jaymichaelson.net

Everything is God book talk & workshop: Seattle

margaret — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:56:34 +0000

Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue welcomes nationally known columnist, author and scholar Jay Michaelson. For his only stop in the NW, Jay is offering a two-hour workshop based on his new book Everything is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism, for which Jay was included on the “Forward 50″ list of the most influential thinkers in American Judaism today.

“Nondual” simply means “not-two”–but its true meaning is far deeper: that, according to Kabbalah, everything we see and everything we are is God. Seven hundred years before the New Age taught that “all is one,” Kabbalists taught that “All is God.” But what does that really mean?

Space is limited. Please RSVP at info@betalef.org.

Gay Jewish Poetry Reading in Philadelphia

Jay — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:03:23 +0000

Join us at Giovanni’s Room, the historic gay bookstore in Philadelphia, for a poetry p>erformance by Nehirim Executive Director, Jay Michaelson, and former dean of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Rabbi Jacob Staub.

Jay will read, shout, and declaim poetry from Another Word for Sky, his first collection of poetry. Like the author, the poems run the gamut: from Ashbery-like analytics to raucous queer mystical love poems, Ginsbergesque rants and fantasies to quiet reflections on the passage of time. A recent finalist for the Koret Young Writer on Jewish Themes Award, Michaelson has performed his work (often with drum and musical accompaniment) at CBGB, Burning Man, the Bowery Poetry Club, and dozens of university campuses around the country. His work will be complemented by some of Jacob Staub’s queer midrash and exploration of the intersections between spiritual and romantic love.

American Jews and Israel: Is the Love Affair in Trouble?

Jay — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:56:10 +0000

Dr. Steven Cohen and Jay Michaelson discuss the shifting attitudes toward Israel in the American Jewish community. How have Israeli policies changed American Jewish opinion? How have American Jewish communal policies shifted American Jewish opinion? What is the state of the American-Jewish relationship with the Jewish state?

Introduction to the Gay Spirituality Movement

Jay — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:51:41 +0000

In the last thirty years, gay men from a variety of religious traditions have attempted to create a “gay spirituality movement” based on the distinctive perspectives of the gay male experience. In this workshop, we will explore some of the leading exponents of this movement, including Harry Hay, Toby Johnson, and Christian de la Huerta, as well as some of my own ideas on the subject. Are there special gifts to being gay? Or does the question suppose an essentialism that we might prefer to avoid?

Un-Righteous Indignation: Anger Management–Kosher Style

margaret — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:01:07 +0000

The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism: Interfaith Implications

margaret — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:53:33 +0000

Are People Good At Heart?

margaret — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:07:12 +0000

Queer Perspectives on Zionism: Berkeley

margaret — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:23:16 +0000

Details TBA

What is Jewish Enlightenment?

margaret — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:20:33 +0000

Is Enlightenment only an “Eastern” concept? What do the Zohar and the Book of Daniel mean when they talk about it? With Kabbalistic contemplation, inquiry into the nature of nonduality, dialogue, and a bit of mindfulness meditation, we will ask the question of “what is Jewish enlightenment” and explore how the answer differs from enlightenment in other traditions, and how nondual meditation orients the mind a bit differently from more familiar practices of mindfulness.

Why Gay Rights is a Religious Issue – talk in Denver

margaret — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:12:37 +0000

The Christian Right has succeeded in characterizing opposition to rights as a religious issue — but what about support of gay rights? Unlike African-American civil rights, for example, gay rights is rarely seen as a religious imperative, as a moral rather than purely liberal/constitutional cause. Yet this is tactically, ethically, and spiritually disastrous. In fact, there are several reasons why, if one is religious, one should be for equality for sexual minorities. This evening, we’ll discuss at least ten of them.