A new book of short fiction stories by Breaking Israel News features writer Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz is not Jewish, but is inspired by a unique spiritual journey that the author believes will resonate with any reader struggling to “feed their soul.”

Berkowitz, who moved to Israel from the US in 1991, says that his new book “Dolphins on the Moon”, out this month on Amazon, needs a “special reader” to understand its message. Deeply personal and spiritual, the book of ten short stories is inspired by Berkowitz’s own experience.

“My spiritual journey was a process of waking up to the fact that I am a soul, trapped in a body, and if I didn’t feed my soul, then I would entirely die,” the author told Breaking Israel News in an exclusive interview. “I think I tell stories about people who are experiencing that.”

For example, he continued, “The title story of the book, ‘Dolphins on the Moon’, is about a person who is considering suicide because his life is not as spectacular as it should be. And he steps back because he realizes that sometimes a life that’s good enough is actually the most amazing thing there is. And that is something I’ve realized on my journey.”

Essentially, said Berkowitz, “The book is about tiny miracles, the strange quirks in everyday life that come about when people want to change, when people look deeper.”

Many of the stories, while fiction, come from actual experiences in his life. “It’s a retrospective through a slightly cracked lens. It’s true, though it may not be accurate,” he explained.

When asked if the book was Jewish, he said it was “absolutely not a Jewish book,” but at times touches on Jewish values which “are universal for any person who believes that they have a soul.”

Is it spiritual? “It’s spiritual for people who believe that spirituality is a part of life.”

He cautioned that the book is “not for everyone.”

“People who put relationships above everything else, people who put connecting as the main thing, and they realize that love is a process that transforms simple people into angels, these are the people that would appreciate the book.”

Berkowitz has had more life experience than most: after moving to Israel 26 years ago, he served in the IDF as a combat medic, spent five years living on a kibbutz milking cows, studied Torah for nine years in a yeshiva, or seminary, and worked as a professional chef. Currently, he lives in northern Israel with his wife and four children and makes a living as a writer.

Most people familiar with his work know him as a journalist, but creative writing was in his blood, he says.

“I’m not sure if I’m a journalist writing fiction, or if I’m a fiction writer doing journalism,” he joked, adding, “The main thing is to tell a story, and there are amazing stories actually happening every day.”

However, he noted that he didn’t start writing until he moved to Israel, musing that living in the holy land had opened him up to a higher spiritual existence.

Of his aliyah, or immigration to Israel, he said, “I very much experienced what Ezekiel described as replacing my heart of stone with a heart of flesh.” Outside of Israel, he “couldn’t hear the higher voice.”

“Dolphins on the Moon” is Berkowitz’s second book of fiction. His first, a novel entitled “Hope Merchant”, was published in 2012, and shares similar themes with “Dolphins.”

“It’s also only for people who put love and connection above everything else,” he explained. “It’s a very spiritual book about asking the deeper questions and realizing that the whole universe was created just for there to be two souls to connect.”

For Berkowitz, connection is the goal. One of the best things about writing is hearing from his readers.

“The people I’ve connected with, every single one of them is so special in his own way. All these people who I’ve never met but who have met me through my book, they’re amazing people.”

Berkowitz’s writing process leaves him feeling more like a vessel than a creator, he shared. “It’s a matter of learning to listen to the higher voice that comes through you. As a result, I love hearing from people who’ve read the books because they tell me things that I never knew about stuff that I wrote. It’s fascinating.

“The writer doesn’t write for himself. I really started to see that there are people who needed to read it, and that’s a very humbling experience,” he admitted. “The stories are not for me. They’re for the people who read it.”

“Dolphins on the Moon” is available now on Amazon.

Click here for information on purchasing “The Hope Merchant”.

To learn more about Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz’s work, visit here.