Melbourne – Australian Orthodox Rabbi Gives Yoga a Uniquely Jewish Twist

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    Rabbi Laibl (R) and his son, (L) Menachem, is the director of 'Spiritgrow', a centre and shul for Jewish people who are detached from their roots and drawn to Melbourne – YOGA, the ancient spiritual and physical discipline that originated in India and is now a worldwide phenomenon, is not an activity that is usually associated with the orthodox Jewish Chabad Lubavitch movement. Rabbi Dr. Laibl Wolf, however, has taken this ancient meditative practice and given it a uniquely Jewish twist. He has done so by merging much of the basic philosophy of yoga with the basic teachings of Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah. The end result is something that he calls Mind Yoga, which is trademarked.

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    Dr. Laibl Wolf is a lawyer, educational psychologist, orthodox rabbi and expert on Jewish mysticism and meditation. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he is the son of Polish Holocaust survivors, the author of the book Practical Kabbalah and the founder of the Human Development Institute. This institute, according to its website, is “dedicated to the progress of humankind through insight and personal mastery.”

    The idea of personal mastery is one of the main concepts of Mind Yoga. Through this discipline, individuals learn how to tap into Kabbalah in order to master their mind and emotions, achieve spiritual enlightenment and empower their lives. Mind Yoga teaches adherents to eliminate negativity in their lives, find balance between their emotional and physical selves and better understand the motivations behind their often conflicting and controlling thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Many of these same lessons are inherent in standard yoga practice.

    “Yoga is an eastern compilation of earlier Indian-based wisdoms,” explains Rabbi Wolf. “Many of these early wisdoms arose from Abrahamic teachings that originated in the Middle East in the person of Abraham and travelled east.

    “Not all eastern teaching is to be identified with Kabbalah,” he adds, “but you will find many of the original truths of creation, as expounded in Kabbalah, in aspects of yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism and others.”

    Rabbi Wolf developed Mind Yoga, in part, because he saw so many young Jewish adults, ironically, drifting over to these eastern teachings.

    “My inspiration was the estrangement of Jews from their spiritual roots,” he explains.

    This estrangement pushed many of them into the arms of eastern religions and practices. Mind Yoga, combined with other Kabbalah teachings, has helped Judaism welcome many of them back.

    Rabbi Wolf extrapolated on the practices and origins of Mind Yoga, and also demonstrated many of its techniques, when he was in Winnipeg last month as a guest of the Jewish Learning Institute (JLI). The JLI is the adult education arm of Winnipeg’s Chabad Lubavitch movement.

    The positive response to Rabbi Wolf’s visit, his second to Winnipeg, reflects the burgeoning interest among Jews, as well as people of other faiths, in spiritualism, mysticism and finding a deeper meaning in life. Similarly, unprecedented interest in a six-week Soul Quest course currently underway at the JLI reflects a widespread desire among both observant and non-observant Jews to expand their knowledge and connection to abstract ideas and interpretations of Jewish thought.

    “There is a tremendous thirst and curiosity for Jewish mysticism and the teachings of Kabbalah,” says Rabbi Shmuly Altein, director of the Jewish Learning Institute. “JLI’s SoulQuest has close to 50 students enrolled and has thus far been an incredible success.”

    Rabbi Wolf echoes this observation. “There is a definite and profound rise in interest by people to deepen their lives,” he says.

    This interest may be a result of a number of factors, including the emergence of the global village, daily chasms, geopolitical schisms and a basic human quest for meaning.

    “This quest can lead down many different spiritual pathways,” he adds, “one of which is Kabbalah.”

    Kabbalah is a 4,000-year-old body of spiritual wisdom. Yoga is a 3,000-year-old body of physical and mental wisdom. By merging the two into Mind Yoga, Rabbi Wolf has created a new-age concept deeply rooted in ancient teachings and traditions and committed to helping people find harmony and wholeness in modern times.


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    38 Comments
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    Yid
    Yid
    14 years ago

    Rav Elyashiv shlita has strong reservations about the use of Eastern techniques, some of which are clearcut avoda zara, whereas others may be darchei Emori and hence also forbidden. His talmid muvhak, Rav Morgenstern shlita, has given shiurim about these halachic issues and is against many of these practices.

    Rav Yaakov Hillel shlita, the foremost known mekubal, holds that these come from a ‘foreign’ spiritual source and have no true makor, or source, in Kabbalah. Caveat emptor, i.e. buyer beware!

    Minnsota
    Minnsota
    14 years ago

    I thought this sort of thing was assur. We had a lady from EY that would come to teach Torah Yoga. But, the Lubs here said this was trief and to stay away?!

    Frum Yoga Teachers
    Frum Yoga Teachers
    14 years ago

    Dear Yid,

    In addition to being a certified yoga teacher and a musmach who has studied Kaballah at the highest levels, with all due respect to Rabbi Morgenstern, he hasn’t the faintest idea what he is talking about.

    The spiritual scriptures of Yoga very closely parallel the writings of the Ari”zal and confirm in my mind the concept that Avraham sent these concepts to the East with the children of Keturah.

    It has been my experience the people who are so quick to judge are the ones who know the least. If someone had actually talked to a knowing source, the banning of the Indian hair wigs would never have happened.

    There is no avodah zara in any modern yoga practice.

    Saw him this morning
    Saw him this morning
    14 years ago

    I just saw him speak just this morning. Although he seemed in a hurry to catch his flight back to Australia his presentation was interesting and definitely worthwhile!

    By the way, nobody is worshiping Baal when they’re practicing Yoga.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    R’ Wolf was personally instructed by the Rebbe z’tl to teach mysticism.

    yoga yid
    yoga yid
    14 years ago

    i’m wondering if leibl wolf is just teaching the meditational parts of yoga, or also the breathing (prana) and actual body movements/postures (asanas) that we in the west so identify with yoga.

    for such a long-time practised discipline, yoga has expressed itself in many forms and beliefs — some that cohere with yiddishkeit, some that don’t. It takes the mumcheh to know what is kosher and what is not. In the ’70s the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged incorporating some eastern practices, so long as it was approved by a panel of experts as being al pi torah. The rebbe also said that this was in order to combat the youth who were being influenced by its avodah zoro versions. The rebbe instructed Dr. Yehudah Landes of California in detail how to do this. But in this case, it was about meditation, not body movements.

    There are several frum yidden that have developed and been teaching kosher forms of yoga , some (like a Lubavitcher in Montreal) even incorporating the alef-beis in various body postures & kavonos. This is not new at at

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    #3: According to the Medrash, Avraham gave the Bnei Ketura all his knowledge of Kishuf and Kochos Hatuma, (Sheim Tumah Masar Lahem) so they should take it far away to the East and away from Yitzchok and his descendants.

    #6, Hindus believe in many many gods, they are as far from monotheism as you can get.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    But how are we gonna stay in shape if not this great yoga stuff. I wanna be able to still walk when I’m 80

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    everyday more actitives become not kosher or not the jewish way. we should all sit and do nothing and be fat that would solve everythng . becuase every one would drop dead from all the crap that’s in a jews diet

    What chutzpah
    What chutzpah
    14 years ago

    What chutzpah! There is no question as to who is the Gadol HaDor, and there is no question amongst serious Torah scholars as to the halachic credentials of his right-hand man, Rav Morgenstern shlita. There is also no question that Hinduism is clearcut avoda zara. I personally know more than one Hindu who has a shrine in the home which includes idols, and they offer incense, bow before the idol and do other forms of avoda zara on a daily basis. Whether or not someone claims that there is an overriding “god” for all their myriad of gods is irrelevant.

    As for darchei Emori, there are acts which are clearly forbidden due to the halachic concept of darchei Emori. Many of the New Age and more classical Eastern practices are clearly forbidden, whereas some are borderline.

    One could give a list of poskim who think many forms of yoga and Eastern techniques are clearcut avoda zara or avizrayhu for avoda zara, acts for which we are supposed to die rather than transgress … but I guess the anonymous pygmies who spout their venom on this site are not interested in Torah but rather in sowing hatred.

    The fact remains that some of these practices are forbidden at pi Torah.

    chucky
    chucky
    14 years ago

    I live in brooklyn, I’ve been searching for a kosher/men only yoga/aerobics classes…. For a while….
    If any one can help me please post here. Tx!

    moshe to #19
    moshe to #19
    14 years ago

    Be careful i happen to be very aware of the writings of rabbi hillel both in halacha and kabalah he things he knows it all! but he is very far from introducing the true authentic concepts the way they are understood and explained by gedolei yisroel throughout the generations. open up your eyes!

    חיים
    חיים
    14 years ago

    # 8 has it about right. Rabbi wolf has also some correspondence with the Lubavitcher Rebbe ZT”L on kosher meditation, but of course one must be cautious that all is applied correctly according to halacha even in the case of rabbi wolf. Rav elyashiv is a halachist but may not be aware of these issues. Rav morgenstern is to my knowledge a complicated individual! check out his writings!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    With all these chumras no wonder why Jews are leaving the fold left and right.