The Jewish New Age Movement and Contemporary Spiritual Renewal (Renewal)

Jewish Renewal is a movement of spiritual renewal that emerged in North America from the 1960s and 1970s onward, in the context of the counterculture and the search for personal spiritualities. It is closely associated with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, who sought to revitalize Jewish life through meditation, music, dance, creative liturgy, and openness to the mystical dimensions of tradition. The movement draws notably from Hasidism and Kabbalah, reinterpreting them in a contemporary language, and places considerable emphasis on ecology, gender equality, and interreligious dialogue. Transdenominational in character, it has influenced practices well beyond its own circles. It represents one of the original responses to the challenges of secularization within North American Judaism.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan
• Jewish Virtual Library ↗