Herbert Weiner was an ordained American

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

rabbi in

South Orange South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and the author of '' The Wild Goats of Ein Gedi'' and ''

Nine and a Half Mystics ''Nine and a Half Mystics: The Kabbala Today'' is a 1969 book on Jewish mysticism by Rabbi Herbert Weiner. The book includes interviews with a number of Jewish mystics and scholars, as well as the author's encounters with various Jewish groups ...

''. Weiner is credited for introducing Jewish mysticism to many American Jews.

Activities

Herbert Weiner served as the founding rabbi of Temple Israel in South Orange, New Jersey. He also served as the first administrator of Hebrew Union College in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Nine and a Half Mystics

Herbert Weiner's ''

'', published in 1969, explores themes on

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

and Jewish mysticism. Weiner also recounts his experiences with Jewish groups who incorporate the mystical tradition in their religious practice. Weiner formed the book after visiting various Jewish communities in his search for Jewish mysticism. For many American Jews, Weiner's work was their first exposure to the Jewish mystical tradition.Rabbi Herbert Weiner. ''NJ Jewish News''. Accessed March 7, 2014.
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Impact on Neo-Hasidism

Weiner's writings on Jewish mysticism help shape the Neo-Hasidic impulses among some American Jews. Rabbi Arthur Green, a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement and a proponent of Neo-Hasidism in general, was first exposed to Jewish mysticism by reading Weiner's ''Nine and a Half Mystics''.Rabbi Arthur Green. Jewish Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2014.
/ref> Weiner also authored a

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...

to neo-Hasidic

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

Reb Zalman Schachter's '' Fragments of a Future Scroll: Hassidism For the Aquarian Age'' ( Leaves of Grass Press,

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, PA: 1975).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiner, Herbert 1919 births 2013 deaths American emigrants to Israel American Reform rabbis People from Boston 21st-century American Jews Neo-Hasidism