It was great to get to know Jay a little bit from his informative years growing up Jewish, studying mystical Kabbalah and becoming more Buddhist-informed from books on the nightstand and into real life.
We cover a lot of ground and I could have talked with him for another hour.
His new book out now, The Secret That Is Not a Secret: Ten Heretical Tales is out now for consumption.
The Secret That Is Not a Secret invites you into a hidden world of faith, desire, transgression, and revelation. The inhabitants of its interlocking stories are pious and rebellious, mystical and queer, from a Hasidic woman tormented by her husband’s long beard to a closeted gay man repenting of his sins in the mikva. The first book of fiction by Rabbi Dr. Jay Michaelson, winner of the National Jewish Book Award, The Secret That Is Not a Secret is a remarkable work of mystical fiction.
I’ll be reviewing his book that’s been informing my present day, “Enlightenment by Trial and Error: Ten Years on the Slippery Slopes of Jewish Spirituality, Postmodern Buddhism and Other Mystical Heresies in my next post on “Meditations & Musings” coming out soon.
I hope you enjoy this conversation of inquiry and exploration of what it means to be Jewish and Buddhist.
Identities: Roles to Souls with Jay Michaelson