Overview

"Shechinah at the Art Institute is a long-awaited collection of luminous essays, memoir, and poetry by rabbi, former drag queen, and self-proclaimed ""hope-monger,"" Irwin Keller. In this book, Keller, most recently known for his viral protest poem, ""Taking Sides,"" leads us on dazzling journeys into Jewish mysticism, love, loss, memory, gender, AIDS, and the Milky Way itself. Buckle your seatbelts. ""In Keller's luminous writings, divine messengers reveal both the radiance within the everyday and the clouds that subdue the sacred. With this dazzling book, Keller takes his place among the messengers."" --Esther Schor, author of Emma Lazarus ""Quirky, playful, steeped in classical Jewish learning, Keller unveils long-suppressed queerness in Jewish tradition and encounters the sacred miraculously appearing in the secular world."" --Rabbi Dr. Rachel Adler, author of Engendering Judaism ""This book makes my heart sing. Irwin reminds us that in this darkened world, there is still light. And there is love. It's what makes this book not just entertaining, but important."" --Linda Ellerbee, journalist and author of And So It Goes ""The wisdom, humor, and perspective in these stories will enrich you and gently bind you to other lives both ancient and modern. A good story heals the loneliness which is the hidden wound of our time. Bravo Irwin. What a gift you have offered to us all."" --Rachel Naomi Remen MD, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom ""Absolutely wonderful, so refreshing, hopeful in a world so desperate for peace."" --Greg Sarris, author of Grand Avenue"

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9781421835594

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Reviews

"It has been said that God made people because God loves stories. In which case Irwin is one of God's most beloved. The stories in Shechinah at the Art Institute have many sources. Some are from the life experience of the author. Others have been passed from hand to hand for a thousand years. Still others are familiar as they are kin to the stories which shape our own lives. The wisdom, humor, and perspective in them all will enrich you and gently bind you to other lives both ancient and modern. A good story heals the loneliness which is the hidden wound of our time. Bravo Irwin. What a gift you have offered to us all. --Rachel Naomi Remen MD, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings I am not religious. But this book makes my heart sing. There's music in Irwin's words. Wisdom, too. He reminds us that in this darkened world, there is still light. And there is love. It's what makes this book not just entertaining, but important. --Linda Ellerbee, journalist and author Quirky, playful, steeped in classical Jewish learning, Keller unveils long-suppressed queerness in Jewish tradition and encounters the sacred miraculously appearing in the secular world. --Rabbi Dr. Rachel Adler, author of Engendering Judaism and Tales of the Holy Mysticat In these beautifully written meditations, Irwin Keller records his dialogue with sacred texts of his Jewish tradition. Ay, absolutely wonderful, so refreshing, hopeful in a world so desperate for peace. --Greg Sarris, author of Grand Avenue and the forthcoming collection, The Forgetters Irwin Keller, his ear trained on ""the crosstalk of the Universe,"" knows when angels are about: in chance encounters, odd coincidences, dreams, and memories; even in the teeth of a vicious dog or the barrel of a gun. In Keller's luminous writings, these divine messengers reveal both the radiance within the everyday and the clouds that subdue the sacred. With this dazzling book, Keller takes his place among the messengers. --Esther Schor, author of Emma Lazarus A few pages into reading Reb Irwin Keller's luminous book, Shechinah at the Art Institute, I began mentally compiling a list of people I wanted to give a copy to. My father. My stepmother. My sister. My aunt. This friend who is Jewish. That one who is not. This is what Irwin does in his writings and in his life; he enlarges the circle, invites everyone in, mingling the secular with the spiritual with the skeptical with the bawdy with the beautiful. It's all there in this book, a record of a spiritual being having a very human experience and savoring the all in all of it. Pull up a chair, feast, enjoy. --Alison Luterman, author of In the Time of Great Fires and Desire Zoo In Shechinah at the Art Institute, the wondrous Rabbi Irwin Keller inhales all the world he inhabits and savors the details of all the miracles and realities of life. Rabbi Keller is one of the most kind, compassionate, brilliantly philosophical, thoughtful, and hilariously funny human beings. He understands that the past is always present. He understands that the past is part of us. This is something we should all understand. --Lily Brett, author of Too Many Men and Lola Bensky"

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