Religion and philosophy
Seguine
Seguine
influenced Islam and Islam influenced Judaism, and at the same time
I've been curious about the origins of the Kabbala and the Zohar, and
whether these texts were essentially Jewish variants of Christian
mysticism.
Today, in the course of writing a summary on the origins of Qawwali
music for a program at my kids' school, I came upon the fact that the
son of Maimonides, Rabbi Abraham ben HaRambam, had been so appreciative
of Sufism (Qawwali is Sufi devotional music; Sufism was a form of Islam
that began in maybe the 8th century but developed later in medieval
northern India under a Persian Muslim preacher-saint, Moinuddin
Chishti) that he attempted to incorporate aspects of Muslim practice
into his followers' synagogue worship. (These were not well received.)
He apparently regarded Sufism as having preserved a Jewish mystic
relationship with G-d that dated from the Nevi'im, but had since been
lost or abandoned.
Additionally, the Spanish scholar Solomon Ibn Gabirol (who preceded
Rambam by a century), was apparently also thoroughly influenced by
Sufism. He wrote, among other things, an ostensibly quite Sufist tract,
"Chovas Halvovos," or "Duties of the Heart," which was intended for
Jews and evidently presaged the development of Hasidism, but was also
enthusiastically received in the Catholic Church. (It was not known at
the time that "Duties of the Heart" had been written by a Jew, as
Gabirol's name was Latinized in translation.) Rambam himself is also
thought to have been very much influenced by Sufism.
I'm beginning to suppose that the Hasidic/Kabbalist tradition did not
at all originate in archaic Christian mysticism. (E.g., from what I've
read of/about the Kabbala and Zohar, there's nothing especially gnostic
about them.) Nor, of course, did it just pop up in the Middle Ages,
miraculously resuscitated from earlier Judaic traditions. Instead,
medieval Judaism somehow saw itself reflected in Sufism, which was very
much a syncretism of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Of course, Islam
had roots in Judaism, but it seems that from the Sufist-Jewish
dialogue, the seeds of Hasidism eventually grew.
(Ibn Gabirol also wrote Adon Olam, by the way.)
More at hyperlink{http://www.tomblock.com/11shalom/article_solomon.php}
Also check out:
hyperlink{http://www.hashkafah.com/index.php?showtopic=30374}
Seguine
"Are you going to tell teenage penguins that Chovas Halvovos was
borrowed from the Usama people?"
Tom Reingold
really know what my father believes, except that he has a strong Jewish
identity. My mother is an atheist or agnostic and doesn't have much of
an identity. My first practices and beliefs with in a sufi group that I
met at age 19. Great bunch of people, and they had a giant range of
ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds.
We joined a Jewish congregation three years ago, and my younger
daughter was the impetus. She wanted a bat mitzvah. I find that I very
much like learning about my heritage as well as other aspects of
belonging to a local congregation, which is reconstructionist.
So perhaps I'm another example of the sufi-Jewish linkage. Or maybe
it's just coincidence.
Tom
Seguine
investigated it (pretty superficially, but still), liked the rabbi, was
impressed with the spirit of the place, but something about it failed
to drag me in.
We were sort of at Beth El for a while by default--my youngest was in
preschool there and the place is really close to home. But for various
reasons I never felt a strong connection. (Despite the dynamic new
rabbi, despite having friends there.)
So then I stumbled on Shomrei Emunah last year via it's rabbi, Noach
Shapiro, who was occupying adults in the Solomon Schechter lower school
library one evening while our fourth graders, led by a visiting
Lubavitcher, were taking power tools to rams' horns in the cafeteria.
Shapiro was intellectually engaged, laid back, and...how shall I put
this...non-corporate. (His wife is into art and wears jewelry in her
nose. They have three kids and just adopted a toddler from India last
month. I'm somewhat in awe of this kind of bravery.)
Anyway, Shapiro invited me and my family to high holy day services. The
chazan turned out to be a young woman with a hell of a voice and a
family pedigree full of cantors, but no official cantorial degree, who
conducted the service using mostly Sephardic melodies and a drum. And
she's a stylishly funky dresser. She also leads a monthly Shabbat
gathering at a congregant's house, after which everyone eats a potluck
dairy feast and shmoozes.
First time I've felt at home in a synagogue in, maybe, forever.
Anyway: on the subject of cross-religious influence, Shomrei holds
adult classes on the weekends. One interesting example will be an
examination contemporary halacha regarding gay marriage (or ordination?
I can't recall) in the Conservative movement, and will use published
and unpublished opinions by well-known scholars. (Shapiro has been a
movement advocate on this subject; see:
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2005/9-9/news/localnews/index.cfm.)
Another will focus on the New Testament, specifically the apostle Mark,
from the standpoint of his place as a rabbi in his milieu, what he was
trying to accomplish, etc.
Also there is Krav Maga class, where we learn a combination of street
fighting and Asian martial arts moves, and generally beat the shit out
of each other by accident. So far, I've managed to skin my knuckles on
punching pads and blacken half of my left hand by ineptly blocking a
punch from my husband. He, for his part, spent several days limping
around like a wounded chicken after catching a kick in the thigh from a
momentarily overzealous Israeli engineering student.
Seguine
> met at age 19.
I meant to ask, how did you meet this group of people? College?
Tom Reingold
On Oct 22, 9:20 pm, "Seguine" <jrcr...@optonline.net> wrote:
> > My first practices and beliefs with in a sufi group that I
> > met at age 19.I meant to ask, how did you meet this group of people? College?
I had dropped out of college and was staying in Boston. I was living
alone and, while I had friends, was living a lonely life. I heard an
interview on the radio of a guy named Mitch Gilbert. He spoke of
untapped human potential. I wanted to learn more so I went to a talk at
the Harvard Science Center and learned more about the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
Fellowship which has branches in Boston and other places. They are
based in Philly.
Your current connections sound very nice. Our rabbi is straightlaced
but open minded and big hearted. Her front is a little formal but she
embraces a heck of a lot. I think it takes a while to get a true feel
of her and her acceptance and that of the congregation. But I'm not
saying you have to give it another try. I'm just saying I can imagine
why it wouldn't draw a person in quickly.
Tom