Alan Lew (1943–2009) was a Conservative rabbi best known for establishing the world's first

Jewish meditation Jewish meditation includes practices of settling the mind, introspection, visualization, emotional insight, contemplation of divine names, or concentration on philosophical, ethical or mystical ideas. Meditation may accompany unstructured, perso ...

center and for his work bridging

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

traditions. Lew was often described as "the Zen rabbi," a phrase that he himself used in the title of his book ''One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi.''

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Lew grew up in a

secular Jewish Jewish secularism (Hebrew: יהדות חילונית) refers to secularism in a Jewish context, denoting the definition of Jewish identity with little or no attention given to its religious aspects. The concept of Jewish secularism first arose ...

household. In the 1960s, he experimented with Asian spiritual practices and eventually discovered

Zen Buddhism Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...

. When preparing for ordination as a Zen Buddhist priest, he had an epiphany regarding his Jewish identity which set him on a path to exploring

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. Lew went on to become a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

rabbi, serving as the rabbi o
Congregation Eitz Chaim
(Monroe, NY) and then leading Congregation Beth Sholom (San Francisco, California), California, and focusing on teaching

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

in Jewish contexts. He established the Makor Or meditation center at Beth Sholom, the world's first

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

-based Jewish meditation center. He has been noted for his books and for his work on how meditation plays an important role in the process of ''teshuvah'' (repentance).

Selected works

*''Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life'' (2007) *''This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation'' (2003) *''One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi'' (1999)Google Books
''(Click on "p. iv" link for full data)''

References

1943 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American rabbis American Conservative rabbis American male non-fiction writers Buddhism and Judaism Clergy from San Francisco Jewish American non-fiction writers Radio personalities from Brooklyn Writers from Brooklyn Writers from San Francisco Zen in the United States {{US-rabbi-stub