In this wide-ranging essay, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Netanel Miles-Yépez explore the profound implications of the kabbalistic idea of Tzimtzum, the 'contraction' of God that allows for Creation, through different paradigms of Jewish belief over the centuries, and look at its function in Judaism and Jewish practice today.

God Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown: An Essay on the 'Contraction' of God in Different Jewish Paradigms

Religion & Spirituality

Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman

Miles-Yépez, Netanel

Judaism

Albion-Andalus Books

"Hasidism is the willingness to make ourselves transparent to God’s grace and will, to live in the authentic Presence of God—nokhah p’nai Ha’Shem—as if facing God in every moment, allowing this awareness to change our behavior, to make sacred acts out of potentially profane and purely secular moments." Contrary to what most people think, Hasidism is as old or older than Judaism itself. Indeed, it is a perennial movement of the spirit arising again and again through the centuries in various contemplative movements in Judaism. Among these have been three significant movements, or revolutionary "turnings" in Jewish consciousness that have significantly impacted future generations. Now, the authors tell us, we are on the cusp of a "Fourth Turning of Hasidism," the foundations of which are outlined in this bold little book.

Foundations of the Fourth Turning of Hasidism: A Manifesto

Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice is a collection of articles on meditation and prayer in different spiritual traditions as taught by authentic teachers of those traditions. In each article, the author gives context for a foundational practice of their tradition and follows it with instructions for carrying out this practice. Some of the noteworthy contributors to this special volume are Swami Atmarupananda, Kenneth Cohen, Sheikh Kabir Helminski, Don “Four Arrows” Jacobs, Father Thomas Keating, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, B. Alan Wallace, and many others. In addition to the practices in this volume are a carefully chosen selection of verses on different themes from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Indigenous, Islamic, Jewish, and Taoist traditions.

Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice: A Collection of Practices from the World's Spiritual Traditions

Christian Books & Bibles

The Song of Songs (Shir HaShirim) is among the most beloved books of the Hebrew Bible, beloved both for the beauty of its language and for the mystical ideas it has inspired. However, many new readers may be surprised to learn that—while it is often understood as an allegory for the relationship between God (the Bridegroom) and humanity (the Bride)—it has no explicit religious content whatsoever and actually seems to celebrate erotic love. In this new translation, Netanel Miles-Yépez, attempts to emphasize the “earthy immediacy” of the original Hebrew, wishing the Song of Songs to stand on its own as “love poetry,” arguing that the mystical poetry and insights about Divine Love it has inspired actually come from an engagement with the raw imagery of human love. Also included are translations of the mystical poetry of Juan de la Cruz, Elazar Azikri, and Shlomo Halevi Alakabetz from the Spanish and Hebrew. “Netanel Miles-Yépez’ translations soar with the erotic ecstasy of holy desire, reminding us that knowing God isn’t only a matter of emptying out, but also a matter of merging with. His Song sings, and invites you to sing along.”—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Embracing the Divine Feminine: Song of Songs Annotated and Explained“Trust a contemplative to translate a deeply mystical text; better yet, a contemplative with literary ability. Netanel Miles-Yépez combines these and other talents to illuminate the eternally fascinating Song of Songs.”— Sheikh Kabir Helminski, author of The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation, and translator of Rumi

My Love Stands Behind a Wall: A Translation of the Song of Songs and Other Poems

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

In 2004, as a private gift for Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s 80th birthday, a number of his students and colleagues were invited to contribute to a festschrift or commemorative volume in his honor. To make the volume truly unique, each contributor was asked to update or give a new presentation to teachings by Reb Zalman’s own rebbes which he had himself translated into English, or to stories that he had told of them. These included teachings and stories of Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Schneersohn of Lubavitch (1880-1950), Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Lubavitch (1902-1994), and Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam of Bobov (1908-2000). The idea was to see how these same teachings might be presented today, according to the paradigm-shifted understanding of Reb Zalman’s own colleagues, close collaborators, and students. In 2014, this unique collection of Hasidic teachings was updated and supplemented to honor Reb Zalman on his 90th birthday. Now, after his passing, it is being being published in book form for the first time. The updated collection contains contributions from some of today's most important artists and spiritual teachers, including: Bahir Davis, Tirzah Firestone, Emanuel Goldman, Lynn Gottlieb, Arthur Green, Michael L. Kagan, Ruth Gan Kagan, Laura Duhan Kaplan, Miles Krassen, Shaul Magid, Matisyahu, Netanel Miles-Yépez, Thomas Atum O'Kane, Nehemia Polen, Carol Rose, Neal Rose, Shalvi Schachter Waldman, and Rami Shapiro.

One God, Many Worlds: Teachings of a Renewed Hasidism: A Festschrift in Honor of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z?l

Three talks on the Sufi practice of dhikr, or 'remembrance,' in the Inayati lineage of Sufism, describing the practice in detail, as well as the meanings associated with it.

Remembrance: The Dhikr of the Inayati Sufis

Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts

Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev (1740-1809) is one of the most celebrated and beloved of all Hasidic masters, communicating the spirit of Hasidism in a way that few others can. His expansive personality was able to forgive the fiercest enemies, to bring factions together, to pray with the utmost devotion, and to say the unsayable of his time. In this small but beautiful little volume, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Netanel Miles-Yepez present a careful selection of his stories and teachings, translating and retelling them for modern readers (many for the first time) and putting them into a meaningful context with their insightful commentary. Readers of their other work, A Heart Afire, will be thrilled with this delightful continuation of neo-Hasidic commentary.

A Merciful God: Stories and Teachings of the Holy Rebbe, Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice is a collection of articles on meditation and prayer in different spiritual traditions as taught by authentic teachers of those traditions. In each article, the author gives context for a foundational practice of their tradition and follows it with instructions for carrying out this practice. Some of the noteworthy contributors to this special volume are Swami Atmarupananda, Kenneth Cohen, Sheikh Kabir Helminski, Don “Four Arrows” Jacobs, Father Thomas Keating, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, B. Alan Wallace, and many others. In addition to the practices in this volume are a carefully chosen selection of verses on different themes from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Indigenous, Islamic, Jewish, and Taoist traditions.

Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice: Practices and Readings Drawn from the World's Spiritual Traditions

When one thinks of Spanish Colonial art in the Southwest it is usually of New Mexico and the famous Spanish Market of Santa Fe. But New Mexico isn’t the only home of Spanish Colonial art and artists in the Southwest. Colorado also has an equally long tradition of these arts. In fact, the only reason we know less about them than those of New Mexico is because of a historical accident—a change of borders. Up until 1861, when the Colorado Territory was established, what is now southern Colorado up to the Arkansas River was actually the New Mexico Territory, and its arts and artists were one and the same. And yet, owing to this change of borders, the Spanish Colonial arts and artists of the modern state of Colorado have not received the same attention as those of New Mexico. To remedy this situation, artist and scholar, Netanel Miles-Yépez, set out to document the life and work of Colorado based santera (‘saint-maker’), Teresa May Duran, a native Coloradan who has continued the traditional Spanish Colonial art of retablo making as practiced in the old New Mexico Territory, questioning her about her personal history and training, as well as her methods and subjects. In this work, we are a given a rare glimpse into the motivations and actual techniques of a traditional Spanish Colonial retablo maker of the American SouthwestTeresa Duran is a fifth generation Coloradoan, whose family can be traced to the early settlements of New Mexico. Her work as a santera has shown in various museums, universities, churches and galleries. Her artwork was selected to market the 1994 and 2011 “Chili Harvest Festival” in Denver, Colorado, and the 1997 and 2014, “Colorado Santeros” exhibit at Regis University. She has also won several awards for her retablos through the Tesoro Cultural Center. In 2010, Teresa was juried into the Spanish Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her artwork may be seen at teresamayduran.com.

The Santero Ideal: The Art of Colorado Santera, Teresa May Duran

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Spectrum: A Journal of Renewal Spirituality was a quarterly on-line journal that was active from the Fall of 2005 to the Spring of 2009. Originally conceived and operated under the auspices of the Reb Zalman Legacy Project, its purpose was to continue Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi's legacy of spiritual renewal through new teaching on Judaism and ecumenical spirituality. The current print and ebook editions are publications of the Foundation for New Monasticsm & InterSpirituality.

Spectrum: A Journal of Renewal Spirituality: Volume 1, Number 1 Winter 2005 – Special Edition

Shapiro, Rami

Firestone, Tirzah

Green, Arthur

Magid, Shaul

Laura, Duhan Kaplan

Miles, Krassen

Ruth Gan, Kagan

Rose, Neal

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Books by Miles-Yépez, Netanel