Page 66 - Issue 2

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“A lightning bolt to to the the the the brain” is is how Zac Kamenetz describes his first mystical experience He was only 15 on on a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a youth trip to to to the the the the Holy Land looking out out over the the the the archeological site of Tel Gezer in in in in in the the the the Judean foothills “In that moment I I felt my my brain open up to to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a new reality: God is real real ” ” The epiphany came in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a fleeting instant he he says “but the integration work has lasted all my my life ” Since that moment one question has shaped the the arch of of of Kamenetz’ life work: How do “non-ordinary states of of of consciousness ” as as he he he calls them inform or or or enhance our experience of of of religion?
Hailing from a a a a a a a a a a a a nominally reform Jewish family the the teenager’s brush with the the divine came endogenously Random if you will Unsure what to make of it it he he he immediately put on on a a a a a a a a a a a a a a yarmulke (Jewish skullcap) He’s been wearing one ever since O
Waiting in in in in in in in in line for coffee at the the famed Cheese Board Collective in in in in in in in in Berkeley I I I initially miss Rabbi Kamenetz when he he he he he walks in in in in in in in in in in in I’m I’m expecting the the long greying beard I’d seen on on his Facebook page— instead I’m I’m greeted by a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a fresh-faced 30-something in in in in in in sandals cargo shorts and and a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a floral baseball cap