Category: Search for Spirituality (Winter 2007)

Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill is the Founder of Kavvanah: Center for Jewish Thought. He is the author of Thinking God: The Mysticism of R. Zadok of Lublin and is completing a book on Judaism and other religions. See "A Selected Bibliography for exploring the four types of spiritualities" by Alan Brill also in this issue.

Spiritual may not be the first word that comes to mind in describing the typical teenager, but those who have both the privilege and challenge of working with young people would consider that an unfair generalization. Interest in adolescent spirituality and spiritual development has risen sharply in recent years among educators, but the studies have not kept pace with the actual spiritual diversity of teenage practice. Several major reviews of youth development view spirituality as a developmental resource that lessens risk behavior and enhances positive outcomes (Bridges and Moore, 2002; Donahue and Benson, 1995). Yet, these studies sometimes forget that adolescents do not want abstract talks about the existence of spirituality. They need to see spirituality in action, through role models and concrete examples that relate to their lives. Adolescents have a hard time putting into words their beliefs about spirituality and related "transcendent" ideas (Elias and Kress, 1999). The goal of teachers, therefore, is to offer themselves as a role model, even in their own grappling with these themes, and to offer language and concrete examples to provide the student with the ability to discuss these topics. Many teachers, however, themselves have a hard time discussing spirituality. This paper will offer some beginning directions by pointing out that spirituality is a broad catchphrase for at least four very different approaches to seeking a sense of the transcendental in life.

Spirituality

There have been major changes in American religion that change the terms used in discussing theology, including the very rise of the topic of spirituality. Robert Wuthnow's After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950’s differentiates the religion of the 1950’s from that of the 1980’s and 1990’s, calling the religion of the former "the religion of dwelling" and the religion of the latter "the religion of seeking." The religion of dwelling was about building congregations within a specific denomination, while the religion of seeking focuses on answering individual needs. In the religion of dwelling, the goal was to create a sense of belonging, to show that we are all alike, and that the institution is greater than our personal observance – big lectures in an auditorium successfully conveyed collective identity. In contrast, in the last decades there has been a turn to religious seeking, in which people seek meaning, go on individual journeys, search out small groups of people with similar personal issues, diversity, and greater personal observance. To capture this audience, clergy are most successful when they create support groups, tehillim groups, haburas and hevrutas, healing circles, retreats, artist workshops, and discussions of meaning and purpose in life.

But, contemporary America does not stay stable for long. Even among seekers, recent studies have shown further changes. Members of Generation X have reintroduced an eclectic and widespread acceptance of mysticism, magic, and a renewed appreciation for externals (after the prior existential emphasis on internal states). Many members of this group are not looking for coherence; contradictions suit them fine. While Generation Y/ Millennials have integrated the world of media, with its emphasis on the visual, the interactive, and the sound bite, they also seek greater transparency in process. Although these broad trends may not be found in every classroom or individual student, they are nonetheless important to note as the social background to contemporary spirituality.

Most of those who started to teach spirituality were originally seekers first drawn to meditation, Kabbalah or Hasidism. But now that spirituality has entered the mainstream, all teachers need to know something about spirituality. This presents a significant challenge, as most teachers are not prepared to engage the new material.

“Since the 1990’s, considerable interest has been generated in spirituality, and many of us who attended seminary before or during this era felt poorly prepared regarding the rich traditions of spirituality and our own spiritual journey. More recently interest in spirituality has converged with interests in congregational development…” (Vennard, 2005)

The new emergent model brings spirituality into common life, school, and community, in which everyone now journeys together as a group, through the study of spiritual texts and the discussion of how to integrate the inspirational words into one’s life (Ackerman, 2001). Whereas the spiritual seeker replaces the religion of dwelling with a religion of seeking, the integration of spirituality into the mainstream tries to combine both dwelling and seeking. Naturally, some students will remain seekers looking to lead individual paths, while others will remain oblivious to spirituality looking only for a place to dwell.

Four Types of Spirituality

In the emergent approach that tries to include the entire community, we have to discuss multiple forms of spirituality, just as we discuss multiple intelligences. Current literature discusses four broad models of spirituality – thinking, feeling, being, and doing (all of which further subdivide). It is critical that we understand that when a student asks for spirituality, we must learn to listen for which type of spirituality he or she is asking for – one size does not fit most. I will briefly outline the various meanings to the word spirituality and give examples of where each type can fit into a Jewish high school curriculum.

Four Types of Spirituality
Thinking	Study; having a sense of a higher purpose or order
Feeling	Song and celebration; stories; togethernes
Being	Meditation; silence; ritual
Doing	Self-perfection of character; moments of dedication, submission

The first category, thinking, seeks meaning in life. These who have a thinking approach want to know gain understanding, to see that their actions have a purpose and that there are answers to the big questions in life. Discussion of the meaning of life can include study of Jewish thought or the liturgy, the fixed worldview of R. Hayyim of Volzhin’s Nefesh Ha-Hayyim, or the application of the writings of Rav Soloveitchik to one’s life, drawing out the moral and value lessons. This approach can be complemented even in the day school setting with elucidations from general religious authors on religious meaning, such as M. Scott Peck, C. S. Lewis, or even Augustine. One should make sure not to turn the study into a philosophy class, rather focus on the meaning and moral order taught in the text.

The thinking approach also incorporates those looking for an order to the world, where everything can fit into the religious order. These students want to see a bigger picture and know that there are answers greater than themselves. These students are attracted to the complete order of the universe offered by the writings of R. Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto, or the writings of Aryeh Kaplan, or the seminars offered by Discovery/Aish Hatorah. They want a meaning in life that transcends the self in a meaningful order. God has hidden the true meanings and therefore the answer is to trust in the order of the Torah that can make sense of the complexity of their lives.

In choosing texts, even for this approach, it is important to make note of cultural changes. For example, at one time, the existential writings of Viktor Frankl were satisfying to those adolescents looking for meaning, while now Akiva Tatz’s appeal to a higher Divine purpose, based on Ramhal (R. Moshe Hayyim Luzzato), resonates instead. And for many, the paradoxes and dialectics of existentialism do not speak to them while the magic and media of The Kabbalah Center does answer their sense for order.

The second broad category is that of feeling, displayed through song, enthusiasm, and the study of Hasidism. This includes the spirituality of Carlebach minyanim, the renewal movement, and Neo-Hasidism. The goal is to reach feeling of warmth, connection, and emotion that transcend the rational everyday world. The language emphasizes oneness, deepness, monism, and transcending our fallen world of division, rationality, and moralizing. One needs to go beyond the self and reach a point of spontaneity. Needless to say this offers a very different approach than those seeking to know a moral order. Here, God is portrayed as a warm, caring parent waiting for us to return, or who looks down with love on singing. One should take care not to use this approach as entertainment or solely as ruah; Hasidic music should not merely be another form of high school pep rally. The feeling approach works when we remember that the goal of the feelings is to reach the transcendent, and that God wants one to sing or show love as a path to monism.

This approach also has a sub-division that includes those seeking happiness through overcoming everyday emotional struggles, or personalizing one’s study, or imagining that God walks with the student. For these seekers, the writings of R. Kalomomous Kalman Shapira of Piaseczna or Zelig Pliskin are appropriate. Every verse of the Bible is taught by asking: How can I apply this to my life to come closer to God? Can I see myself as the Biblical figures? What would I have done, religiously, were I in their place? This approach currently has a broad following in America through the personality and writings of the Dalai Lama, who teaches happiness more than meaning or meditation.

The third approach, being, focuses on contemplation, mysticism, and mystery. Being also includes looking for deeper meanings known through mysticism or theosophical knowledge personally attained. Being looks for the hidden reality about the soul, ritual, and the natural order taught by medieval Kabbalah, especially the Zohar. There is a significant tradition of Jewish meditation techniques, prayer kavvanot, and visualizations that are not presently available to the broader public.

This approach is the hardest to properly teach for those not trained in spirituality. (Interestingly, this approach was the first stop of almost all teachers of spirituality, even if they themselves have moved to another model in their current practice.) To teach this, one must examine the esoteric parts of Nahmanides, the mystical midrashim such as Tanhuma or Pirkei deRebbi Eliezer, and the discussions of God language in the Aggadic portions of the Talmud. Students in this group respond well to the books of A. J. Heschel, while single pages of the writings of Mircea Eliade and other scholars to help make a point in class from this perspective. The goal here is not to be academic or discuss the academic chart of the sefirot, rather to introduce the Rabbinic view of mystically relating to God through mitzvot and contemplative prayer.

The final category, doing is probably the broadest, encompassing ethical work, community self-sacrifice, and commitment. Doers want to overcome their faults; they feel a sense of their continuous failing and do not want to hear how they will be made perfect once they understand the theological meaning of an essay. They either want the behaviorist method for instilling order taught by the Mussar movement or they want the more humanistic psychology and 12-step approach of R. Avraham Twersky, in which one’s spirituality consists of making oneself into a better person. They want a checklist in which every day, little by little, one works on the self. They also need encouragement not to get frustrated or to be overwhelmed by the human condition. These approaches look for ways to teach one to better one’s character traits and more importantly for the seeker, to fight one’s vices. This requires honesty about the human condition and how we all fail.

For some, the doing approach requires actual activity, through serious hesed projects. They want to work with the disadvantaged, build homes, work in soup kitchen or visit nursing homes. For others, doing demands moments of dedication of the self, the way Habad teaches that the morning recitation of modeh ani allows a daily volitional reaffirmation of acting God in one’s life.

Process

The emergent approach of bringing spirituality into the mainstream is a process for both the teacher and the students, and the teacher's personal spirituality may not fit some of the students. It is vital that teachers respect the individual spiritual preferences of their students, as most students are attracted to two of the four approaches and are probably repelled by one of them. Educators need to learn to integrate elements of all four types of spirituality. Further, adolescents in the same room can be at different stages of spiritual development.

I have met educators who tell me that they are introducing spirituality in their schools through holding a singing minyan and they think that this is sufficient. Yet, singing and dancing without the concurrently valuating of feelings, spontaneity, and monism within the curriculum does not offer a role model to the student or validate their inwardness and spirituality. Spirituality is not a band-aid applied as an extra-curricular activity. Adolescents can see through such false displays and, as noted at the start, they seek guidance and role models. Even for the more intellectual approach of offering theological meaning, the reflections need to be validated in the classroom as a source for moral reflection and character building. One cannot collectively read the writings of Rabbis Hirsch or Soloveitchik on the human condition and moral development as a form of spirituality and then tell the students that only practical halakhah counts. One must be sincerely concerned with spiritual growth.

Assessing spiritual growth is important, but presents its own challenges. The traditional ladder of growth used by Ramhal proceeds from the first steps of carefulness to the peak of prophecy, while current educational approaches assess the acquisition of the components of spiritual life. For example, does the spiritual curriculum or program lead to a sense of the transcendent, the conviction of the existence of the Divine, the search for meaning and purpose, appreciation of interconnectedness of life, positive action, integrated sense of the self of body, mind, and soul and the sense of sacred time without the chatter from media, from peers, from ourselves.

Most educators are not automatically connected to spirituality by training or temperament. We dare not call spirituality whatever we are already proficient at teaching, and need to avoid insincere talks with titles such as “the spirituality of the laws of damages.” Rather one should use the class exploration of spirituality as an opportunity to work on one’s own spirituality. There are many books and websites that offer resources in determining one’s own path among the four broad approaches.

Jewish caricatures, such as identifying oneself as a litvak or yekke, and therefore exempt from spirituality, are not helpful. Neither are simplistic charts comparing different movements such as Hasidut or Mitnagdut, because all four approaches are found in any successful religious community. Even the Kabbalah has proponents in all four types of spirituality. One must remember to distinguish the traditional and best spiritual practices from the abuses of any approach. And, more importantly, one needs to distinguish between historical study, academic works on Kabbalah, and practical spirituality.

Conclusion

Rav Kook taught, “Each person must know that he/she is called on to serve on the basis of his own distinctive conception and feeling.” Dividing spirituality into four paths allows the teacher to offer the student a language to discuss their own distinctive searches for meaning, moral order, and inwardness.

References

Ackerman, J., Listening to God: Spiritual Formation in Congregations (Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute, 2001).

Bridges, L. & Moore, K. (2002). Religion and spirituality in childhood and adolescence. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Donahue, M., & Benson, P. (1995). "Religion and the well-being of adolescents" Journal of Social Issues, 51, 145-160.

Maurice J. Elias & Jeffrey S. Kress, “The Emergence of Spirituality in Adolescence” The United Synagogue Review (Fall 1999).

Vennard, J., A Praying Congregation, The Art of Teaching Spiritual Practice (Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute, 2005).