Regarding “Rethinking Heaven,” I’m 62 now, but I still remember my Jewish education clearly. It never included Kabbalah, and it taught us that there would come a time when life would be, on earth, “as it was in heaven.” Everyone would recognize G_d, a king from the line of David would rule in Israel, and there would be peace. Earth wouldn’t disappear, it would just become more like heaven. The views of Rev. Blanchard and N.T. Wright sound a lot more like what I learned as a child and continue to believe than any mystical Atziluth. I think that would be true for most Jewish people. The belief that we must live our lives now according to our beliefs, and not wait for an afterlife, is why so many Jewish people work for various social justice causes. Please stop stereotyping us as a bunch of mystical students of the hidden meanings of numbers.
Sheryl Stolzenberg, Lake Mary, Florida