Recently I attended a workshop entitled "Bringing God into the Classroom and Home." I don't believe that any of us Jewish educators in attendance chose this workshop because we thought it would be the most straightforward of those being offered during the same time slot. We were there because we knew the topic was important, not because it was easy.
But before we talked about God in the school and in the home, Jo Kay, our workshop facilitator, knew we first needed to talk about God in our own lives. She shared with us the words of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (who Kushner also includes in his book) that God is everywhere but can only be present when we "open the door" to let God in. With this idea in mind, we went around the room introducing ourselves by completing the sentence: "My name is _____ and I open the door and let God in when _____"
The responses ranged from comforting a young child in pain to caring for a dying parent; from reassuring a confused parent to listening with undivided attention to a child telling a story. As we went around, sharing our moments of "letting God in," our crowded, sterile classroom was gradually and quietly transformed. The experience of participating in this exercise made us aware (to paraphrase the title of this book) that God was in this place and we, we hadn't known.
SYNOPSIS
"God Was in This Place and I, i Did Not Know" is the translation of Genesis 28:16 that Rabbi Lawrence Kushner uses as the springboard for this book. It is Jacob's declaration upon awakening and reflecting on his famous dream in which angels are described as ascending and descending a ladder reaching from earth to heaven.
On the simplest level, this book presents seven different explanations that address a koshi, a difficulty or problem, in the text. Here, the koshi is the repetition of the word "I." When studying Jewish texts, the traditional presumption is that every letter and every word appears for a reason. Therefore, the question Kushner asks is "What is the meaning of the two "I's" and what is their significance for Jacob and, ultimately, for me?"
The commentators whose answers Kushner presents cover the chronological spectrum from Shmuel bar Nachmani in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries C.E. to Hannah Rachel Werbermacher, known as the Maid of Ludomirer, in 19th century Poland.
But this book is much more as well. Rabbi Kushner writes, "This book is one long midrash, that is, fiction concealed beneath the apparent text of the biblical narrative." He creates that fiction by imagining personalities and appearances for the commentators, based on historical fact when it exists, imagining them "gather[ing] around the ancient table in their several costumes, like wedding guests from distant lands and ancient times." He weaves his midrash with threads of theology, Jewish mysticism, psychology, spiritual searching, contemporary stories and humor that connect commentary to commentary, thereby bonding generations of thought and the thinkers themselves over time and space.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner is currently Rabbi-in-Residence at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. For many years he served Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, MA. He writes and lectures extensively on the themes of personal and institutional spiritual renewal. His most recent books include Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians and The Way into the Jewish Mystical Tradition for adults and How Does God Make Things Happen? and What Does God Look Like? for children.
TIPS TO READING THIS BOOK
Check the Original
It will help when reading this book to be fairly familiar with these parts of the Genesis narrative:
The circumstances of Jacob's birth (Genesis 25:19)
Jacob's deception of Issac (Genesis 27:1)
Jacob's dream (Genesis 18:10).
If you are using The Torah: A Modern Commentary, edited by W. Gunther Plaut, you will find something interesting. Unlike the translation Kushner uses, the Plaut edition of the Torah translates Genesis 28:16 as "Surely the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it!" thus excluding the second "i" and thereby, the need to explain its significance.
Know Yourself
For some, reading this book will be a delightful and engaging foray into the world of Biblical exegesis and spiritual nuance. These people will move through the material easily, with a facile grasp of the content and context.
For others, reading this book might prove more difficult. The reader who has only a passing acquaintance with the Jacob story or rarely delves into (or is comfortable in) the spiritual domain will find him/herself reading and re-reading lines, stopping often to try to make sense out of what was just read and struggling to understand the connections that Kushner so readily makes. If this is you, don't give up. The journey is important, though not easy.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This book is written as a dialogue. The commentators are in dialogue with the text and Jacob, Kushner is in dialogue with the text, the commentators and the reader and the reader is engaged with all of the above as well as the Self and God. For all these reasons, this book deserves to be discussed with another person.
Grappling with some of these questions will help in understanding the ideas and connections Kushner makes:
To what extent did you enjoy reading this book? What about this kind of intellectual and spiritual exercise do you find most engaging? What do you find most difficult?
Though all of the interpretations are considered "traditional," they reflect a wide variety and scope of Jewish thought. What do you think are some of the messages this sends to us about the on-going evolution of Jewish thought and interpretation?
Why do you think the Plaut edition of the Torah excludes the second "i" in its translation? What might have been gained from doing so? What might have been lost?
Challenge yourself. Try to articulate the essence of each commentator's interpretation in 1-2 sentences. This might be easier to do chapter by chapter as you go along, rather than at the end when the various interpretations may tend to blur.
Choose your favorite interpretation.
What is it about this interpretation that has meaning for you?
What do you think might be the implications for people and the world if we understood the meaning of life this way?
If you were to feel yourself in relationship to God and the world in the ways described by this interpreter, what would that mean? How would your life be different? What might you do differently?
Choose your least favorite interpretation.
What is it about this interpretation that is difficult or problematic for you?
What do you think might be the implications for people and the world if we understood the meaning of life this way?
What might be the implications for your life if we all felt this way?
As you look at the original text, translated with both an "I" and an "i," what other explanations might you give beyond what is mentioned in this book? What else might Jacob have been thinking and feeling at that moment of awakening?
Complete this sentence: "My name is...and I open the door and let God in when..."
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