Sometimes questions are more simple than we know. Often times, questions are also more complicated than we hope.

One such question is “What makes meditation Jewish?” This question might just be simple AND complicated to answer?! I write about this elsewhere (here and here), though allow me to answer this question here as simply as possible, albeit with a complicated caveat.

Meditation in Judaism and Beyond

Is there a history of meditation in Judaism? Yes! Absolutely! There is a rich tradition of meditation in the kabbalistic and Chasidic traditions.

If you are curious to learn more, some important historical figures or authors in this area are Abraham Abulafia, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, and more contemporarily, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Rabbi DovBer Pinson, and Tomer Persico.

On the other side, is there a history of Jews, or Judaism, adopting meditation practices from other religious traditions such as Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism? Yes! Absolutely!

Many jokes are made the earliest teachers of meditation in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s were Jews. At the same time, Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi and the Jewish Renewal movement arose during this same period.

At the time, many founding teachers of Zen Buddhism and Vipassana Buddhism (as well as Insight meditation or mindfulness) are in fact Jews. And in the 1990s, the contemporary Jewish Mindfulness tradition was found and inspired by the Jewish Renewal movement and by ordained rabbis who were students of one of these teachers, Sylvia Boorstein.

Personally Speaking…

Personally speaking, my own primary meditation practice is zazen, or Zen meditation.

However popular or pervasive meditation or mindfulness might be in the Jewish world or the larger “secular” society, it would feel somehow incongruent, inauthentic, and a theft to appropriate and claim meditation from traditions outside of Judaism are in fact Jewish as a matter of fact.

There is nothing essentially Buddhist or Jewish about sitting down, being still, breathing quietly, and paying attention. Yet this begs the larger questions, must we only practice rituals and traditions from our own tradition, or can we do so with care and due respect?

What IS “Jewish” Meditation?

Caveat aside, here is my best current attempt at a simple response to the question, “What is Jewish meditation?”…

Do you practice meditation? If so, ask yourself these questions:

1) Are you Jewish?

2) Do you strive to love others and yourself with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your effort?

If you said “Yes” to any of these questions, or even to only one of these questions, the meditation you practice is Jewish.

Life is complicated enough! No need to add any extra complications, alright?!

Next Steps

Feel free to learn more information abut the Yom Kippur Zen Mindfulness Jewish Meditation Retreat in Los Angeles on September 25, 2023. Registration is currently open here!

Save the date for our daylong Rosh Hashanah Zen Mindfulness Meditation Retreat. It will be held on Sunday, September 17, 2023 in the Bay Area, CA. Stay tuned for registration details!

As always, if you are interested in learning more about Jewish Mindfulness Meditation or how to create a more meaningful spiritual path for you and your loved ones, please make sure to sign up and click the “Stay Connected Now!” button below!

Mindful Judaism is pleased to offer daylong Jewish meditation and mindfulness retreats, shabbatons (weekend workshops), and other live and in person events throughout California and beyond.

If you are interested in bringing Mindful Judaism to your community, synagogue, or meditation group, please contact us at adam@mindfuljudaism.com for more information and to make arrangements.

Adam Fogel
www.mindfuljudaism.com

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