Herbert Weiner

Herbert Weiner was an ordained American Reform[1] rabbi in South Orange, New Jersey, and the author of The Wild Goats of Ein Gedi and Nine and a Half Mystics. Weiner is credited for introducing Jewish mysticism to many American Jews.[2]

Herbert Weiner
BornOctober 27, 1919
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedApril 22, 2013
Jerusalem, Israel
Known forThe Wild Goats of Ein Gedi, Nine and a Half Mystics

Activities

Herbert Weiner served as the founding rabbi of Temple Israel in South Orange, New Jersey. He also served as the first administrator of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.[1]

Nine and a Half Mystics

Herbert Weiner's Nine and a Half Mystics, published in 1969, explores themes on Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. Weiner also recounts his experiences with Jewish groups who incorporate the mystical tradition in their religious practice.[3]

Weiner formed the book after visiting various Jewish communities in his search for Jewish mysticism.[4] For many American Jews, Weiner's work was their first exposure to the Jewish mystical tradition.[1][5]

Impact on Neo-Hasidism

Weiner's writings on Jewish mysticism help shape the Neo-Hasidic impulses among some American Jews. Rabbi Arthur Green, a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement and a proponent of Neo-Hasidism in general, was first exposed to Jewish mysticism by reading Weiner's Nine and a Half Mystics.[6]

Weiner also authored a preface to neo-Hasidic guru Reb Zalman Schachter's Fragments of a Future Scroll: Hassidism For the Aquarian Age (Leaves of Grass Press, Germantown, PA: 1975).

References
  1. Rabbi Herbert Weiner. NJ Jewish News. Accessed March 7, 2014.
  2. "Herbert Weiner". Essex News Daily. Accessed March 10, 2014. Archived March 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Kaplan, Dana Evan. Contemporary American Judaism: Transformation and Renewal. Columbia University Press, Aug 13, 2013. Accessed March 7, 2014.
  4. "9 1/2 Mystics: The Kabbala Today Today" by Herbert Weiner. Commentary Magazine. Accessed March 7, 2014.
  5. Rabbi Herbert Weiner. The Star Ledger. Accessed March 7, 2014.
  6. Rabbi Arthur Green. Jewish Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2014.
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