Searching for the Divine in Uncomfortable and Unexpected Places. If
there is one central idea in my faith right now, it is that my God is
a god of love, and we are called to love each other in turn. I admit
that it makes me uncomfortable to hear God referred to as a consuming
fire that burns and causes pain, and yet there is a rich history of
Jewish and Christian mystics who have embraced the more difficult
aspects of their faiths. Goldstein mixes their stories with his own
struggles on the road to becoming a progressive rabbi. He freely
confesses that warm and fuzzy religion has never been satisfying to
him, and instead he sought answers to his questions on the streets of
New York, in Alaska, on the Internet. I loved this book for reminding
me that there are many varieties of religious experience, and that
suffering can be just as much a part of spiritual life as the familiar
rituals of a Sunday morning church service. Goldstein also does an
excellent job of sketching out the lives and (often difficult)
writings of mystics and preachers I have been curious to learn more
about. This is inspiring stuff, and I highly recommend it.
Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water. They came to Marah, but could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; that is why it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water and the water became sweet.
—Exodus 15:22-25
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Heidi J. De Vries
