Spiritual Journey Home: Eastern Mysticism to the Western Wall

In this remarkable narrative, author and religious studies professor Katz chronicles his seemingly contradictory achievement of expertise on Eastern religions and his membership in Miami Beach's Orthodox Jewish community, where he attends synagogue every morning and is a pious practitioner of Judaism. He started his journey in Camden, N.J., growing up in a “lukewarm” Conservative Jewish family and learning to love jazz. Fascinated by India as a youngster, Katz made his first trip there at the age of 20. On numerous subsequent occasions, he extensively visited India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Afghanistan and Israel, learning from gurus, swamis, rabbis, imams, and becoming friendly with the Dalai Lama. He taught at Naropa University in Boulder, Colo., Williams College, the University of South Florida and Florida International University, where he is now chairman of religious studies. Along the way, Katz embraced Jewish mysticism and Jewish spirituality, while maintaining his connection to Hinduism and Buddhism. How he achieved and maintains these varied associations is explained in this fascinating memoir. (May 4)