The Rainbow Swastika (PDF book) - Scattered Seed Ministries

The Rainbow Swastika - New Age Missionizing Among Jews
whose training was not in Judaism but in Eastern paganism. [I can assert without reservation that yoga is idolatrous, having practiced it
myself for 11 years before discovering Torah Judaism. While some insist that hatha yoga is only physical exercise, I confirmed with several
teachers that the physical postures themselves are viewed as acts of worship to the deity for which they are named (the "cobra", the "lion",
the "sun dance", etc.). This fact is omitted when introducing yoga to Westerners, but like other esoteric doctrines it is gradually revealed as
the disciple advances. Moreover, worship is understood to take place even if the lower-level practitioner is unaware of what he is doing. This
is also the attitude behind the vague NA prayer, the "Great Invocation".]
The number of practices forbidden by Torah which are cloaked in Torah garb are bewildering, and rarely are any of them challenged by the
Torah community. [It can be argued that such people do not represent normative orthodox Judaism; however, by openly promoting such
ideas in the orthodox community without being disowned, they are successfully undermining the authority of Torah in its own community -
an essential part of the New Age Plan.] Some of these practices which date back centuries are even hotly defended by the groups with the
strictest standards of Torah observance, such as praying to dead tzaddikim (sages considered especially connected to G-d during their lives)
for healing, spouses, ability to conceive, hidden wisdom and other favors. [Jews who support this practice, yet who are revolted at the idea of
others relating to Jesus in the same manner because "it's idolatrous to pray to a human being" or because "we Jews don't need a mediator
between us and G-d", have a problem not only with their Torah observance but with basic credibility.]
2a. One bestselling "salad" is worth listing separately: the Buddhism-Judaism mix. Promoted under the brand name "Jewish Renewal", it
has swelled to an international movement in its own right and will be examined later. It has the dubious honor of fooling the greatest number
of loyal Jews, who do not object because Buddhists do not bow before an idol (at least not while the West is watching). Buddhism is also
considered non-threatening to Jews because of its image of peaceable tolerance for all faiths. [This image has afforded the Dalai Lama a
warm welcome in Israel; however, it clashes with past Buddhist affinities for Nazism, and Bailey expected Buddhism to revert to militancy at
the proper stage of the Plan.] As a result, "lectures [in Israel] by visiting Buddhist teachers are invariably packed." ("The New Believers",
_The Jerusalem Report_, Apr. 2, 1998)
A brief investigation of the Buddhist faith will show that the lack of statues is not a rejection of idolatry, as in Judaism, but rather an
acceptance of the Divinity in everything, as both Pantheism and NA affirm. Using an idol would unnecessarily limit the Buddhist's concept
of 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.
Page 3 of 15
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 onTransformation], 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 renamedAleph 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 "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
http://philologos.org/__eb-trs/naI.htm
2/26/2012