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Reprinted from Newsweek, Aug. 29 - Sept. 5, 2005 issue
Kabbalah: Feeling The Spirit Of Prayer
This rabbi extols the joy of experiencing an intimate connection to
the Almighty.
By Dan Berrett
Newsweek
"How much time have you spent in the presence of God?" Rabbi Zalman
Schachter-Shalomi's tone is both gentle and disarmingly direct as
he questions participants at a retreat in Johnstown, Pa. His eyes
miss nothing, not even the subtle flinch of those in his presence who
are unused to talking about God in personal terms. "God is real," he
says. "That is what escaped us in Hebrew school and in the books that
we read."
'The soul knows': Schachter-Shalomi at a recent retreat in Pennsylvania
photo by Michael Schmelling for Newsweek
Such discomfort with the Almighty is not unique. A recent survey of
American Jews found that while 78 percent believe in God, only 62 percent
believe God intervenes in their lives. Schachter-Shalomi's mission is
to bring an intimate God back to Judaism through Kabbalah, the ancient
mystical tradition of Judaism experienced through meditation, study
and prayer. The Kabbalah that the rabbi cherishes is not the Hollywood
version, which many scholars say is repackaged self-help fluff. Instead,
he draws on a tradition long suppressed by mainstream Judaism as esoteric
and superstitious. While less glitzy, authentic Kabbalah is influencing
Judaism: seminaries now teach courses in mysticism, rabbis invite
Kabbalists to their conferences and Jews study it at adult-learning
programs, synagogues and retreats, such as the ALEPH Kallah, the Jewish
renewal conference started by Schachter-Shalomi.
Born in 1924 in Poland, Schachter-Shalomi escaped to the United
States in 1941, where he was ordained by the Lubavitcher Hasidim, the
Orthodox sect that preserves the Judaism practiced in Russian villages 250
years ago. He became entranced by the mysticism of Hasidic practice: its
meditative prayer, parables, ecstatic worship and embrace of Kabbalah. As
a young rabbi in the postwar years, Schachter-Shalomi was sent to college
campuses to bring Jewish students back to the fold. That led to his own
spiritual search. He sought out Baptists, Roman Catholic monks, Native
American elders, Sufis, psychologists, Buddhist masters and the Dalai
Lama, to explore theological ideas.
Today, based in Boulder, Colo., he and his students combine elements
of Orthodox Judaism (morning prayers, strict observance of the Sabbath
and a kosher diet) with a contemporary sensibility. The result is
what he calls Neo-Hasidism. Like other liberal branches of Judaism,
Schachter-Shalomi's Neo-Hasidism ordains women as rabbis, accepts gays
and lesbians, and welcomes intermarried couples. But it goes further to
embrace mysticism and the spiritual wisdom of other faiths, and it sees
environmentalism as sacred.
His core belief is that prayer should be deeply felt, not just
read. "The written material is freeze-dried spirituality," he says. To
demonstrate how meditation deepens prayer, he closes his eyes, gently
sways and slowly utters "Baruch... ata...," the words that begin most
Jewish prayers. Kabbalah does more than reconnect Jews to God, says
Schachter-Shalomi. "My mind can't wrap itself around what the soul
knows." Ultimately, Kabbalah attunes them to the world's deeper rhythms
and meanings—those that can't be easily seen or measured, only felt.
© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.
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