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A Mini-History of Jewish Renewal
The modern movement for Jewish spiritual renewal began nearly forty years ago, in havurot (groups of friends meeting to observe Shabbat), in political action groups, and in individual journeys. The most influential teachers were Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z”l and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, ordained in the Hasidic Lubavitch tradition. Sent into the field to return Jewish spiritual seekers to the fold, they discovered in the counterculture of the Sixties reasons to broaden their own horizons, ways to refresh tradition rather than merely reproducing it.
 | | Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of Aleph | | |
Reb Shlomo is widely remembered today as the author of an incredible treasure trove of Jewish music; in 1967 he founded the House of Love and Prayer in San Francisco, an outreach center for Jewish spiritual seekers frequented by many of the then-young men and women who have become today’s Jewish Renewal leaders.
Reb Zalman, ALEPH’s founder, is known worldwide as a spiritual guide and teacher to a generation of Jewish Renewal writers, educators, leaders and activists. He was an early pioneer of the havurah movement, integrating new influences with Hasidic tardition, helping to shape the democratic, ecstatic spirit of the movement for Jewish Renewal.
Today, the Jewish Renewal movement boasts many wonderful rabbis and teachers. Here are just a few who have visited Eitz Or to lead services and teach:
- Rabbi Shefa Gold is a leading composer of liturgical music and ecstatic chant, and the founder of C-DEEP (the Center for Devotional, Energy & Ecstatic Practice). Read about her work and her Torah interpretations at her Web site at www.rabbishefagold.com.
- Rabbi Arthur Waskow is one of the most prolific Jewish Renewal writers and founder of The Shalom Center, a North American network committed to drawing on Jewish wisdom, old and new, in order to pursue peace, justice, and the healing of the earth. Read about Arthur’s books and projects at www.shalomctr.org.
- Rabbi Gershon Winkler runs the Walking Stick Foundation based in Cuba, NM, and is a leading investigator of the intersections between Jewish and Native American spirituality. Read articles from his journal Pumbedissa at www.walkingstick.org.
Like every religion, Judaism has fundamentalists who assert there is a single correct interpretation of sacred texts and teachings. But the history of Judaism tells a different story—that of a dynamic, constantly evolving relationship between a people and the Divine. In ancient times, we followed a priest-led practice of sacrifice and offering based in one holy Temple. With the destruction of the Temple nearly 2,000 years ago, rabbinic Judaism came into being, and with it the Talmud with its record of dialogue and dispute, drawing multiple meanings from every word. In the middle ages, mystical Judaism evolved, positing hidden worlds of spirit masked by the material world in which we live.
Today, Judaism is a world-wide decentralized practice of prayer, study, and acts of loving-kindness, in which Jews of many denominations (Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform) and orientations (mystical, contemplative, social action-oriented, secular) choose a wide variety of approaches to Jewish study and practice. Jewish Renewal welcomes all—regardless of denomination or identification—who share its egalitarian, democratic, healing intentions and desire a community of fellow-seekers. |
