noa kushner

Let me say something about this book: It's brave, and it asks us to be brave. It's brave because it raises the sensitive subject of belief in God and commitment to God, and it asks us to be brave because it invites us not only to give it a shot, but to give into it, to be completely open to a wonder that we do not yet know. Noa Kushner writes beautifully, and the book offers a profound welcoming into religion (mostly, admittedly, Jewish religion) for contemporary seekers and indeed skeptics. She asks us to postpone any wish for certainty and proposes a compassionate, action-oriented approach to spiritual life. It's a very honest, very sensitive reflection on religion at this time, with all it's complexities and all our weaknesses. Kushner has been the rabbi (and founder) of The Kitchen congregation in San Francisco for over 15 years, and her experience is reflected in the book. Being (already) religious myself, reading this book I was confronted by my own instrumentalization of faith, of God, really, and was gently reminded of other ways that are open to me in expressing my religious life. Thank you for that, Noa.

Looking at the ways in which assimilation into American life has “left many American Jews suspicious of their own tradition,” @noakushner suggests turning to those who participate in Jewish community in alternative ways.sapirjournal.org/chosenness/…