IN THE LATE 1950's, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, better known as 'Reb
Zalman,' penned what was perhaps the first book on Jewish meditation and
contemplative Judaism in English. It was called, The First Step: A
Primer of a Jew's Spiritual Life, and was printed in a simple stapled
booklet edition which he mailed out to friends and students. But it was
not long before this humble booklet had reached readers as diverse as
President Zalman Shazar of Israel and the famous author of The Seven
Storey Mountain, Father Thomas Merton. In 1965, it was included as a
chapter in the widely influential Jewish Catalog, and read by thousands
of young Jews in the late 60s and early 70s looking for an authentically
Jewish approach to meditation. Then, for many years, the booklet fell
out of use until it was completely revised and updated in 1993, in a new
booklet called, Gate to the Heart: An Evolving Process, which was again
privately printed and distributed within the Jewish Renewal movement.
In this expanded version, the booklet inspired a whole new generation of
Jewish contemplatives looking for a manual of Jewish practice. Now,
after being revised and supplemented once again, Reb Zalman's first and
most personal book, the culmination of over 60 years of spiritual
guidance work, is finally being published and made available to the
general public. "For me, Gate to the Heart is the one essential book by
Reb Zalman. Although there are others that go into more depth, and are
more expansive on certain topics, none convey his authentic voice and
brilliant creativity more that this one. It is the book that I want to
carry with me at all times, a true vade mecum that one can consult again
and again to renew one's spiritual practice." --- Netanel Miles-Yépez,
co-author of A Heart Afire: Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic
MastersThursday, January 16, 2014
Gate to the Heart: A Manual of Contemplative Jewish Practice
IN THE LATE 1950's, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, better known as 'Reb
Zalman,' penned what was perhaps the first book on Jewish meditation and
contemplative Judaism in English. It was called, The First Step: A
Primer of a Jew's Spiritual Life, and was printed in a simple stapled
booklet edition which he mailed out to friends and students. But it was
not long before this humble booklet had reached readers as diverse as
President Zalman Shazar of Israel and the famous author of The Seven
Storey Mountain, Father Thomas Merton. In 1965, it was included as a
chapter in the widely influential Jewish Catalog, and read by thousands
of young Jews in the late 60s and early 70s looking for an authentically
Jewish approach to meditation. Then, for many years, the booklet fell
out of use until it was completely revised and updated in 1993, in a new
booklet called, Gate to the Heart: An Evolving Process, which was again
privately printed and distributed within the Jewish Renewal movement.
In this expanded version, the booklet inspired a whole new generation of
Jewish contemplatives looking for a manual of Jewish practice. Now,
after being revised and supplemented once again, Reb Zalman's first and
most personal book, the culmination of over 60 years of spiritual
guidance work, is finally being published and made available to the
general public. "For me, Gate to the Heart is the one essential book by
Reb Zalman. Although there are others that go into more depth, and are
more expansive on certain topics, none convey his authentic voice and
brilliant creativity more that this one. It is the book that I want to
carry with me at all times, a true vade mecum that one can consult again
and again to renew one's spiritual practice." --- Netanel Miles-Yépez,
co-author of A Heart Afire: Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic
Masters
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