Stages
First I thought that a Teacher must be right in all things.
Then I imagined that my teacher was wrong in many things.
Then I realised what was right and what was wrong.
What was wrong was to remain in either of the first two states.
What was right was to convey this to everyone.
(Ardabili, Wisdom of the Idiots; Idries Shah p. 193)
Ever since I heard that people were voicing concerns over both the ongoing presence of Reb Zalman as “chief rebbe” of ALEPH and renewal, as well as feeling that we, the founders of ALEPH, OHALAH, and the AOP are obstacles to the continuing development of Jewish Renewal, I have been trying to put into words what calling Reb Zalman my rebbe and myself his chasid mean. Last week, that finally became clear.
I begin with a digression. For years, every so often people continue to raise the question of whether Jewish Renewal is a denomination, usually at some point raising the well-known “duck” argument. Personally, I have never been comfortable calling us “Jewish Renewal” and I much prefer the more process oriented “The Movement for the Spiritual Renewal of Judaism.” Denominations need to determine who is in and who is out, who believes and practices correctly and who doesn’t. Many years ago, we had one of those evening discussions that rabbis like and this one was a question posed to me. At the time, for various reasons, I didn’t feel free to officiate at weddings where only one partner was a Jew. I was the only one in the room who didn’t. The question was asked as to how could I stay in a movement where I was part of a small minority. My answer was that my decision about officiation was a judgement call and not prescriptive and I was happy to refer couples to rabbis I knew and loved who would officiate. (As my life situation changed, my resistance melted away.)
Reb Zalman was not about starting a denomination. Like the early Hassidic rebbes, his interest was clearly stated: to renew Jewish spirituality. That meant a renewed relationship with the Divine after the sho’ah, taking the State of Israel and life in the democracies into account as well as his often repeated statement that photos of the earth from space changed everything about separateness and inclusivity. As I hope to write about sometime in the future, the term “Jewish Renewal” is noun based for a community whose sacred language is verb based.
This year, I undertook a personal study program to read the Ma’or Va’Shemesh every day for the year it will take to go through his teachings on the Torah. During the week of B’Ha’alotcha, I came across the following:
הצדיק מכונה בשם 'כהן' - שמעלה נשמתן של בני ישראל להדביקם באין סוף ברוך הוא וברוך שמו.…והכתוב מלמד להצדיק הוא הכהן המעלה נשמתן של בני ישראל, שצריך כל כך להלהיב לבבות בני אדם לעבודת השי"ת…שיהיה להם התלהבות אף אחר פרידתם מהצדיק, ויהיה התלהבות שלהם עולה מאליה - באף שלא יהיו תמיד אצל הצדיק הוא הכהן, אף על פי כן ילהיב לבבם
The tzaddik is called a priest because, like a priest, the tzaddik raises the souls of Jews to cling to the Blessed Infinite.…The Torah is teaching that the tzaddik, who, like a priest, raises the souls of Israel, should aim to so inspire people’s hearts to Divine service…so that even after they leave the presence of the tzaddik their enthusiasm continues to rise by itself, even though they are not always in the physical presence of the tzaddik, still the tzaddik should light their hearts.*
In these few lines, Rabbi Klonimus Kalman Epstein (maternal great grandfather of Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Piasetzna Rebbe) transmitted the essence of what being a rebbe is about, to inspire in such a way that the hasid becomes able to remain inspired on their own and, implied, ultimately able to inspire others. While I know that are places in our Jewish world where dependence on rabbinic authorities is cultivated, Reb Zalman was never interested in making any of us dependent on him. He showered us with love, gave us jobs to do, complimented and argued with us, encouraging us to find our “deployments.” Some of us are still primarily devoted to completing parts of his work; others have set out on their own paths, and some (like me) do both.
The way in which we honour Reb Zalman’s rebbe-hood is not by seeking the answer to new questions by combing through his teachings (though that can help) but by doing as he did: loving, guiding people through difficult transitions, helping people to find the spiritual path centred in our tradition yet open to experiencing and even adopting practices developed by others which strengthen some of the less developed parts of our masoret.
I could write much more and have, yet here in these few lines is the essence of the path that begins with finding the rebbe who, like Reb Zalman, manifests the form of love we most need, helps us to learn the balance between innovation and backwards compatibility, and to manifest the rebbe within each of us for the good of others.
I close with a story that Reb Zalman liked and shared with me:
In His Father's Footsteps
When Rabbi Noah, Rabbi Mordecai's son, assumed the succession after his father's death, his disciples noticed that there were a number of ways in which he conducted himself differently from his father, and asked him about this.
“I do just as my father did,” he replied. “He did not imitate, and I do not imitate.”
(Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Later Masters, p. 157)
*I continue to use s/he for convenience. As I learn from others, I now see she and he as the two end points on the continuum of gender identity and hope that this shorthand is acceptable to readers.
Other thoughts I’ve shared about Reb Zalman:
REMEMBERING REB ZALMAN: JULY 2020