If you’ve ever wondered what earth-based Judaism is about — listen to this interview — here is the main link for the radio program (December 3 edition), in case you have difficulties.. Reb Zalman covers everything from paradigm shifts in Judaism, to Gaia theory to eco-kosher. Reb Zalman is the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, which earth-based Judaism tends to fall under. Had I discovered the Renewal Movement before the Pagan (earth-based spirituality) community, I probably would have not ever left Judaism. Now I split my time between the two, because in many ways they are very compatible.
Reb Zalman bio from Wikipedia:
Born in Poland in 1924 and raised in Vienna, he was interned in detention camps under the Vichy French and fled the Nazi advance by coming to the United States in 1941. He was ordained as a rabbi within the Chabad Lubavitch community while under the leadership of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Joseph Isaac Schneerson, and served Chabad congregations in Massachusetts and Connecticut. After the death of his Rebbe in 1950, and the subsequent rise of the hippie movement in the 1960s, he began to move away from a strictly Chabad lifestyle. (read on)
Technorati Tags: zalman, renewal, judaism, gaia, earth, jews, wisdom
What a great interview! Thank you so much for sharing that, it was a real eye opener.
Glad you liked it. I have to say I was pretty surprised by some of what I heard. I got the same feeling from listening to him that I get from reading Abraham Joseph Heschel. It’s a good feeling.