Surfing Rabbi: A Kabbalistic Quest for Soul

by Nachum Shifren

Growing up under the spell of surfdom’s coveted mecca—Malibu Beach—Norm Shifren risks missing his own bar mitzvah to take his first shaky ride at the fabled surf spot. Benignly apathetic about his Jewishness, Shifren pursues his dream of becoming a big-wave surfer, lifeguard and triathlete. Shifren’s circuitous journey evolves into a spiritual quest that takes him from the pristine waves of Hawaii and Mexico, to intermarriage in Germany, a soldier’s duty in Israel, and finally, to a small shtetl in Israel, where he learns the mysteries of the Jewish ancients. His true-life saga is one of new found Jewish consciousness and eye opening self-revelation. Shifren’s life comes full circle as he finds G-d not in the synagogue, but in the majesty of Jewish mysticism and the vast power of the ocean.

269 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2001

Reviews

[Alissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes. On the upside, this was a quick one. On the downside this was written BADLY (show, don't tell. SHOW. DON'T TELL.), edited poorly, and the author is a huge asshole who couches all of his bad behavior towards the people around him (mostly his family, ex-wives, and estranged children, but also he lives in a West Bank settlement so there's that) in his spiritual journey. Kudos for honesty I guess?

The only positive piece that I can take out of this is that Chabad Lubovitchers have a very similar take on the ego to eastern religions, which was interesting to learn.