Alan Lew

 ( 1943 Births ) 

Alan Lew (1943–2009) was a Conservative rabbi best known for establishing the world's first Jewish meditation center and for his work bridging Jews and Buddhism 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.

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Biography Born in Brooklyn, Lew grew up in a secular Jewish household. In the 1960s, he experimented with Asian spiritual practices and eventually discovered Zen. 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. Lew went on to become a Conservative rabbi, serving as the rabbi of Congregation Eitz Chaim (Monroe, NY) and then leading Congregation Beth Sholom (San Francisco, California), California, and focusing on teaching meditation in Jewish contexts. He established the Makor Or meditation center at Beth Sholom, the world's first synagogue-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.

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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)
  (2003). 9780316739085, Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316739085
• One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi (1999) Google Books (Click on "p. iv" link for full data)

Categories: 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

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