100th Monkey Books

Judaic: the Way of
Prophetic Conscience & Hasidic Silence



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The Book of Job
Translated & with an Introduction by Stephen Mitchell (1979/1987) 129pages

The Book of Job is the great poem of moral outrage. It gives voice to every accusation against God, and its blasphemy is cathartic. How liberating it feels not to be a good, patient little God-fearer, scuffling from one's hole in the wall to squeak out a dutiful hymn of praise. Job's own voice has freed him so that he can move from the curses of his first speech to the final self-affirmation as his own attorney for the defense. There, with oaths of the gravest dignity and horror, he becomes upright again in his wish to " stand before [God] like a prince." it is this passionate insistence that carries him into the eye of the whirlwind. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness," as another Jewish teacher said, "for they shall be filled." - from the translator's Introduction (Harper Perennial)



God Was In This Place & I, i Did Not Know: Finding Self, Spirituality and Ultimate Meaning
Lawrence Kushner (1991) 181pages

Like the One who has no mouth, who spoke the first letter that has no sound, the biblical word conceals an infinity of meanings. "She opens a little window in her hidden palace and reveals her face to her lover, then swiftly withdraws, concealing herself." We read the Bible, fix our attention on a phrase, and suddenly find ourselves in a conversation with centuries of teachers who also have come hoping to penetrate the meaning of the same text, convinced that holy words are intimately related not only to what God means but even to who God is and who we are. The following chapters are about seven different ways of reading the same biblical verse. And while each stands on its own, all reflect on what Jacob says in Genesis 28:16 when he wakes up after having his great dream in the desert about the ladder reaching to heaven with the messengers going up and down. I am amazed to discover the immense amount of disagreement among Jewish teachers over the centuries about what Jacob really meant. In this book these teachers become the "messengers" on the ladder. One by one, they will descend its rungs and try to help Jacob understand what it means to say, "Surely God was in this place and I, i did not know!" - from the author's Prologue (Jewish Lights)



Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide
Aryeh Kaplan (1985)165pages

This book presents the most basic forms of jewish meditation, especially as discussed in mainstream sources. It assumes no special background on the part of the reader either in Judaism or in meditation. It is my hope that this book will at least begin to provide its reader with insight into the spiritual dimensions of the Jewish heritage. - from the author's Introduction (Schocken Books)



Stalking Elijah: Adventures with Today's Jewish Mystical Masters
Rodger Kamenetz (1997)370pages US$14 C$20

Rodger Kamenetz continues the dazzling spiritual adventure he began in The Jew in the Lotus, his bestselling account of the historic dialogue between the rabbis and the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. In Stalking Elijah, Kamenetz takes his wild mind on the road, seeking the counsel of spiritual teachers across the country as he searches for his own Jewish truth. Entertaining, illuminating, and deeply moving, Stalking Elijah takes us all on a remarkable journey through the new landscape of Jewish practice. (HarperSanFrancisco)


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