Apr 10, 2002 10:38 AM
3267 Views
(Updated Apr 10, 2002 11:41 AM)
I brought CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN by Kurt Douglas, (the Movie Star), when it first was publshed in 2000.
He had survived a helicopter crash and that did not 'move' him to change his life and he continued to be a non-Religious Jew.
His 'near death' experience, (while he was having a stroke), changed his life and he has become a Religious Jewish Man. Following his recovery he worked with a few famous Jewish Scholars.
MY REVIEW:
Mr. Douglas wrote about the experiences and revelations he feels that God gave him while he was in a tunnel and moving toward the light. He wanted to go into the 'light' but was not allowed to. He was sent back to finish living his life on Earth as he feels God gave him a mission to fullill.
He felt he was sent back to spread the word of God.
CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN is only one of the projects he has finished on his path of fulfilling this 'mission'. He believes that you don't have to be Jewish to find your God. Buddhists, Christians, Jews and Muslims, (to name only a few of the World's Religions), will find something of interest in this Book.
The 'name' does not matter because we all believe in the same G-d. Mr. Douglas does not support Religious 'fanatics' that every Religion has.
CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN part of his journey. This Book is about his learning Kabala, (Jewish Mystism).
He began to work with two Jewish Scholars. One was David Aaron, (a Canadian born Rabbi), who lived in Israel. Mr. Douglas would pay for his airfare for him to come to Los Angels as often as he could. They studied together for five hours a Day.
Rabbi Nachum Braverman of Aish Ha'Torah who live in Los Angeles became the Rabbi he went to learn about the Jewish Mystism called Kabala. Kabala is very hard to learn. One of the things he learn was to grow you must ''pass through fire''. This means we can only grow if we can survive personal and emotional tragedies. He learned his lessons while studying many Jewish Texts and Biblical Stories.
Learning Kabala never ends. It will only ends when you pass over to 'the World to Come', (what the Jewish People call Heaven). When Mr. Douglas uses the phrase 'coming home' he means he found his way back to God and his Religious Roots.
THE AUTHOR:
(I am not going to go over Mr. Douglas' career as an Actor as I am sure most people know about that):
(Please note I am quoting from information on the book jacket and I never change the words or spelling of a quote.)
'When Kirk Douglas was born, (1916), his name was Issur Danielovitch Demsky. His first Book was called 'The Rag Man's Son'. This was his Autobiography. It tells the story of his Father who was a Russian Emigrant. He worked on the Streets of Amsterdam, New York collecting rags to sell so he could feed his Family.
At the 1996 Academy Awards he received an Oscar for 'a lifetime of achievements', (he has made 82 Films), in the Movie Industry. Adding more joy to this event was the fact that his eldest son Michael Douglas presented the Award to him.
He was also honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, (in 1981). This is the highest U.S. Honor an American Civilian can receive. He is over eight years old, still limps from his stroke and continues to work at writing.''
MY CONCLUSION:
I enjoyed this Book very much. I have been trying to study Kabala for years and enjoys learning about the true meaning of Gods words in the Old Testament.
Telling you about Kabala in one Opinion is impossible. I feel it gave me a new insight into all Religions. For example Jesus was a Jew all of his life and perhaps he studied and taught a form of Kabala as well!
I enjoyed this Book very much and am pleased that I can recommend it to you.
To find our more information about Mr. Douglas the site is:
https://meredy.com/kirkdouglas
©LL
