Hasidism in the age of aquarius: The House of Love and Prayer in San Francisco, 1967-1977

Religion and American Culture

Volumn 13, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 139-165

  Ariel, Yaakov ^a  

^a The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 34247462653     PISSN: 10521151     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/rac.2003.13.2.139     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. On the religious spirit of the age, see Wade Clark Roof, A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journey of the Baby Boom Generation (New York: HarperCollins, 1993)
2. Wade Clark Roof, Spiritual Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the Remaking of American Religion (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999)
3. and Robert Wuthnow, After Heaven: Spirituality in America since the 1950s (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998)
4. On Carlebach's life, see Eli Chaim Carlebach, "My Brother Shlomo as a Young Man," e-mail message on the Reb Shlomo list, January 17, 1998
5. Yitta Halberstam Mandelbaum, Holy Brother: Inspiring Stories and Enchanted Tales about Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1997)
6. Dan Shacham, "Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach: The Enfant Terrible of Religious Judaism in America," Our Israel, March 8,1985, 29
7. and M. H. Brand, Rabbi Shlomole [in Hebrew] (Efrat: published by the author, 1998); see also Shlomo Carlebach nearprint file, Jacob Radar Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
8. On neo-Orthodoxy, see Mordechai Breuer, Judische Orthodoxie in Deutschen Reich, 1871-1918 (Frankfurt am Main: Athenéaum, 1986)
9. On Hasidic Judaism in America at the time, see Jerome R. Mintz, Hasidic Judaism: A Place in the New World (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994)
10. and Janet S. Belcove-Shalin, New World Hasidim (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995)
11. On Zalman Schachter, see Zalman Schachter nearprint file, Jacob Radar Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. See also his books, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi with Donald Grapman, The First Step: A Guide for the New Jewish Spirit (Toronto: Bantam Books, 1983)
12. and Paradigm Shift: From the Jewish Renewal Teaching of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, ed. Ellen Singer (Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1993)
13. See Aviezer Ravitisky "The Contemporary Lubavitch Hasidic Movement: Between Conservatism and Messianism," in Accounting for Fundamentalism, ed. Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992), 303-24
14. See Menachim Friedman, The Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Society: Sources, Trends, and Processes (Jerusalem: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 1991)
15. Judith Linzer, Torah and Dharma (Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1996)
16. Zalman Schachter, interview with author, Philadelphia, November 1995
17. Robert Shelton, "Rabbi Carlebach Sings Spirituals," New York Times, October 24, 1961
18. See also "Israel Cats Dig Manhattan Rabbi Who Croons Bible with a Guitar," Herald and Sun, July 3, 1959
19. Ibid
20. Dan Shacham, "Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach: The 'Enfant Terrible' of Orthodox Judaism in America," Israel Shelanu, March 8, 1985, 29
21. Cf. Elie Wiesel, Memoirs: All Rivers Run to the Sea (New York: Schocken Books, 1995), 402-3
22. and Zalman Schachter, "Dirge on Auschwitz," Turtle, Spring 1972, 28
23. Neil Gillman, Conservative Judaism: The New Century (West Orange, N.J.: Behrman House, 1993), 130
24. On Leary LSD, and the role of hallucinogenic drugs in America of the 1960s, see Timothy Leary, Flashbacks: An Autobiography (Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1983)
25. Jay Stevens, Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987)
26. and Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain, Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD (New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1992)
27. Rabbi Zalman Schachter, interview with author. See also Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter, "The Conscious Ascent of the Soul," Zalman Schachter file, Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives; and Harry Fox, "Der Vinnipeger," McGill Review, January 13, 1967
28. In the late 1990s, after Carlebach's death, a number of women whom Carlebach kissed and hugged made the claim that such acts were inappropriate and bordered on harassment. See Sarah Blustein, "Sholomo Carlebach's Shadow Side," Lilith 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 10-17. I am also indebted to Marcia Spiegel for forwarding to me correspondence on this theme
29. On the more systemic and uniform outreach program in Lubavitch, see Mordechai M. Laufer, ed., Sefer HaShilhut [in Hebrew] (Kfar Habad: Chabad Center, 1987)
30. Mordecai M. Laufer, ed., Sefer HaShlihut [in Hebrew] (New York: Chabad Center, 1991)
31. and Mordecai M. Laufer, ed., Kuntras HaShlihit [in Hebrew] (New York: Chabad Center, 1994). These books contain the Lubavitch leader Rabbi Menhem M. Schneerson's addresses and instructions on outreach and emissaries
32. Carlebach's brother, Eli Haim, and his sister-in-law, Hadassah, remained Hasids in good standing, which helped Shlomo Carlebach keep his relation to his old group alive. On his split with Lubavitch, see "Practical Wisdom from Shlomo Carlebach," Tikkun, September/October 1997, 53-56
33. Zalman Schachter, interview with the author, Philadelphia, November 1995
34. Martin and Marva Cooper, interview with the author, Meor Modiin, November 18, 1998. Names changed
35. See Nathan Glazer, Ethnic Dilemmas, 1964-1982 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1983)
36. See Todd Gitlin, The Sixties: Days of Hope, Days of Rage (New York: Bantam Books, 1987)
37. See Peter Novick, The Holocaust in American Life (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999), 127-203
38. Leary, Flashbacks, 16
39. See Gershom G. Scholem, Elements of the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1977), 104-12
40. For the Hasidic side, see Moshe Idel, Hasidism between Ecstasy and Magic (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995)
41. Gershom Gorenberg, The End of Days (New York: Free Press, 2000), 4-5
42. Robert S. Ellwood, The Sixties Spiritual Awakening: American Religion Moving from Modern to Postmodern (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1994)
43. Stevens, Storming Heaven, xii
44. Matthew Maibaum, "Some Jewish Origins of the 'Jesus Movement' in San Francisco, 1967-1971: Parallels to History," September 1974, 7. Copy in the Jacob Radar Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
45. Mira Shot, interview with author, Jerusalem. Name changed
46. Michel Abehsera, Zen Macrobiotic Cooking: The Ancient Art of Selecting and Preparing Food for Longevity and Rejuvenation (New York: Avon Books, 1968)
47. Ilana Fried, interview with author, Jerusalem, January 1994. Name changed
48. Maibaum, "Some Jewish Origins," 13
49. Talita Hesed, "How I Got to the HLP," e-mail message to author, February 26, 1997. Name changed
50. "The Free Form Wedding Game," Life, September 26, 1969
51. See Lewis R. Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993), 66-123
52. See Shlomo Carlebach with Susan Yael Mesinai, Shlomo Stories: Selected Tales (Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1994)
53. and Kalman Serkez, ed., The Holy Beggar Banquet: Traditional Jewish Tales and Teachings of the Late, Great Reb Shlomo Carlebach and Others in the Spirit of the 1960s, the 1970s, and the New Age (Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1998)
54. See Joseph Dan, The Hasidic Story: Its History and Development (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1975)
55. See, for example, stories such as "Yankele the Thief" and "The Baal Shem Tov Mistreats a Jew" in Carlebach and Mesinai, Shlomo's Stories, and "Stories about Reb Meir of Premshlan" and "The Wheel of Fortune" in The Holy Beggar's Banquet. See also Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, "Challahs in the Ark," in The Jewish Year: Celebrations of the Holidays, ed. Barbara Rush (New York: Stewart Tabori and Chang, 2000)
56. On Rabbi Nahman of Braslav, see Arthur Green, Tormented Master: A Life of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (University: University of Alabama Press, 1979)
57. Shacham, "Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach," 29
58. Dov Hope, interview with author, Chicago, February 1998. Name changed
59. Don Rov, interview with author, New Jersey, May 1998. Name changed
60. Jacob Fine, telephone interview with author, New York, June 1999. Name changed
61. Gitlin, The Sixties; Stevens, Storming Heaven
62. Talita Hesed, letter to author
63. Members of the HLP looked upon Sufi Sam as a source of inspiration and related to him as "Reb Sam." See, for example, letter of Avraham Sand to the mailing list for Reb Shlomo Carlebach Foundation, August 19, 2001
64. Herbert M. Danziger, Returning to Tradition: The Contemporary Revival of Orthodox Judaism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 224-30
65. Minutes of the House of Love and Prayer Meeting, February 9, 1975, clause 9. I am thankful to Alifa Saadya for providing me with copies of the minutes of the House meetings
66. Talita Hesed, "Some Things You Never Get Used To" (unpublished manuscript), 2
67. Eli and Elisheva Etrog, interview with author, Jerusalem, November 1998; Talita Hesed, interview with author, Meor Modiim, November 1998; and Meira Albanese, interview with author, Meor Modiim, November 1998. Names changed
68. Gerald Engel, "The Singing Rabbi," Congress Bi-Weekly, July 25, 1960, 9-11
69. See Harvey Cox, "Deep Structure in the Study of New Religions," in Understanding the New Religions, ed. Jacob Needleman and George Baker (New York: Crossroads, 1978), 122-30
70. Eileen R. Pollack, "Carlebach Instructs and Inspires with His Songs," Baltimore Jewish Times, November 1, 1974, 27
71. Ibid
72. The New Consciousness Sourcebook: Spiritual Community Guide (Pomona, Calif.: Arcline Publications, 1971-72), 75
73. Aryae Coopersmith, letter to Libby Bottero and the Reb Shlomo e-mail list, November 11, 1998
74. Schachter spent a year at Brandeis University in 1968-69 and became instrumental in the founding of Havurat Shalom, the first Havurah, a fellowship for prayer and study which came to offer an alternative to the more formal synagogues. See Riv-Ellen Prell, Prayer and Community: The Havura in American Judaism (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989)
75. See Danzinger, Returning to Tradition
76. Lynn Davidman, Tradition in a Rootless World: Women Turn to Orthodox Judaism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991)
77. and Debra R. Kaufman, Rachel's Daughters: Newly Orthodox Jewish Women (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1991)
78. Jack Wertheimer, A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America (Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis University Press, 1997), 160-69
79. Roger Kamenetz, "Has the Jewish Renewal Made It into the Mainstream?" Moment, December 1994, 42-49, 79-80
80. On messianic Judaism, see Yaakov Ariel, Evangelizing the Chosen People: Missions to the Jews in America, 1880-2000 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000), 220-51