Prologue
Shai passed away on Nov 9th, 2017. He was 31 years old.
As we were going through the week of ‘shiva’ (the initial week-long mourning period practised in Judaism), we had many conversations about Shai’s intellectual endeavours and his known habit of laboriously documenting ‘things’ in notebooks, the nature and content of which were not fully disclosed to us at that time. Many of these notebooks we knew to be stored inside an old suitcase in his bedroom.
It was during one of these conversations that Noam, our youngest son, brought to our attention the fact that Shai had been writing essays about Kabbalah (a Jewish mystical approach for explaining the Torah and God’s relationship with this world). Having looked around Shai’s bedroom, we found a printed copy of an exposition which Shai wrote about the Shema (a Biblical verse from the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy that is often described as the Jewish creed, and recited daily in Jewish prayer). The unique thing about the printout was that its source was Shai’s email. This discovery was the breakthrough without which this compilation would not have seen the light of day. Through Shai’s Gmail account, we were able to discover and trace the many other locations where he stored his significant collection of articles, essays, poems and book reviews which make up these enormously varied philosophical thoughts.
So, what did we find?
Shai was the owner and author of eight blogs, together containing over 120 essays and articles. A further 130 essays and articles were stored in Shai’s Evernote account, 60 articles in his Google Drive, 60 more in a writers forum called Everything2, nearly 40 in his Gmail account and nearly 10 more in another writers forum called Gaia Online. Altogether, there were nearly 430 essays and articles.
The material collected is Shai’s digital footprint produced over a period of nearly 13 years, from October 2004 until November 2017. The areas of writing are diverse but can be broadly categorised as Science, Western Philosophy, Eastern Philosophy, Judaism (including Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, and Biblical Commentary). But not all are serious or contemplative. Shai wrote poems, some short stories and he dedicated an entire blog to book reviews of Star Trek literature. He also wrote about movies and other comic characters like Superman and Batman.
Why ‘The Traveller’s Last Journey’?
One of Shai’s blogs was entitled “The Traveller is the Journey“, a name inspired by the thought-provoking book “The Book of Disquiet“ by the Portuguese author, Fernando Pessoa. This book, which was published only posthumously, is made up of a collection of unedited notes, written by Pessoa over a period of many years and presented as a living monument to the author’s experiences, observations and thoughts. In one of these notes, the author makes the following observation: “Life is whatever we make it. The traveller is the journey. What we see is not what we see but who we are.”
In the “About” page of his blog “The Traveller is the Journey“, Shai writes:
The traveller is the journey,
the outer is a refraction of the inner,
and everything enlightens everything else.
In a post entitled “Meeting the Traveller“, Shai writes the following:
The traveller is the journey,
and the journey is a pantheon of paths and milestones,
but really both and really neither.The story is over,
the fire long burnt,
and a new dawn beckons in this present moment.Depart,
safe travels.Remember where you came from,
and look at where you’re walking.
In another post entitled “Meditating on anxiety“, Shai makes yet another observation:
The traveller is the journey,
and this journey is a manifestation of the traveller who explores emotions.
But the traveller’s journey is also a sequential procedure,
and early steps manifest themselves within latter steps.
Based on all these references, it seems logical to refer to the collection dedicated to Shai’s writing as:
“The Traveller’s Last Journey“
Here is the reason:
To begin with, just like “The Book of Disquiet”, this is a collection of ‘notes’ left scattered by the author in a number of places and brought together at a single location only after the author’s death. Furthermore, this too is an attempt to honour and preserve the literary and intellectual prowess of a person who is no longer with us.
And lastly, it is after all Shai’s final literary journey. It is this finality which sharpens the appreciation that his notes, observations, reflections and thoughts are put together here. And who knows, just like Fernando Pessoa’s “The Book of Disquiet”, Shai’s musings will develop a life of their own in which case perhaps a new journey is just beginning…
Why this compilation?
When people ask me why I have dedicated so much of my time over nearly two years to this endeavour, my explanation is simple. I’ve done it to preserve Shai’s legacy, or at the very least, to give his legacy wings. That’s how I look at it. Every time this site is opened, a post is read, a comment is shared, it is as if a flame has been kindled in his memory.
Special Thanks
Special thanks go to Evan Zuesse for the major contribution he made to the analysis of and commentary on Shai’s more esoteric writing; to Kathy and Ian Grinblat for their editorial support; to Michelle Prawer for the timely proofreading; to Eitan Sarig for providing an editorial note for one of Shai’s philosophical articles and for Pinchas Birnbaum who listened, encouraged and supported me when I needed it the most. I owe a debt of gratitude to Sheana Rodger, Shai’s special friend, for her encouragement and support as I took the first steps in what initially appeared an overwhelming task. She directed me to some seminal sources which shaped my thinking and made me see that the task was indeed possible.
Where to from here?
Read About Shai to learn more about his life, achievements and challenges.
Read a Summary (sort of) of the main points and highlights found in this collection.
Read How to explore this collection (worth reading at least once). Get introduced to some of the classifications added to better understand this collection.
Share your thoughts and comments in our Guestbook.
Or simply – start reading.
Have a safe journey and help keep the flame alive.
