresh insights into the Jewish faith, this book is for you. Of particular interest to me and perhaps to you: a stunning interpretation of the Sh'ma Yisrael, itself worth the price of the book, and an unexpected and powerful interpretation of the Passover story.

Two other five star books for readers interested in Stalking Elijah: The Jew in the Lotus by the same author and David Aaron's Endless Light.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Start from where you are", September 14, 2001

By 

Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalking Elijah: Adventures with Today's Jewish Mystical Masters (Paperback)

This book is a sequel to Kammenetz's "The Jew in the Lotus" which recounts a visit of Jewish thinkers of various backgrounds and persuasions to Dharmsala, India, the home of the Tibetan Government in exile, to discuss the secret of Jewish survival in the diaspora with the Dali Lama and other Tibetan leaders. The book, and the discussions, went far beyond that topic, however, and centered upon an inter-faith dialogue between the Jewish leaders and the Tibetans on the nature of their religious beliefs and practices.

In "Stalking Elijah", Kammenetz tries to find his way back to a Jewish observance using the insights he had gleaned from his meeting with the Tibetans. In other words, he undertakes a journey from Dhramasala to Judaism. The book recounts Kammenetz's meetings with Jewish spiritual leaders, most of whom practice a form of "mystical" or contemplative Judaism in Kammenetz's attempt to recover something of Judaism for himself.

I was frustrated by the book and found it hard to write about it.
It strikes me as self-indulgent and as unduly polemical. Also, Kammenetz's discussions of his meetings with his teachers are superficial. We don't really see enough of the teachers to get a good feeling for what they have to say.

The most valuable theme of the book, for me, is given in the title of this review. This is advice given by one of the Rabbi's to whom Kammenetz turns for spiritual advice, an ex-Lubavicher Rabbi who, like Kammenetz, visited the Dali Lama. In the context of the book, the Rabbi advises the author to begin where he is in life in his search for spiritual enlightenment. Thus, Kammenetz finds he his to work within the scope of his Jewish background and learning, and follow a Jewish path to define and to realize his religious goals. The advice to "start from where you are" is wise, I think, beyond the use to which it is placed here. In every walk of life at every stage, the beginning of wisdom is to "start from where you are" rather than to try to be someone else or to be discontented with one's life. Good rabinnical advice, and good Buddhist advice too.

In addition to this component of the book, I found the final chapter describing a Passover seder in Dharamasala attended by Jews and Tibetan Buddhists well written. It can stand alone as an essay.

The book is of mixed merit but its goal and message are valuable.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars National Jewish Book Award Winner, December 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Stalking Elijah: Adventures with Today's Jewish Mystical Master (Hardcover)

Stalking Elijah has received the 1997 National Jewish Book Award in Jewish Thought. The citation reads, "Stalking Elijah is an insightful journey through new landscapes of Jewish practice. Profound and often raucously funny, Kamenetz's spiritual adventures take him from a poolside Kabbalah lesson in Beverly Hills to a Passover seder for Tibetan freedom. This book will inspire readers to delve into the rich mystical traditions of Judaism and to search for their own paths to Judaism.