THE RAINBOW SWASTIKA - Scattered Seed Ministries

"all our practices and beliefs" to be "reframed".... However, be aware that man's brief hip-hop
on the moon is high on the NA list of milestone events in human evolution. So is the first use
of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima, mentioned as a "shift point" by the JR leader but largely
passed over by orthodox Jewish commentators.] From here, the Jewish Renewal rebbe heads
straight for his goal to "delaminate our faith-treasures from earlier maps [of reality]" and paste
them onto "new maps" which meet "the demands of our era". (Interestingly, the Reb's claim to
formulating a "recontextualization" which "renews" Judaism is ridiculed by modern followers
of the messianic pretender Sabbatai Zevi, who accuse JR of plagiarizing their 300-year-old
heretical traditions.)
Where does the Reb look for his "new maps"? To a renewed study of Torah? Nope, to
"feminism, human potential [another NA code phrase], ecology and Whole Earth thinking
[also NA code]." A "new map" is also needed for the concept of Tshuvah (repentance): "one
connects first the higher centers of one's being", [which in NA is the first stage of
"antahkarana", or Rainbow bridge-building] then connects "with God", [the second stage of
"antahkarana"]. It is only after this that "one implements what one needs from the tradition to
round out one's life." [But as we have seen, once the Rainbow bridge is completed, one needs
nothing from "outmoded Judaism" - on the contrary, one recognizes the need for its
destruction.] He admits that fellow-Jews do not accept his "modify[ing] a long standing and
Divinely revealed tradition". But as if to make sure enlightened readers appreciate his skill as
a change agent, Reb Zalman describes how his disciples have "mainstreamed" his teachings
into regular orthodox synagogues "without explicitly attributing the source", and have
successfully "blended into the acceptable scene". As an example [and perhaps as yet another
coded signal] he mentions the "rainbow colored tallit" he personally designed. [Watch below
for how many leaders in various organizations turn out to be Reb Zalman disciples, and you
will see his boast is not an idle one.]
Schachter-Shalomi's personal view of "Divinely revealed tradition" mirrors that of other
Jewish groups discussed in this section. Similar to CLAL's ever-changing Torah, he
proclaims that Divine revelation is still unfolding, well beyond Torah boundaries. And like
the Kabbalah Centre, he doesn't hesitate to teach Kabbalah to students who have no grounding
in basic Torah - he too is confident that if Jewish Renewal students "follow the inclination of
their own inner core", this will compensate for the lack of Torah. Reb Zalman even castigates
the old school of Kabbalah, "esoteric teachers [who] demanded that the seekers relinquish and
deny their sacred encounters outside of the tradition [that is, required them to turn from
idolatry] and begin basic [Torah] observances." [Schachter consistently uses "tradition" or
"traditional Torah" where orthodox rabbis would say simply "Torah".] In harmony with this
attitude, one of Schachter-Shalomi's main responsibilities is chairing the "World Wisdom
Department" at the Naropa Institute, a private college where Buddhist meditation is required
daily and "each class or degree program integrates varying degrees of Buddhist philosophies
and traditions". Naropa's Fall 1997 course schedule listed Reb Zalman's "Core Texts of
Jewish Mysticism", alongside studies of Aztec death celebration (student is instructed to bring
an offering of flowers, bread and fruit), Yoruban ancestor-worship, Druid shamanism, Sufi
trance music, Taoist religion, the "Shambhala Tradition" of meditation (taught by Naropa's
founder), Kundalini Yoga, and about a dozen Tibetan Buddhist courses.
Other JR-related groups are springing up too fast to document. Here is a short-list of the older
centers:
3a. Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal: This organization, centered in Philadelphia, is under
the direct leadership of Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Prominent members of Aleph regularly