The Inside Story
of the Founding of Jewish Meditation
Rabbi Yehoshua P. Landes
about the author
Rabbi Yehoshua P. Landes was born in Palo Alto, California,
and received rabbinic ordination in France (1984) and New
York (1985). He received a BA in Chinese and European
History from Murdoch University in Western Australia
(1996). He was the founder and director of Chabad of
Western Australia from 1988–1996 and served for a decade
as the Rabbi of the Prestwich Hebrew Congregation in
Manchester, UK. In addition to Lubavitch outreach and
rabbinics, Rabbi Landes has also been involved in Jewish
education for both adults and teenagers for over twenty years. He taught English
and British history at the Lubavitch Boys High School in Manchester, UK. He
has recently been appointed Head Teacher of Hillel High School in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.
[email protected]
abstract
In the 1970s when Rabbi Menaħem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
saw that Transcendental Meditation helped relieve stress for many people, he
called for Jewish medical professionals to develop a scientific form of meditation
free of idolatrous influence. The Rebbe’s aim was to help Jews suffering from
anxiety and depression. He believed that healthy Jews should actively reach out
to the world through observing the Torah and not retreat into the seclusion of
meditation, which could make even mentally healthy people ill. Therefore the
Rebbe wanted a new type of meditation that would be a limited medical treatment. He did not want this therapy to be a form of Jewish religious, Ħasidic, or
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mystical outreach. Dr. Yehuda Landes, a psychologist in Palo Alto, was one of
the few to respond to the Rebbe’s call; his son, Rabbi Yehoshua Landes, using
the complete correspondence between his father and the Rebbe, recounts here
how Jewish Meditation was founded. Rabbi Landes makes a call of his own
for mumħim, rabbinic experts, to study and adjudicate the many forms of
meditation and yoga with Jewish orientation that abound today.
Introduction
O
n 16 Adar, 5738 (February 23, 1978), the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Menaħem Mendel Schneerson, sent my father, Dr. Yehuda
(Judah) Landes, a letter and memorandum about the dangers of
“Transcendental Meditation (TM), yoga, guru and the like.”1 This was
the start of a long correspondence2 discussing (among other issues)
many aspects of meditation.
The memorandum was unsigned and marked “confidential.”3 The
Rebbe felt that his views expressed in this correspondence concerning
meditation should be kept under wraps, because:
…the Memo could be used to encourage that which it seeks to discourage and preclude, namely, involvement in Eastern cults. For it
may be argued by many who are already involved, that until such
time as the medical profession will openly adopt the same methods
of treatment and provide an alternative, they are justified in seeking this therapy elsewhere, especially if they take care to avoid active
participation in the idolatrous rites and ceremonies that go with it.
1. Confidential Memorandum, Tevet, 5738 (January, 1978) that was included with
the above mentioned letter 16 Adar, 5738 (23 February, 1978). The Rebbe also sent
an excerpt from the US District Court of New Jersey (Civil Action 76–341, Alan
Malnak v. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, October 19, 1977) that ruled that teaching the
Science of Creative Intelligence and the Puja in New Jersey public high schools
violates the First Amendment.
2. The full correspondence, ranging from 5738–5742 (1978–1982), is sixty pages
long and includes a memorandum, eight letters, and a telegram from the Rebbe.
It also includes written messages from the Rebbe through the Secretariat and
a transcript of a telephone call with Rabbi Nissan Mangel. It also, obviously,
includes letters of response from both my father and Chaim Rosen. It is my hope
one day to publish all of this material. Until then, I am happy to show it in its
entirety to those who are interested in examining it.
3. As was the first letter.
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THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FOUNDING OF JEWISH MEDITATION 173
In support of this contention they could cite this memo which (1)
confirms the therapeutic value of a part of the said methods, and (2)
indicates also that the idolatrous elements in the said cults are not
germane, indeed non-essential, to the therapy itself.4
In other words, people might misinterpret the Rebbe’s letters as an
acknowledgement and a partial heter (ruling of permissibility) for Jews
to be involved in the meditative practices of Eastern cults, due to the
lack of alternatives. For this reason, my father was circumspect as to
whom he showed the letters.
One can imagine my father’s surprise when a year and a half later the
Rebbe publicly spoke of how meditation was being misused for idolatrous purposes in TM and the imperative to establish a non-idolatrous
alternative.
After this discourse, my father asked one of the Rebbe’s secretaries,
Rabbi Leibel Groner, if the confidentiality clause had been lifted. He
was informed that it was still in place. For this reason, my father never
officially allowed the correspondence to be published.5 For this same
reason, I had also made the decision not to publish the insights, discussions, and anecdotes that my father shared with me about the formative
years of Jewish Meditation. However, I have recently had a number of
reasons to re-evaluate this decision.
The first was a discussion I had with Rabbi Groner a little over a year
ago. Rabbi Groner felt that since a great deal of the correspondence
was already in the public domain, no purpose would be served by continuing to try to maintain the original confidentiality clause. A second
reason was that I have recently seen a number of articles discussing
“kosher” yoga and claiming the Rebbe would have supported this. I
have also read several articles that seem to have inadvertently confused
many of the Rebbe’s views concerning Jewish Meditation. I feel that
part of the confusion surrounding these issues may be because not all
parts of the correspondence are readily available and it is easy to take
many aspects out of context without seeing the entire picture.
4. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 16 Adar I, 5738 (February 23, 1978).
5. Not that it helped. At least two of the people to whom my father showed and
gave copies allowed parts of the correspondence to be “leaked.”
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When B’Or Ha’Torah published an overview of Jewish Meditation,6
the editors requested me to write a follow-up article written from
my knowledge of my father’s perspective. I hope that the following
anecdotes will help develop a more fully comprehensive picture of the
Rebbe’s outlook on Jewish Meditation.
the first letter — making a 180-degree turn
It was always an occasion of excitement and joy when my father received
a letter from the Rebbe. This letter was different — my father’s reaction
was shock.
This was the late 1970s. Most Americans, including many psychologists, were still fairly conservative in their outlook. My father was a
case in point — he was a traditional Freudian clinical psychologist with
a slight flavoring of the behaviorist B.F. Skinner. He did not believe
in alternative therapies, psychedelic drugs, or meditation. At best he
thought it was a lot of nonsense; at worse, the tools of cults. His general
opinion was that no self-respecting psychologist would touch any of it
with a barge pole. However, my father did advocate and use hypnosis.
He accepted that certain forms of meditation could work, due to the
power of suggestion, but he felt that hypnosis was a better and more
traditional path to follow.
The Rebbe’s letter fundamentally challenged my father’s understanding of psychology. Not only was he asking my father to investigate
the meditative techniques of TM, he was also saying that meditation
worked and was extremely useful in combating stress. Even worse, the
Rebbe made it very clear that he had grave misgivings about hypnosis.7 The Rebbe approved of using hypnosis to treat patients only in
life-saving cases because hypnotized patients are deprived of their free
will.8 (My father refrained from using hypnosis after receiving this
letter except in the most extreme cases.)
I remember my father discussing just how daunting the Rebbe’s task
6. Natan Ophir. 2012–2013. “The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Call for a Scientific Non-
Ħasidic Meditation.” B’Or Ha’Torah. vol. 22 (), pp. 109–124.
7. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II, 5738 (March 30, 1978).
8. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 16 Adar I, 5738 (February 30, 1978).
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THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FOUNDING OF JEWISH MEDITATION 175
was. He said that the letter had, in many ways, challenged many of his
belief systems in psychology. He had to “get his head around the idea”
that meditation actually worked and was not a form of chicanery. He
felt that the Rebbe had asked him to make a mental 180-degree turn.9
I think this helps shed some light on what I consider one of the most
surprising aspects of the founding of Jewish Meditation. The Rebbe
sent the memorandum about meditation to a “select few.”10 My father
once told me that he later heard that it had been sent to fifty individuals. Of those fifty, it seems that my father was one of the very few who
responded and offered to help. It may have been too radical for many
of the others to consider.
“medical” meditation vs. jewish meditation
The two main questions that needed to be resolved were what should
be the format of an alternative, non-idolatrous meditation and at whom
should it be aimed? This was discussed at length at various points
during the correspondence.11
The Rebbe felt very strongly that meditation, not to be confused
with hitbonenut (the forms of meditation found in Ħasidic literature
that are often practiced by Ħasidim before prayer), was for people who
were suffering from stress or depression. It was not for the average,
mentally sound individual.12 The Rebbe wanted meditation to be used
as a medical technique, prescribed by a doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist to alleviate mental problems.13 Meditation should not be used
as a vehicle to promote traditional Judaism or Jewish mysticism. The
9. I once asked my father why it took him almost a month to respond to the first
letter from the Rebbe. (He was usually quite punctual about answering these
letters.) His answer was that before he could send an answer, he first had to
undergo an inner change of attitude that meditation was actually beneficial and
not some form of quackery.
10. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 16 Adar I, 5738 (February 23, 1978).
11. Letters from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II (March 30, 1978), 11
Sivan, 5738 (June 16, 1978), 10 Tammuz, 5739 (July 5, 1979).
12. Letters from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II, 5738 (March 30, 1978)
and 10 Tammuz, 5739 (July 5, 1979), 13 Tammuz Farbrengen, 5739 (July 8, 1979).
13. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 16 Adar I, 5738 (February 23, 1978),
13 Tammuz Farbrengen, 5739 (July 8, 1979).
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word “mysticism” should not be used, and kabbalistic insights should
not be taught during meditation sessions.14 The sessions should not be
linked to Lubavitch or mainstream Judaism because this might discourage non-observant Jews who needed help.15 For this reason, the Rebbe
was wary of my father’s idea of using immersion in a mikveh ritual
bath for meditative relaxation.16 Glatt kosher food and mezzuzot on all
doorways, however, were non-invasive and thus desirable.
My father was concerned that this approach would not be practical and would also have little effect upon those who were currently
attending TM and other forms of Eastern meditation. This was for two
reasons:
1. Although some of those involved in TM and other Eastern cults
may have been suffering from various mental issues, the vast
majority would consider themselves (and would be considered
by most mental health professionals) as both normal and functional. Many otherwise normal people welcomed the opportunity
of alternative methods of stress release and would take offense at
the suggestion that they consult mental health professionals in
order to use similar meditational techniques.17
2. Many of the attendees enjoyed the mysterious Eastern trappings
associated with meditation. They were not interested in a cold,
clinical meditational treatment. In order to attract these people,
it would be necessary to “package” these meditational techniques
in such a way that it was part of an equally compelling, albeit
non-idolatrous, narrative.18
Finally, my father concluded that although he personally felt that
some form of “Jewish Meditation” would have a wider appeal, he was
14. Letters from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 10 Tammuz, 5739 (July 5, 1979)
and 11 Sivan, 5738 (June 16, 1978).
15. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II, 5738 (March 30, 1978).
16. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 11 Sivan, 5738 (June 16, 1978).
17. Letter from Dr. Yehuda Landes to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, 13 Adar II, 5738 (March
13, 1978).
18. Ibid.
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THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FOUNDING OF JEWISH MEDITATION 177
quite prepared to use a purely medical format if this was the Rebbe’s
intention.19
defining Jewish meditation
In his second letter the Rebbe wrote:
…let me say that, as a general principle, so long as the said two objectives20 can best be served, whatever project is determined to be most
effective is most desirable, and, of course, acceptable to me.21
With regard to “normal” people who wish to meditate, the Rebbe added:
With regard to the basic point you make in your letter, namely, that
most people for whom our plan is envisaged consider themselves
“normal” and would not be interested in a program that offers professional (medical) services, but would prefer a more simplistic setup for
relaxation, etc. — this should certainly be taken into account, since
the ultimate goals of our plan would not be effected. And if, as you
suggest, this would be the more practical setup for attracting more
people and achieving our two objectives — healing and the elimination of Avoda Zora [idolatry] — then, by all means, this method
should be given due consideration.22
This was the official sanction for Jewish Meditation (JM for short).
Although he toyed with the idea, my father never wrote a handbook
for JM. It also seems that in the beginning he experimented with various techniques to see what worked best. However, he soon decided on
a particular methodology. Several key aspects were:
1. Instead of using the concept of “emptying the mind,” Jewish
Meditation should focus on a specific idea, image, or issue. This
was often a letter, such as alef, Shabbat candles, or the Shemạ.
2. Instead of the traditional Hindu mantras, JM used “Ha’Shem”
19. Ibid.
20. The two objectives were making such therapy available to Jewish patients in a
kosher way and saving numerous Jews from getting involved in ạvodah zarah —
letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II, 5738 (March 30, 1978).
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
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(the respectful Hebrew term for G-d) during breathing exercises.
(“Ha” — breathe in, “Shem” — breathe out.)
3. Everyone sat on chairs. No one sat in a classic yoga position.
Sometimes, however, participants were asked to remove their
shoes.
4. Everyone would chant (or sing) Shemạ Yisrael and often took
candlelit walks outdoors.
It is important to note that the Rebbe never expressly said that he felt
that JM was the ideal vehicle to promote meditative therapies. My
father was always concerned that the Rebbe would have much preferred
a totally medical-psychological form of meditation without any Jewish
content.23 My father often worried that JM was given the go-ahead
solely due to the expert advice he was given that it was the only practical way to accomplish the Rebbe’s goals.24
Perhaps one of the most important stipulations was made later by
the Rebbe on 24 Tevet, 5742 (January 19, 1982) when he wrote:
For this reason, it has been my advice to those PhD’s and MD’s who
wish to enter the field of Jewish Meditation, that even if they also
have Rabbinical Ordination (Smichah), they should seek the advice
and guidance of a competent and experienced Rav, who is an expert
in those sections of the Shulchan Aruch which deal with these questions. To be sure, a Rav Moreh Hora’ah is expected to be proficient in
all of Shulchan Aruch, but there are Rabbanim who have specialised
in this particular field, and they are competent to rule whether this or
that practice has any suspicion of A.Z. [ạvodah zarah, idolatry]. And
there is surely no need to emphasize how strictly one must regard any
suspicion of A.Z., even the remotest.
In these days of confusion and misconception, additional precaution must be taken to avoid anything, however innocent in itself, if
it can be misconstrued by a patient or by a colleague as a Heter for
similar treatment or methods which may not be just as innocent of
A.Z.25
23. Letters from Dr. Yehuda Landes to the Rebbe, 13 Adar II (March 13, 1978), 3
Nissan and 15 Menaħem Av, 5738 (April 10 and August 18, 1978).
24. In rabbinic terms, one could say it was bedieved rather than l’hatħila.
25. A copy of this letter from the Rebbe (24 Tevet, 5742 [January 19, 1982]) was
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THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FOUNDING OF JEWISH MEDITATION 179
This was the reason why my father specifically consulted Rabbi J.I.
Schochet of Toronto on matters concerning idolatry and meditation.26
The institute
My father now had tacit approval and clear guidelines from the Rebbe
regarding JM. He had broached the topic of putting together a center to
promote JM, and the Rebbe’s response had been to encourage it, as long
as it could be done quickly.27 The Rebbe had also asked for a budget
and had twice mentioned that the Secretariat would be willing to fund
the initial outlays for such a center.28 It seemed that the scene was set
for a Jewish Meditation institute.
My father went into overdrive. He recruited an anthropologist
named Dr. Chaim (Charles) Rosen who was both interested in and
knowledgeable about Eastern meditative techniques. Together they
formed an ad-hoc committee that began to plan an institute that could
directly challenge TM in the Western United States. It soon became
abundantly clear that the institute was not going to be cheap. He put
together two proposals.29
The Rebbe answered almost immediately that it would take too long
to make such an institute. The Rebbe wanted results now. Therefore, my
father and other trained professionals should publicize that they were
offering meditative techniques as part of their medical practices. They
should also speak to other physicians about doing the same.30
And that was the end of the Institute for Jewish Meditation.
forwarded to Dr. Yehuda Landes.
26. Although Rabbi Schochet was better known for his anti-missionary work and
his debates with Christian theologians, he was also knowledgeable in Eastern
religions. My father wrote to the Rebbe (15 Menachem Av, 5738 [August 18, 1978])
that, for this reason, he was using Rabbi Schochet for halakhic queries. It is my
feeling that if the Rebbe disagreed with this choice, he would have certainly
objected (as he objected to so many other aspects of my father’s ideas during the
founding months of JM).
27. This was to become a major concern as the correspondence developed.
28. Letters from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II (March 30, 1978) and
11 Sivan, 5738 (June 16, 1978).
29. Letter from Dr. Yehuda Landes to the Rebbe, 15 Menachem Av, 5738 (August 18,
1978).
30. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 15 Menachem Av, 5738 (August
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It was not, however, the end of JM. Instead, it morphed into a series
of workshops initially led by my father and Dr. Rosen in a variety of
locations, primarily in California and New York.
fateful meetings
My father now switched his focus from developing a large institution to
conducting JM workshops throughout Northern California. The Rebbe
was very supportive of this and sent a message that he should “continue
in this path that you are going.”31
My father and Dr. Rosen visited New York towards the end of June
to explore the possibilities of extending their JM workshop programs
to the East Coast. The Rebbe suggested that psychiatrist Dr. Seymour
Applebaum join their effort.32
The three of them conducted a series of meetings. One of these was
with members of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists (AOJS).
Although they all enjoyed the actual meditation, they expressed concern that the yeshiva world would not accept it because of resemblances
to idolatrous practices. This was even after they had been pointed out
that my father, Dr. Rosen, and Dr. Applebaum had consulted an expert
rabbi about the halakhic implications of JM.
There was also a meeting with Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan that did not go
well.33 Rabbi Kaplan had no interest in using meditation in the way
envisioned by the Rebbe. Instead, he wanted to use meditation as a
vehicle to teach Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.34
My father and Dr. Rosen wrote separately to the Rebbe about these
disappointing meetings as well as about a series of successful workshops
18, 1978). It seems that the Rebbe answered my father on the same day that his
detailed letter proposing the institute was sent!
31. From the Secretariat in the name of the Rebbe, 19 Shevat, 5739 (February 16,
1979).
32. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 15 Menachem Av, 5738 (August 18,
1978).
33. I was in New York at the time and I still remember how upset my father was
when he returned from the meeting.
34. This is discussed at greater length in Natan Ophir’s “The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Call
for a Scientific Non-Ħasidic Meditation” in B’Or Ha’Torah. vol. 22 (2012–2013)
pp. 109–123.
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THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FOUNDING OF JEWISH MEDITATION 181
that they had given throughout New York. My father’s letter was dated
the third of Tammuz, 5739 (June 30, 1979). The Rebbe immediately
answered that he did not agree with the direction in which Rabbi
Kaplan wished to take Jewish meditation.35
Despite the several successful JM workshops they had conducted in
New York, my father, Dr. Rosen, and Dr. Applebaum were disappointed
with the lack of interest from rabbis and other Orthodox Jewish mental
health providers. Apparently the Rebbe was also concerned about this
negative reaction, which may possibly have been a catalyst for his decision to break his silence and to speak publicly about meditation.
13 tammuz farbrengen and aftermath.
On July 8, 1979, at the 13 Tammuz farbrengen, the Rebbe spoke publicly
about the dangers that Eastern cults and their form of meditation posed
for many Jews. He also spoke at length about the need for professionals
to offer meditation without idolatrous trappings.
The Rebbe spoke primarily about the need for a medical form of
limited meditation, such as he had initially suggested in his first letter
to my father. He clarified that healthy people should not use meditation because prolonged practice separates the meditators from their
surroundings. In contrast, the Torah recipe for lasting mental health
(for healthy people at least) is working and being actively involved in
family and society. People who need meditation should have it properly
administered in required doses, similar to medicine. The ultimate goal
was not for meditation to become an integral part of a person’s life, but
for people to be weaned slowly off it so they could resume active lives.
The Rebbe also addressed the fact that many ordinarily healthy
people wanted to meditate and would go to Eastern cults if not offered
an alternative. The Rebbe mentioned that an alternative might be the
usage of Jewish symbolism such as reciting Shemạ as a mantra. (This
was the only time he alluded to JM during the farbrengen.) The Rebbe
felt that the desire to meditate was a sign of mental difficulties and
people with this desire should be offered closely monitored forms of
non-idolatrous meditation.
35. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 10 Tammuz, 5739 (July 5, 1979).
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Finally the Rebbe lambasted observant professionals and rabbis
who did not want to get involved with meditation (most probably an
allusion to the meeting with the AOJS) out of fear that all forms of
meditation are idolatrous. Likewise, he disagreed with using meditation as a vehicle to teach Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah (an allusion
to the attitude of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan). The Rebbe also explained that
the form of meditation that he was suggesting should not be confused
with the hitbonenut espoused in Lubavitch philosophy.
My father was caught completely by surprise when the Rebbe broke
his silence, although in hindsight he could see that the letters sent to
the Rebbe during the days preceding the farbrengen might have evoked
a response. Although he was glad to have issues concerning meditation out in the open, he was somewhat apprehensive that the Rebbe
had championed a medical model, rather than JM. Once again, My
father was concerned that he might be approaching meditation from
the wrong angle. Nevertheless, the Rebbe continued to encourage the
JM workshops.
Within a year, the three people involved with JM went their separate
ways. Dr. Rosen moved to Israel, where he opened and taught JM at the
Jewish Meditation Center in Safed. He also became active with the new
Jewish Ethiopian community in Israel. My father remained in contact
with him for many years. Unfortunately, my father soon lost contact
with Dr. Applebaum. My father continued, with the Rebbe’s encouragement, to organize JM workshops in California and throughout the USA
until he retired due to ill health in the 1990s.
check your sources
My father often liked to tell the following anecdote. On May 1, 1980,
he was at a meeting with Dr. Rosen and Dr. Applebaum. They were
discussing a disturbing claim by a certain Lubavitcher that the Rebbe
had told him privately that advanced forms of meditation could allow
people to fly and to practice mind control and telepathy. Everyone at
the meeting was very concerned. The three of them had always thought
that such delusional beliefs were part of the dangers of TM. That day,
my father sent a telegram to the Rebbe asking for a clarification. Five
days later he received the following reply, also by telegram:
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THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FOUNDING OF JEWISH MEDITATION 183
I must emphasize again that my views and guidelines in reference to
TM Meditation have not and could not have been changed since they
are based on Shulchan Aruch. As for the suggestion you mention in
your telegram about “teaching people to fly,” it is the first I hear about
it. Nor do I know details of it, but needless to say if it implies physical
flying and hence is delusional, it is not only contrary to Torah, as any
deception, but also inadvisable as a therapeutic method since eventually the patient will realise the deception and it is bound to result in
a severe reaction.36
Summary and conclusion
My father felt that the Rebbe’s view on the use of non-idolatrous meditation could be summarized as follows:
1. Ideally, meditation should be offered in the form of a medical
model for those who are suffering from anxiety and/or other
related mental and/or emotional issues.37
2. Healthy people should not use meditation. If used, it could actually lead to mental health issues.38
3. Seemingly healthy people who nonetheless insist on using meditation may be offered medical meditation, because their insistence in itself is a sign of their not being well.39
4. Meditation may be used with Jewish content, such as JM does,
if this will reach and encourage more people to use it instead of
Eastern meditation.40
5. JM should not be used as a means to promote Torah Judaism
36. Telegram from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 6 May, 1980. (I have added the
punctuation).
37. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 16 Adar I, 5738 (February 23, 1978),
13 Tammuz Farbrengen, 5739 (July 8, 1979).
38. Ibid.
39. Letter from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II, 5738 (March 30, 1978),
13 Tammuz Farbrengen, 5739 (July 8, 1979).
40. Letters from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II, 5738 (March 30, 1978)
and 11 Sivan 5738 (June 16, 1978).
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184 B ’ OR HA’ TOR AH 23 5775 (2014–2015)
or Jewish mystical and Kabbalistic teachings because this may
discourage some people from using it.41
6. Anyone who offers any of the above meditative services must
do so in consultation with a rabbi who is an expert in this field
to ascertain if any practices might inadvertently be idolatrous,
connected to idolatry, or perceived as idolatry (marit ạyin).42
Even after my father retired, he remained very interested in JM. He
would have been pleased to see how many people today are offering
JM as an alternative to TM. He would have been even more surprised
at how many mainstream medical practitioners now suggest meditation (without the TM trappings) as a form of stress relief.43 This is an
example of how the Rebbe’s views were ahead of his time.
However, I do believe my father would have beeen extremely
apprehensive about any form of meditation calling itself kosher yoga
or kosher TM, and so on, as it could be seen to be in conflict with
principle 6 mentioned above. This is especially the case since the Rebbe
mentioned yoga by name in the original memorandum as an idolatrous
practice.44
It is true that yoga has many forms and has evolved over the years
since the 1970s. There are also those who argue that yoga is now widely
practiced solely as an exercise form to develop flexibility and enable
relaxation. This was the July 2013 ruling of Superior Court Justice J.
Meyers in San Diego.45
This should not, however, be interpreted as a sign that all forms of
yoga are indeed kosher. The San Diego ruling is now under appeal.
Moreover, civil courts have very different criteria than halakhah as to
41. Letters from the Rebbe to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 21 Adar II, 5738 (March 30, 1978)
and 11 Sivan, 5738 (June 16, 1978), 10 Tammuz, 5739.
42. Letter from the Rebbe forwarded to Dr. Yehuda Landes, 24 Tevet, 5742 (January
19, 1982).
43. Many physicians in the United Kingdom now acknowledge the therapeutic
value of meditation. See NHS Choices, Mental Health: http://www.nhs.uk/
news/2008/12December/Pages/Meditationanddepression.aspx.
44. Confidential Memorandum, Tevet, 5738 (January, 1978).
45. Sedlock v Baird (2013), 37–2013–00035910-CU-MC-CTL. Retrieved from http://
courtindex.sdcourt.ca.gov/CISPublic/casedetail?casenum=201300035910&casesite
=SD&applcode=C.
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THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FOUNDING OF JEWISH MEDITATION 185
what constitutes idolatry. An even greater concern is the issue of marit
ạyin (that certain aspects of yoga could be misconstrued as idolatry).
The very fact that many people believe that yoga is a religious practice is
in itself problematic. I have also heard anecdotal evidence of practices
in yoga classes that have been indirectly linked to idolatry,46 which
would also be problematic.
I believe that the only way to resolve this issue would be to follow
the Rebbe’s advice and refer the matter to a mumħeh, a rabbinic expert
in the halakhot of ạvodah zarah. To the best of my knowledge, no rabbinic mumħeh has ever ruled on the issue of yoga and idolatry. (There
have been plenty of laymen and regular rabbis who have offered their
opinions, but this is obviously not sufficient according to the Rebbe’s
criterion.) A clear written ruling from a mumħeh is the only way to put
to bed the questions of whether the physical exercises of yoga and any
of the many different forms of yogic meditation are halakhicly acceptable. It is possible that different mumħim may disagree on this issue.
However, this is no more problematic than disagreements in other
halakhic fields. In such cases, we generally leave it to the mumħim to
thrash it out until a generally accepted position is reached.
For Further Reading
Sichos Kodesh. 5739 (1986). New York: private publication. vol. 3, pp. 314–322.
46. I was recently told of a situation where an observant person found a small statue
of Buddha in their yoga class. While this is unlikely to be considered idolatry
itself (ạvodah zarah), it may well be considered an affiliation of idolatry (abizrayu d’ạvodah zarah) according to Jewish law.
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SWIFTS OF THE WESTERN WALL — 2001
In first watch, the Mountain Swifts choose mystery
slow circling they flower, suspended like night-bats
to drift in the ebb and flow of sacred tides
early summer at the Western Wall
where resides the Divine Presence.
At the time of midnight prayer for rebirth of the Temple and of Israel
at the hour when the Rabbi of the Kotel rises
to recite Tikkun Rachel and Tikkun Leah
in silence of the second watch they are lost to sight
but do not sleep as other birds do.
Where do they go?
Down the narrow streets of Mizkeret Moshe
past the Palace Hotel at the foot of Agron Street
to drift low, blessing the worn windows
and disused doorways with arrowed wing.
Returning with their friend the morning star
black-almond eyes greet the third watch
they join the niggun of black-coated Breslav Ħasidim
dashing down to join pre-sunrise Vatikin prayers
bearing gifts of jubilant Swift-screaming
to awaken the white doves of the Wall
that have come home with prophecy
to nest in the ancient crevices
and raise their young in majesty.
Shira Twersky-Cassel
Kotel — The Western Wall, remnant of the Second Temple
Tikkun Rachel and Tikkun Leah — mystical midnight prayers
Vatikin — Pre-sunrise prayer
Niggun — Ħasidic or other devotional melody
Breslav Ħasidim — Followers of the Ħasidic Rabbi Naħman of Breslav
•••
B
In Blessed Memory of Professor Benjamin Fain
’Or Ha’Torah mourns the passing of Professor
Benjamin Fain, a brilliant scientist dedicated
to the Jewish People and the Torah. Born in Kiev
in 1930, Benjamin Fain was named after his
grandfather who was murdered in the Proskurov
pogrom. During World War II, the family was
evacuated and wandered from place to place
until settling in Dushanbe, where Fain completed
school. While studying at the Moscow Power
Institute, Fain began to visit the synagogue. He was deeply impressed
by the first Israeli ambassador to the USSR, Golda Meir. In 1950, Fain
was accepted to study physics at Gorky University. His mentor was
Nobel laureate Vitaly Ginzburg, and he graduated summa cum laude.
By 1965, Fain was appointed a professor at his alma mater. The scientific books he wrote during this period on condensed phase and
optical physics were translated into English and German and are still
being used today. Fain combined mathematics, intuition, and a deep
understanding of physics in an original way. Among his major titles
are Quantum Radiophysics (written with Y.I. Khanin and published in
Russian) and Quantum Electronics (written with Y.I. Khanin in English
and published by Pergamon in 1969).
In 1966 he moved back to Moscow, where he worked at the Institute
of Solid State Physics and became involved in the Zionist movement.
He participated in a refusenik scientific seminar and in the anti-Communist underground. After applying for an exit visa to Israel in 1974,
he was dismissed from his post for political reasons.
In 1976, Fain initiated sociological research on Soviet Jewry,
attempting to organize an international symposium on the subject. This
attempt was foiled by the KGB, who began to follow him. After a period
of arrests, searches, interrogations, and a hunger strike, Fain was finally
permitted to immigrate to Israel in 1977. During his final period in the
USSR, Fain gradually became a Torah-observant Jew.
In Israel, Professor Fain continued to struggle to improve the life of
187
188 B ’ OR HA’ TOR AH 23 5775 (2014–2015)
Jews in the Soviet Union. He worked in the School of Chemistry of Tel
Aviv University in the fields of quantum electronics, lasers, and condensed matter. In 1998 his attention changed focus to the interrelation
between the philosophy of science and Judaism. After retirement, Fain
wrote his first book in this field, Creation ex Nihilo. Written originally
in Hebrew, this book was translated into English and Russian. In 2008
Fain completed another book in Hebrew, Law and Providence — Spirit
and Matter, Divine Providence and the Laws of Nature, and the Openness
of the World to G-d and Man, which was translated into English by
Urim Publications and reviewed in B’Or Ha’Torah, volume 21. In 2011,
Professor Fain’s third book, The Poverty of Secularism, was published in
Hebrew by Mosad Harav Kook. It was translated into English by Urim
Publications in 2012. Shortly before his death on the fifth of Iyyar 5773
(March 14, 2013), his Hebrew book Sod Ha’Nishamah was published by
Mosad Harav Kook, and his article “Fain’s The Poverty of Secularism
versus Dawkins’ The G-d Delusion” was published in BHT 23.
Benjamin Fain is survived by his wife, Shoshanah, his children Eva,
Aharon, and Gideon, and his grandchildren. May his memory be for
a blessing.
•••
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