Talk:Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Gay?
Was he gay? Did he marry? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.183.24.7 (talk) 20:11, 3 July 2014 (UTC)

No, he was not gay. He was married 4 times and fathered 11 children. Source: http://www.jta.org/2014/07/06/life-religion/zalman-schachter-shalomi-brought-old-world-gravitas-to-new-age-judaism

Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/07/06/life-religion/zalman-schachter-shalomi-brought-old-world-gravitas-to-new-age-judaism#ixzz36vATu2ZEee {

Recognition of rabbis
I don't want to just go in and edit the article, but it isn't exactly true that non denomination of Judaism recognizes Schachter's students as Rabbis. Some of them do have standing in other denominations. Marcia Praeger for example, who serves as the Dean of Reb Zalman's training program, is a graduate of reconstructionist rabbinical college and is a Reconstructionist Rabbi. At least I think that is the case. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.28.18.116 (talk • contribs)

NPOV?
Maybe it's just me, but this article seems to positively gush over the man. Is there some way to make it seem less like a rather lengthy publisher's blurb?Benami 03:20, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

It's that disciple thing.

It is also the politically-correct feminist groupie thing -- NOWHERE in this article does it mention "B'nai Or" ("Children of Light"), which was the name of his org for over 20 years! In fact, he was known as the "B'nai Or Rebbe" for at least a decade. Why is this info not here? Because his current disciples have re-written history and edited any references to B'nai Or from the record because they objected to the word "B'nai" (literally "sons") as sexist. However, I am adding a reference to it here because it did exist.... Rooster613 April 24, 2006

I agree. He's not an uncontroversial figure
Among other things, Schacter-Shalomi is responsible for "ordaining" Michael Lerner and Arthur Waskow,  two figures mainly (in Lerner's case) admired by himself or (in Waskow's case) admired by his followers. He is also responsible for bringing Kabbalah and neo-Hasidism into the Reconstructionist Movement, two tendencies which are, in my estimation, in direct conflict with the teachings of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionism, and Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, Kaplan's son-in-law, who turned Reconstructionism into a movement and founded the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College outside Philadelphia. Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where Shachter-Shalomi subsequently taught, is a Buddhist-inspired spiritual/religious institution.

Recognizing his students
I'm surprised to see the assertion that "non denomination of Judaism recognizes Schachter's students as Rabbis." That hasn't been my experience in the broader Jewish community. To my knowlege, students ordained through the program he founded are accepted as rabbis in most of the Jewish world.

That said, the page as it currently stands is a little more glowing than it necessarily needs to be. I'll try to help with that. Rachel 18:30, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

I suppose you have to make a distinction between "rabbi" as a preacher/teacher/storyteller (more properly known as a maggid) and "rabbi" as Rav (expert in halachah). Plenty of people accept his students as the former, but few regard them as Ravs. The problem is, that in America the term "rabbi" is used somewhat more generically than in Israel -- for all kinds of Jewish leaders. That said, I did some edits to tone down the groupie -speak tone of the article, although there is certainly more room for improvement. Also, he is not THE founder of Jewish Renewal. There were many others who had input in the early days -- Evertt Gendler, Arthur Green, Feivel Goodman, to name a few... So I modified that to  "one of the major founders." Ditto for claiming his students hold positions in "every denomination." Better would be "almost every denomination," because I'm sure there's a group somewhere that doesn't have any :) Rooster613 11:07, 24 April 2006 (UTC)Rooster613Rooster613 11:07, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

LSD
Article states that his experimentation with Lysergic acid refers to the "the main ingredient in LSD". He is referring to LSD itself. Lysergic acid is a common way of saying lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. LSD has no ingredients but itself - it is comprised of a single molecule. If someone could edit that I would be appreciated, as I can't figure out a way of changing the article in a way that seems appropriate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.155.225.190 (talk) 07:27, 27 November 2014 (UTC)