“A Question of Membership” is a case study published by Harvard’s Pluralism Project.
It describes a Zen Buddhist Priest’s efforts to become a member of a Reform synagogue in New York and is a fascinating story of personal faith, pluralism and its tensions, and how hard choices are made within Judaism.
Part A describes the initial meetings between Sherry Chayat, who was raised in a Jewish family and later became a Zen Buddhist priest, and Rabbi Sheldon Ezring of Temple Concord.
“One of the problems with being a Rabbi, and especially a Reform rabbi, is people think you can say ‘yes’ to everything, so you can’t say ‘yes’ to everything.” He explained, “I’ve had people come to me to convert, and I ask, ‘You’re Christian, so do you believe in Jesus as the Messiah?’ And they say ‘Yes,’ and they say, ‘I still want to convert.'” Ezring added: “And I have to say, ‘Well, I’m sorry, I can’t help you, because belief in Jesus as the Messiah is what makes you a Christian.'”
He added: “She was a Jew practicing Buddhism, and she wasn’t only practicing Buddhism, she considered herself a Buddhist priestess. If you are a priestess, you’re not practicing a philosophy, you’re practicing a religion.”
Part B details the advice Rabbi Ezring received from the CCAR, the American governing organization for Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Ezring’s ultimate decision and his reflections on that decision.
To be sure, there is no conflict between Judaism and meditative practices — after all, Jewish tradition itself is familiar with it. But we see a conflict when it comes to the world-affirming view we hold and that of a world-denying Buddhism.
One of his current congregants wrote a book about meditation, and recently led a Moon Rite, yet Ezring doesn’t raise the issue. “I don’t want to get involved in those issues at this point in my life, because I’ve passed the stage I want to fight every windmill. I’m just, I’m not Don Quixote these days.”
Part C covers Sherry Chayat’s life and upbringing and her reaction to being denied membership in Temple Concord. Today she is a major figure in American Buddhism.
“I would sit outside next to a tree and just let everything go, and kind of allow a river to flow through me. And I felt at one, at peace, and outside of the little bubble of misery that I had been in.”
“And to be a Zen priest means that I have given my life to this practice of Zen, of meditation, of waking up and of helping others to do the same. It doesn’t go against Judaism. And some people say, ‘Well, do you believe in God?’ Well, I believe in what we might call the ground of being or the ultimate or the supreme wisdom. I don’t have to call it God but I can call it God. It doesn’t bother me to call it God.
A fascinating study. I believe there is some truth to many if not all faiths, and powerful unifying themes among them. If you know of other resources like this, please let me know. Thanks for reading!