THE RAINBOW SWASTIKA - Scattered Seed Ministries

god. More accurately, the fullest expression of the Divinity in Buddhism is nothingness, the
Great Void. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is to become "enlightened" (the literal meaning
of "Buddha") concerning the meaninglessness of physical existence, to aspire to godhood
(achieved through progressive disconnection with the physical, and negation of the
individual) and union with "Nirvana", the Divine Negation of existence. All of this is totally
in tandem with NA doctrine and practice. [Compare this with the "loss of self" in NA teaching
to achieve higher enlightenment; Tibetan Buddhism is the source. Note also the radical
standards of "simplicity" and renunciation of worldly luxuries urged upon Buddhist and NA
disciples, compared with the opulent lifestyles of their leaders. A Jewish admirer of the Dalai
Lama, who was a guest at the latter's residence, describes it as a "palace"... albeit a "fairly
modest palace" by American standards. See the Katz diary below for source.] The same
article in _The Jerusalem Report_ notes repeatedly that Jews enamoured with Buddhism often
incorporate Sufi (Islamic mystical) techniques as well on the path to self-as-god, including
Islamic trance music and Moslem prayers. [Sufism is yet another form of the "ancient occult
wisdom", with a goal to undermine and eliminate monotheistic Islam.] And as we will see
below, Jews who step into Buddhism are prone to adopt blatantly idol-centered faiths as well.
3. Jewish Renewal - The Spiritual Salad-Bar Movement
In terms of spiritual salads, Jewish Renewal offers a five-star buffet. This movement is a
direct extension of the Jewish-Buddhist mix described above. It is so widespread and
popular, and comes in so many packages, it deserves a detailed examination.
The "father" of Jewish Renewal (hereafter JR) is the grandfatherly Reb Zalman Schachter-
Shalomi, a prolific PhD author, counseling psychologist and Lubavitcher rabbi. He still
dresses in the Hassidic tradition and verbally identifies with Judaism, but it isn't long before
he reveals where his heart is. In an interview with "Thinking Allowed" host Dr. Jeffrey
Mishlove [who also interviewed NA leader Barbara Marx Hubbard that year - see number
(2a) in the section on Transformation], Schachter-Shalomi is introduced as a wide-ranging
Jewish scholar: professor emeritus at Temple University (psychology of religion, mysticism),
founder of P'nai Or (later renamed Aleph Alliance, outlined below), director of the "Spiritual
Eldering Project". Schachter-Shalomi himself mentions various synagogue posts and a stint
at the University of Manitoba. But soon he is speaking of Sufi legends and describing the
"Ancient of Days" [a Tenach term for G-d] as "a thing... an archetype" that "is needed by our
mother, the Earth". Similarly, in an interview promoting his 1997 book, _Paradigm Shift_,
[the title itself being a favorite NA code] Schachter-Shalomi first speaks of creating the
"Havurah movement" and _The Jewish Catalog_; he defines Jewish Renewal as "based on
Kabbalah, Hasidism and other forms of Jewish mysticism." He mentions his appreciation for
his Habad training. Reviewers of his book applaud his "love of Torah" (Dr. Moshe Waldoks)
and his "contribution to the revival of Jewish spirituality" (Dr. Arthur Green). But then he
urges us to "let go of the old paradigms rather than cling to obsolete ways of thinking." These
obsolete ways are to be replaced by "newly emerging ways of looking at reality" which are
not derived from Torah but from "the coming to an end of one era and the dawning of a new
one"; this is what shapes his "recontextualization of Judaism".
Like the leaders of "CLAL" [see below], Reb Zalman justifies his "paradigm shift" by
pointing to the changes Judaism underwent after the Temple's destruction, and like CLAL he
makes the claim that "all of our practices and belief had to be reframed" at that time. [We will
test this claim later.] But he goes farther: Judaism also passed through "paradigm shifts" with
Abraham, Moses, Auschwitz, Hiroshima... and "the moon walk". [If you are wondering how
you missed the shattering trauma that hit Judaism after the Apollo moon landing, you are not
alone. Even the recovery of the Western Wall in 1967, as momentous as it was, didn't cause