Published: 19 July 2019
Last updated: 5 March 2024
STUDENTS SIT ON CUSHIONS, in rows, on a faded Persian rug, backs erect, legs crossed, eyes closed, hands resting loosely on their knees. Soft grins cross a few of their faces. Many are wearing prayer shawls. A few are wearing tefillin. The AC is turned to 65 degrees.
Usually these 20 or so students meditate silently for up to 45 minutes at the beginning of each day. On Tuesday, because they were hosting guests, meditation — or “sitting,” as they call it — was abbreviated to 10 minutes. Still, for Jews, 10 minutes of sitting silently feels like a long time.
In a way, Romemu Yeshiva, launched by the Manhattan congregation of the same name, is the latest of several initiatives to provide an inclusive, egalitarian space for adults to study Jewish text at a high level. It has 22 students, mostly in their 20s and 30s. The yeshiva began meeting in June and will run until August.
It is the vanguard of a larger project to infuse American Judaism with concepts traditionally considered Eastern, like meditation, mindfulness and mystical philosophy. It wants to show American Jews that those concepts are authentic to Judaism, even if they’ve been de-emphasised in favour of mainstream prayer and study.
FULL STORY Tai chi with tefillin, mediTai chi with tefillin: Inside New York’s quirkiest yeshiva (JTA)
Photo: Students meditate as part of the morning prayer at Romemu Yeshiva in New York, July 16 (Ben Sales)
