Orthodoxy and Meditation: Having a go at at the Jewish Learning Exchange

Last night, the main hall at the Jewish Learning Exchange in London was packed with people, probably more than 200, to hear Rabbi Tatz and me speak about Letters to a Buddhist Jew, our experience of working on it together, and my particular, and peculiar, spiritual path.

To my delight, Oldest Daughter was in attendance as well. She's in the final weeks of a semester at King's College here in London, and had never heard me speak about the book or my own spiritual odyssey before.

The audience was very attentive, very polite and asked very intelligent questions, as have all the groups I've spoken to here. A couple of people approached me afterwards who were full of vitriol about Orthodox Judaism, and who were disappointed because they felt I was too much of an apologist for Orthodoxy. While I made clear (I hope) that I'm not Orthodox, I also tried to emphasize that Orthodox Judaism is a storehouse of incredible wisdom. Most Orthodox Jewish practice has, however, become cerebral and exclusive, and many Jews don't feel compelled to become part of that, or even investigate it.

Nonetheless, I told one gentleman who was disappointed in me that, as Franz Rosenzweig said, Judaism is like a landscape painting: just as there are many ways of the eye to enter a landscape, there are innumerable ways for a person to explore Judaism and to find meaning in it. I also tried to say to this guy, reasonable and polite as he was, that his expectations were not my problem.

Today I'll engage in Round 2 of a lively discussion with Rabbi Aaron (Aubrey) Hersh, who is, if you'll pardon the expression, hell-bent on making me an Orthodox Jew. I guess I've been too influenced by Zen to find his efforts either appealing or insulting. I am fascinated by people who are certain they possess the Truth, and Rabbi Hersh is one of those.

There is a truth beyond logic that the original Rabbis understood, but that Judaism today is in peril of losing, and which Orthodoxy has all but lost. Rabbi Hersh has tried to impress upon me that the tenets and historical facts undergirding Orthodox Judaism are "True," and asks me for my refutation. My answer to him is that light is both wave and particle. That there is such a thing as the sound of one hand clapping. And that the true/false dichotomy isn't up to the task of grasping or communicating the paradoxical nature of our existence (there's a self, there is no self).

I got the entire room to engage in a 3-minute, silent objectless meditation. No one in attendance could remember so many observant Jews, in one place, being so quiet for so long. I said this experience was nothing but the experience of existing, a miraculous and paradoxical movement called "life" that must be contemplated, simply and silently, to open us to greater truth and a richer experience of being alive.

Many in the audience at JLE last night expressed a palpable thirst for learning to meditate in a Jewish context, and Rabbi Tatz admitted that Jewish meditation is a valid practice and that it can be taught. People asked why the JLE doesn't teach it; the answer, between the lines, seemed to be that it is not something that this generation of rabbis has learned or practiced.

I probably was the first non-Orthodox presenter at JLE. That was an honor that I hope they'll extend to others, who are seeking in Judaism what is there in rich but neglected veins of the tradition.

--T.A.

Comments

[mom]

"A truth beyond logic," what a beautiful characterization! And I note that you say "a" truth, not "the" truth. This is what I am enveloped by, reading the weekly parshat.

Love (my teacher),

Mom