about jay michaelson
Jay Michaelson is a writer and
teacher whose work focuses on spirituality, Judaism, sexuality, and law.
Jay brings both his academic training and his personal contemplative path to
his books, classes, articles, and workshops around the country. His first book, God in Your Body: Kabbalah,
Mindfulness, and Embodied Spiritual Practice, was published in 2006; his most recent book, Another Word for Sky: Poems,
was published in 2007.
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Writing. Jay is the author of two books, God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness, and Embodied Spiritual Practice (2006) Another Word for Sky: Poems (2007), over 140 essays and articles, and numerous poems and short stories. A recent finalist for the Koret Young Writer on Jewish Themes Award, Jay is a columnist for the Forward newspaper, and a contributor to the Jerusalem Post, Slate, Shma, and other publications. He is the editor of Az Yashir Moshe: A Book of Songs and Blessings and the founder and chief editor of Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture, recognized as a leading institution of the "New Jewish Culture." Jay also writes and teaches widely on environmental law and issues of law and religion, and his legal writing has appeared in the Duke Law Journal, Stanford Environmental Law Journal, the Journal of Law in Society, and the Yale Law Journal. His writing has been anthologized in Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice, Mentsh: On Being Jewish and Queer (2004), and other books. For a list of publications, many of which are available online,click here. Teaching. Jay is currently a visiting professor at Boston University Law School, and a Ph.D. candidate in Jewish Thought at Yale University. He has also taught at Yale University and City College of New York. Outside the academy, Jay is a frequent scholar in residence and workshop leader with fifteen years of experiential and traditional teaching experience. Jay has taught Kabbalah, meditation, and spiritual practice, especially embodied spiritual practice, at Yale University, City College, Elat Chayyim, the Skirball Center, the Wexner Summer Institute, Limmud UK, Limmud NY, Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, Drew University, the New York University Hillel, Burning Man, Easton Mountain, the Park Avenue Synagogue, and numerous synagogues and community centers, as well as online at learnkabbalah.com. Jay has also created and taught over twenty curricula for formal and informal Jewish education, ranging from "How Not to Believe in God" to "The Philosophy of Halacha." For a full list of lectures, retreats, and workshops which Jay has led, and for information on how to bring him to your community, click here. Background Jay's background combines both academic and serious contemplative work. He is presently a Ph.D. candidate in Jewish Thought at Hebrew University, where his focus is on the antinomian mystical heretic Jacob Frank. He holds an M.A. in Religious Studies from Hebrew University, as well as a J.D. from Yale and a B.A. Magna Cum Laude from Columbia. He completed the Elat Chayyim Jewish Meditation Advanced Training program, sat a six-week silent meditation retreat in 2004, and has learned with spiritual teachers including Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Sharon Salzberg, Rabbi David Cooper, Avraham Leader, Joseph Kramer, and Sylvia Boorstein, and has spent time at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock and, recently, the sacred valley of Peru. GLBT Spiritual Activism Jay is the executive director of Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, an independent national organization which creates authentic spiritual community for GLBT Jews, partners, and allies. Jay is a noted activist on behalf of GLBT religious communities. He wrote the Coming Out Ritual for the Human Rights Campaign, spoke at the New York state legislature on behalf of the Empire State Pride Agenda, and has appeared on countless panels and workshops on the intersection between sexuality and religion. His personal coming out story, his scholarship, and his outspoken rejection of the claim that the Bible forbids homosexuality have all been widely disseminated in the Jewish community. For a list of articles and other materials Jay has authored on this subject, click here. Law Jay's work has, for ten years, focused on issues of law and religion, and environmental law. His legal-academic writing has appeared in the Yale Law Journal, Duke Law Review, and other journals. Currently a visitng professor at Boston University law school, Jay is a former clerk to Judge Merrick Garland on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a recent Golieb Fellow in legal history at NYU Law School, and a recipient of seveal prizes and awards for his legal writing and scholarship. Jay is also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded Wasabi Systems, now a multimillion dollar software company, and served as its general counsel for several years.
Upcoming Projects. Jay's current writing projects include Nondual Judaism, a manuscript in preparation, The Inflected Letters:
Ten Heretical Tales, a collection of short stories; the academic study of American anti-legalism entitled Lawyers,
Jews, and the Secret History of the Soul; and The Gate of Sadness, a book on sadness and the contemplative path. Jay presently lives in
Putnam County, New York.
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