So, I'm in the middle of a couple books right now. I'm rereading Dune after a Twitter conversation when someone mentioned the Kwisatz Haderach. I mentioned that the words were based on a Jewish mystical concept, literally translated as a contraction of the path. It is mentioned several times in the commentaries on the Torah, specifically when various Biblical persons travel long distances in miraculously short periods of time. The Hebrew term is closer to Kfitzas HaDerech. So I decided to reread the book, that I probably haven't looked at since Middle School (shout out to Darrel C. Swope Middle School Reno, Nevada). Wow, what a difference 25 years make. I recognize so many things that totally went over my head the first time around. Also living in the Mideast and following regional politics has made a difference as well. Basically it comes down to the fact that the entire Freman theology is based on Sunni Islam. After looking it up, there seem to be some aspects of Zen as well, but I'm less knowledgeable about that.
And yes. Kwisatz Hadarech is actually referred to as the Shortening of the Way at some point by Stilgar at one point. For a bit more on the Jewish concept of Kefitzas HaDerech take a look here. I'm certainly enjoying the book much more this time around so thanks to Tom, Chris and KJ for suggesting it.
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