An Age In Need of Prophets

W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 65 T here was a time when prophets circulated among the population. They served as a social rebalancing force, and the people who had an open heart would begin to recalibrate their way of being in the world.Morethaneverdoweneedpropheticvoicesin ourmidst.Tikkunmagazineissuchavoice. IstillrememberthetimewhenCommentarymagazineserved the purpose of bringing together the voices of global concern, clarifying Jewish values, and being open to some gems from the tradition. When its orientation shifted and it became a cheerleader for neocon politics, it really became necessary for a propheticorgantobecreatedintheJewishworld. When Tikkun was founded, its name made clear its intent to repair and establish a means by which the values of tikkun olam would have their moral and ethical effect on not only the Jewish community but also the larger American and global ones. Even choosing a Hebrew name for a mass circulation magazine was an attempttosayclearly:wearenolongerthegenerationofJewsthat is willing to hide our deep commitment to Judaism in order to gain intellectual or political respectability in America. During these twenty-five years, Tikkun magazine and the social/political organism it created under the devoted and persistent leadership of Rabbi Michael Lerner have become a voice that is taken seriously in American public discourse, as well as by those in the Jewish community who are not too terrified to listen to the prophetic voices that Rabbi Lerner assembles in the magazine andinhispublicconferences. I wish Rabbi Lerner many more years of health and spiritual feistiness, and at the same time I pray that others in the Jewish world and in the larger spiritual world (including many gifted non-Jewish spiritual thinkers) will respond to Rabbi Lerner’s appeal to join him in shaping the future directions of the magazine sothathecanreducehisroleinTikkun(whichmayinafewyears beprimarilyanonlinemagazineforenvironmental,generational, andfinancialreasons)anddedicatemoreofhistimetoproducing the spiritual Torah commentary to which he is committed and to writingmoreoftheinspiringandsignificantbooksofhisthathave alreadyplayedamajorroleinAmericanpublicdiscourse. Whateverthosenewdirections,IhopethatTikkuninthenext quarter-century will continue to do some of what I find most excitinginthepasttwenty-fiveyearsofthemagazine: • Tomakepeopleawareofthevalueandimpactoftraditionand spirituality in the service of healing the planet. • To propose visions that lead to more peace and global cooperation between individuals and governments. • Tobeastrongvoicechallengingalltraditions,andtotaketheir valuable and precious magisterium and bring it up to date in an ecumenically friendly way. • To promote the ways in which shared worship will be able to inspire and motivate people to take what was experienced in the synagogue, temple, church, or mosque and the world as a witness of God’s presence in the lives of people. • To give a forum to the next generation of emerging teachers and critics of society. • Tosupportwomen’sinterventioninmale-dominatedspacesso thattheymaysharefromtheirnaturallynurturingperspective and counter the raucous clamor of conflicting masculine ideologies. • To use the linear means of word and print in the service of enchantment for souls, aesthetics for hearts, and enlightenment for spirit. • TominetheJewishtraditionandothersforgemsofinspiration andtoshowcurrentapplicationsofwhatusedtobenormative values and treat them as illustrative, exploring how they could be used today. • To promote forms of enterprise for transnational and national corporations based on sharing and cooperation in which management, shareholders, and workers—as well as the end-users—will receive equitable value. • And lastly, to encourage people to become aware of how fortunate we after all are to live on this amazing planet, in this important historical moment, and to share blessing with one another. AnAgeInNeedofProphets byZalmanSchachter-Shalomi RabbiZalmanSchachter-ShalomiistheZeydeofAlephAllianceforJewishRenewal,andcoauthorofJewishWithFeeling. 66 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 25 YEARS OF TIKKUN NetiNeti: AManifestotoEnd ReligiousViolence byRamiShapiro H umansareintrinsicallyreligious.Religions are intrinsically human; we make them in our own image, after our own likeness, often to conjure divine sanction for what we know is evil. Religionisn’tevil,butitisdangerous.Whenlived as mythos rather than logos, religion offers paths to selftranscendence rooted in compassion. When lived as logos rather than mythos, self-transcendence is blocked, and religion breeds fanaticism, self—obsession, xenophobia, arrogance, and violence. Weliveinanageoffanaticsandfantasieswherereligionsrootedin jealous gods are hijacked by even more jealous demagogues, and thepiousareimprisonedinafogofself-servinglies.Mypassionis toliftthefogandfreeothersandmyselfforself-transcendence.My method involves the Neti Neti (Sanskrit for “Not this, Not that”) Manifesto. For the past few years...