God was in this place and I, I did not know

God was in this place and I, I did not know

By Lawrence Kushner

Jewish Lights 2016. 183 pages. Nonfiction

In a daring blend of scholarship and imagination, psychology and history, Lawrence Kushner gathers an inspiring range of interpretations of Genesis 28:16 given by sages, from Shmuel bar Nachmani in third-century Palestine to Hannah Rachel Werbermacher of Ludomir who lived in Poland two hundred years ago. Through a fascinating new literary genre and Kushner's creative reconstruction of the teachers' lives and times, we enter the study halls and sit at the feet of these spiritual masters to learn what each discovered about God's Self and ourselves as they ascend and descend Jacob's ladder.

I really loved this book, and how well the author pulls of an entire book discussing one verse of scripture. The story of Jacob is a thought-provoking one on it's own. To dive into one aspect of it brings up so many questions and ideas. What I especially liked was Kushner's warm approach and how the book ends up being a wonderful discussion of being in the moment: what that means and how to do it in our fast-paced modern world. His interpretation of Moses and the burning bush will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend this book. 

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MGB