The Hasidic Rabbi Who Found Common Ground Between the Dalai Lama and LSD
In short: Born in Poland and ordained in the Chabad movement, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi became a bridge between ancient Jewish mysticism and the 1960s counter-culture. By blending traditional prayer with psychedelic experimentation and interfaith dialogue, he sparked the Jewish Renewal movement, forever changing how many modern seekers approach their spiritual lives.
Meshullam Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, born in 1924, lived a life defined by movement and transformation. After fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe and settling in the United States in 1941, he was ordained as a Chabad rabbi in 1947. However, his curiosity soon pushed him beyond the boundaries of traditional Orthodoxy. In 1962, his experimentation with LSD, provided by Timothy Leary, led to his departure from the Lubavitcher movement, marking the beginning of his journey into broader spiritual exploration.
Schachter-Shalomi’s influence grew through his academic work and his role as a spiritual innovator. He founded the organization B'Nai Or, which helped pioneer the Jewish Renewal and chavurah movements. His approach to worship was radical for the time; he introduced meditation into services, encouraged theological dialogue among congregants, and advocated for the inclusion of English in prayer while maintaining traditional Hebrew structures. His commitment to inclusivity extended to feminism and the full integration of LGBT individuals into Jewish life.
His reach extended far beyond the Jewish community. He was recognized as a shaikh in the Sufi Order and spent his later years engaging in deep interfaith work. Notably, in the 1990s, he was part of a group of four rabbis who traveled to Dharamsala, India, to advise the Dalai Lama on preserving religious traditions in exile. By the time of his death in 2014 at age 89, he had authored dozens of books on topics ranging from ecstatic prayer to environmental consciousness, leaving a legacy as a professor emeritus at Naropa and Temple University.
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