I'm God, You're Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego

Lawrence Kushner, author, lecturer and spiritual leader, is regarded as one of the most creative religious thinkers and writers in America. A commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, he has focused us on spiritual renewal with wisdom and humor. Through his books and lectures, people of every faith and background have found inspiration and new strength for spiritual search and growth. It has been said that some spiritual leaders blend religion and psychology to help us walk better on the ground, but Lawrence Kushner draws on the wisdom of the mystics to help us dance better on the ceiling.

Kushner's acclaimed books include I'm God; You're Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego; Honey from the Rock: An Easy Introduction to Jewish Mysticism; Invisible Lines of Connection: Sacred Stories of the Ordinary; The Book of Letters: A Mystical Hebrew Alphabet; Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians; and In God's Hands, an inspiring fable for children, with Gary Schmidt (all Jewish Lights).

Kushner served as rabbi at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, for almost thirty years; he is currently the Emanu-El scholar at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, and an adjunct faculty member at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He is fascinated by graphic design and computers (designing most of his Jewish Lights books). He enjoys Mozart, hanging around sailboats, and making his granddaughters giggle.

Introduction / ix

1. Rabbi
Who Am I? / 3
We'll Wait Back Here / 8
The Calling / 15
My Other Father Died / 18
The Tent Peg Business / 22
The Human Pyramid / 30
The Rabbi Business / 38
Being Somebody Else / 47
The Last Gift / 49

2. Judaism
Why I'm a Jew / 55
Filene's Basement / 59
Intermarriage / 61
Getting More Jews / 67
Customs as Sacred Text / 69
Two Jewish Mothers / 73
(Re)Thinking Shabbat / 75
Kosher / 78
The Life of Torah / 84

3. Family
Visiting Your Children / 89
Understanding Your Parents / 91
Telling Kids the Truth / 99
Boompa / 101
And Unto Us a Child Is Given / 103
Babushka / 107
Turkey Shoot / 109
Generations / 111

4. World
What Israel Means to Me / 115
My Lunch with Jesus / 117
Cardboard Sukkah / 120
Bill Novak's Questions / 122
NYPD Blue / 143
Resurrection of Flowers / 145

5. Mysticism
What Is Kabbalah? / 149
Reading Music / 156
Bosque del Apache / 159
Physician of Tsefat / 162
Spell-Checker / 170
Midrash as Hypertext / 174
A Kabbalah Lexicon / 175

6. Holiness
Open My Lips / 189
Spiritual Greed / 191
Silent Prayer / 193
A Blessing for the Czar / 195
Biking with Pelicans / 197
The Zen of Airline Tickets / 199
Memory and Redemption / 201
Death without Dying / 210
The Band on the Titanic / 214

Afterword: "Our Town" / 217
Sources / 224