One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi

by Alan Lew, Sherril Jaffe

From Zen Buddhist practitioner to rabbi, East meets West in this firsthand account of a spiritual journey. Rabbi Alan Lew is known as the Zen Rabbi, a leader in the Jewish meditation movement who works to bring two ancient religious traditions into our everyday lives. One God Clapping is the story of his roundabout yet continuously provoking spiritual odyssey. It is also the story of the meeting between East and West in America, and the ways in which the encounter has transformed how all of us understand God and ourselves. Winner of the PEN / Joseph E. Miles Award Like a Zen parable or a Jewish folk tale, One God Clapping unfolds as a series of stories, each containing a moment of revelation or instruction that, while often unexpected, is never simple or contrived. One God Clapping, like the life of the remarkable Alan Lew himself, is a bold experiment in the integration of Eastern and Western ways of looking at and living in the world.

Genres: Judaism, Religion, Spirituality, Jewish, Nonfiction, Judaica, Buddhism

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Rabbi Alan Lew

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read Rabbi Lew's books in the order I did, with this last. This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared is really important to me, but I couldn't have predicted that from this book. I think the thing that made this hard to read is that Lew doesn't really apply the life lessons he learned later to the narrative of his earlier experiences. After reading the first third, I was really disappointed and felt sort of like this was a 'don't meet your heroes' situation. As the book went on, I realised the extent of his evolution into the person who wrote this book and, even later on, his later books.

If anything, I can credit this book with prompting me to remember that people can change dramatically over the course of their lives and that people I know now might have been completely different 10 or 20 years ago, and likewise will probably be completely different again in 10 or 20 years. However, that learning feels predicated on being already invested in Lew as a thinker, and I won't be pushing this book into people's hands.

[Alisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a terrible book. I don't know how the author ever found a publisher willing to print it.

[Jef Sneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rabbi Lew is an interesting guy. He seems to be the Forrest Gump of spiritual seekers, having experienced almost every spiritual fad that flashed across the horizon during his adult lifetime. He tried most of them, though he only takes Zen and Judaism seriously for any length of time. And when he takes something seriously, he really gets into it. As a Buddhist, he begins meditating and soon gets into daylong retreats, then week long sessions and finally 9 moths in a monastery. It seems that just weeks after deciding to begin to develop his Jewishness, he is keeping Kosher and davening daily! He has an awesome sense of commitment to his spiritual development. He's like a runner who goes from jogging to marathons in one year, then has to do an ultra and ends up in Death Valley running 125 miles. He can't help himself.

Early on he develops a healthy skepticism about gurus which helps him avoid many scams and traps later in life. He still manages to fall for a Kabbalistic guru even after he has become a Rabbi - but he manages to get out of that one with only a small payment. (The guru expected Alan to support him for life. Nice try.) He is a successful Ouija board manager for a while in Northern California, though he gives it up because even he can't figure out how it works and he doesn't want to continue misleading people. Gotta respect that.

He has a deep belief in the spiritual side of life - in omens and premonitions, signs and dreams. He can sense when a major life change is about to take place and he has a trust of his own inner sense when necessary to guide his decision making. Of course, he believes in God, the Jewish God, and in prayer and the power of prayer to change the world. I don't share his belief in any of the above, and I must be missing signs and omens by the truckload every day. Given the way he follows every spiritual lead that comes his way, it is a wonder that he hasn't discovered Christ, the greatest story ever told. Curiously, he doesn't even mention it.

I was hoping for a guide to meditation as a Jewish ritual or practice. While Alan Lews is a one man connection between Zen and Judaism, he fails to make the convincing case that meditation was a part of ancient Judaism that is being revived rather than a recently invented addition. There may not be a case to be made, but I'll keep looking.

In any event, this book has a marvelous description of Zen practice for those who are interested, and he does give some ideas about the intersection of Judaism and meditation. It is worth a look.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rabbi Lew's account of his spiritual life path from east to west to east to west, from Judaism to Buddhism to Judaism, during the 70's and up through settling in SF in the 90's. In addition to finding his experiences interesting, I found his spiritual development and discoveries educational and inspiring.

I wanted more of a timeline, since I often lost track of what year, or what decade, he was writing about. He mentions the year a few times, but I would have liked more of that. While this was probably not at all important to his spiritual path, it was interesting to me to be able to place events in his life, and in Berkeley, in relation to what was happening in the bay area and the wider world at that time.

[Deb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could give zero stars. This book was horrible; I could not even finish it. It was torture every time I opened it. The writing is terrible, the story is exhausting, the narcissism is overwhelming. The author was the rabbi who married my friends 25 years ago and they heard he wrote a book. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME.

[Nava · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love this author! I think there is so much to learn from his journey as a person. It might be more of a difficult read if you are not interested in spirituality, in particular Judaism. If you do have a special interest in Judaism, the details of his Conservative Jewish journey are very interesting and resonant. A cool look into a special life.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very touched by the authors journey
very authentic and human
Looking forwArd to read his other books

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I realize the author was quoting someone else, but I don't like swear words in books like this.

[Jimi Ballard · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the original "JewBu's". A great personal story of a man who left the tradition he was born into to embark on a spiritual seeker's path, only to return to the path of his ancestors.

It was interesting to me to watch my own reaction to him as a person. In the first half of the book while he was on his exploration of zen buddhism, I did not like him as a person. He just didn't seem to be someone that I would enjoy meeting or becoming friends with. In the second half when he returned to his Jewish roots I perceived that he became a much kinder and more likeable person. Perhaps he just wrote the book that way or perhaps his personality really did change. Either way, it's a very good read and a wonderful account of a merging of these two very different spiritual traditions where the outcome is truly greater than the sum of the parts.

[Rose Patrician Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book on detailing the path a current Rabbi took from being raised Jewish to becoming a Zen Buddhist to becoming a Conservative Rabbi. He incorporates Zen Buddhism into Judish prayer and worship which turns out to be a great mix. The Rabbi tells how to incorporate Buddhism meditation into Jewish worship. Being a convert to Judaism, I learned a lot about certain aspects of Judaism that I did not know and had questioned. I recommend this to all 21st century non-practicing Jews.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spiritual journey autobiography, Rabbi Lew got to be the rabbi of a very large San Franciscan congregation by way of a very serious Buddhist practice. and along the way, broke with his family for awhile, married, divorced and married again. he went to JTS around 40 years old! It is well-written (he partner's with his wife on the writing) and I found it compelling with alot of interesting thoughts for discussion in it.

[Seth Kenvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-

I was a fan of Rabbi Lew's as a congregant but this book diminished that fandom. He writes with greater interest in his personal talents than the ideas and cultures through which he moved. It also lacks the sharp wit of his sermons. The man did live an interesting life, and had some great imact, but I think his was a life may could have gotten more just coverage in some other author's hands rather than autobiography.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so sorry to have only "discovered" this rabbi only after he died. What a person who was deeply searching and found his way. A very open honest book . I heartily recommend it.

[Jamey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had its merits. I liked it a whole lot at the time.