Integral Halachah: Transcending and Including

by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Daniel Siegel

Reb Zalman turns to the implications of his reworking of Jewish mysticism. In previous books, he outlined his belief system using the kabbalistic image of the Ten S'firot, reframed the Lurianic concept of the breaking of the vessels, and argued for the continued centrality of a messianic teleology in Judaism. Now, he outlines how this new mystical vision can be applied to Halachah, the expression of vision in the details of living. Integral Halachah "transcends and includes," maintaining continuity with the past and providing flexibility for the present. This book is torah she-b'al peh/oral teaching, allowing for update and revision. I deal with the rubble of the holocaust, so please don't expect order and precision. Rather, join me in relating to ancient questions needing new answers in this time of paradigm shift. How do we find meaning by continuing to be Jews? How do we connect to joy, to purpose, and why should we want to within a Jewish context, if it has been the cause of so much pain? The way I can answer these questions is by creating a new, transcending, Judaism which honors the past and goes beyond it. Our practice must reference the larger purpose of the Jewish people in the world, our commitment to God and to what we call tikkun olam, to being agents of redemption. We now also know that we are not alone in this commitment, but part of something greater, a sharing with other people and paths. (Reb Zalman)

Genres: Judaism

Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Dove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reb Zalman's halachic methodology is a thoughtful integration of lived experience and academia. This work attempts a practical application of this methodology which I would say is half usable. For example, his concept of modernizing ketubahs, hesitations on supporting same-sex marriage, ‘Jewish Quotient,’ and doubts on what we can contribute to the realm of justice are not it. On the other hand, eco-kosher, his takes on tefillah and Shabbat, mikveh, vegetarianism, and cultural appropriation are part of a natural step forward in Jewish life. This book could have functioned as only the theory, which would have been more successful, but I’m glad he didn’t do that. That’s why despite shortcomings it’s a five star book. He did everything he could and it was more then enough.

Theorizing on what’s next is a terrifying undertaking we have mostly shied away from, but Reb Zalman helped pave the way. Reb Zalman understood the undertaking of this project, and I’m glad he told readers to discuss and move forward with new ideas. This cannot be one person's mission- like his Tefillah project; this needs to be a communal effort. He would have wanted us to utilize technology to have conversations on how to move forward with everyday practice: this could mean a Sefaria-like tool with a comment section, a subreddit, or even a shared google doc. We need to work together to create these ideas- all of Judaism relies on this.