Soul Man

In his 81st year, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi offers new ways to enliven Jewish practice and spark spiritual connections.

BY: Interview by Alice Chasan

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"Jewish with Feeling," the title of the latest book by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, aptly describes the author's robust approach to Judaism. The founding father and spiritual leader of the Jewish Renewal movement, Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi has packed more into his 80 years than a dozen ordinary people combined. Born in Poland, Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi--widely known as Reb Zalman--fled Nazi-occupied Vienna with his family in 1939 for Antwerp. They settled in New York City in 1941, where he studied in the Lubavitcher Hasidic yeshiva. He was ordained as a Lubavitch rabbi in 1947. He eventually left the Lubavitch community to pursue other avenues of Jewish expression.

Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi's spiritual quest has taken him on a journey of exploration into Eastern traditions; he has drawn on the spiritual practices of the world's religions in his efforts to connect contemporary Jews to a reinvigorated Judaism. Among Reb Zalman's many passions, perhaps none is as important to him at present as the goal of "Jewish with Feeling": Connecting "simple Jews who want a Norman Rockwell Judaism" with the profound satisfactions of their tradition.

He argues that all too many Jews operate on autopilot, following rituals and mouthing prayers that have no connection to the heart. And for countless others, material priorities have pushed the spiritual realm completely out of the picture. "Jewish with Feeling" is his latest roadmap for reentry into meaningful Jewish practice, what the author calls "ensoulment."

Why did you decide to write this book after so many years of teaching about an enlivened Judaism?

I wanted to write a book to guide people who spend most of their lives in what I call "commodity time." Not enough people are experiencing the wonderful possibilities that are available in natural, organic time, in sacred time. So that was one of the reasons that I felt this was important to write. It is a book for universalists: Jews who care for the planet and then they wonder, what do you need to be a Jew for? They have embraced so much of the general culture. They would like to have a good family life, a good spiritual life. And so the question was: If I'm so universal, why should I be Jewish? That is the starting point for many of the people for whom this book is written.

And the answer that I've been working on for quite a while had to do with my understanding of the Gaian hypothesis-which is to say that the planet is a living being, and we are all parts, cells of that living being. And when you are in such a situation, you have to be integral to the planet. And then the question comes up, what do we do with the gentiles?

Each religion is like a vital organ. If you're integral to the planet, it is really important to be the best Jews that you can be. If we are a healthy, vital organ of the planet, then the rest of the world will be able to heal, too. Since I've had ecumenical dialogue with Hindus, Buddhists, Confucionists, Taoists, Christians of all sorts, Muslims, it was getting very clear that with so many of the people I had a kinship, such that I didn't even have to apologize. I didn't have to be ashamed to say that I love God. And once people are in that situation that they too feel that they have that kind of kinship, then a lot of things happen in what I call spiritual intimacy.

But the starting point you recommend for those seeking meaning within Judaism is to go back within the core of Jewish practice, and to find meaning inside. Not to go immediately to those larger concentric circles, to the points of intersection with other faiths, because that's largely where contemporary Jews have already been.

That's exactly the point. Today's Jews come from there. I taught at Naropa Univeristy [a university in Boulder, Colorado, founded by Tibetan Buddhist monks, where Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi held the World Wisdom Chair until his retirement in 2004]. I found quite a number of Jews there; I would say the representation of Jews at Naropa and other such places is quite great.

Why do many spiritually searching Jews turn to these other-often Eastern-traditions first?

I think there is a great deal of dissatisfaction with the status quo of what goes under the name of "organized Judaism" in the United States. The people who have woken up to any level of awareness are wondering what are they doing there in the shul [synagogue]. It's not doing anything for them.

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