Our Story
Who We Are
Aleph is a home for Jewish Renewal a global movement rooted in Jewish wisdom, spiritual practice, sacred activism, music,
mysticism, and transformative community.
Our founder, "Reb Zalman"
Founded through the visionary work of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Aleph emerged from the merging of B’nai Or and The Shalom Center in 1993.
Since then, it has grown into a living ecosystem of clergy, educators, artists, activists, spiritual directors, communities, and seekers committed to renewing Jewish life for this moment.
We believe Judaism is not static.
It evolves. Breathes. Listens. Learns.
At Aleph, tradition is honored deeply, while also being expanded through contemplative practice, ecological awareness, interfaith dialogue, embodied spirituality, sacred music, social justice, and radical hospitality.
We are training spiritual leaders.
We are nurturing communities.
We are building a Judaism capable of meeting
this century with wisdom and heart.
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Renewal is not a fixed set of practices or beliefs. It’s a spiritual response.
A response to disconnection.
To inherited forms that no longer speak.
To the longing for Judaism to feel meaningful, embodied, ethical, ecstatic, and alive.
Aleph exists to nurture that response.
To cultivate vibrant, transformative Jewish spiritual life through learning, leadership training, sacred practice, community building, and collective renewal.
Our Approach
Aleph approaches Judaism as a living spiritual technology. One that must nourish the whole human being: intellectually, emotionally, physically, communally, and spiritually.
Our work integrates:
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Chant and sacred music
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Meditation and contemplative practice
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Embodied spirituality
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Hashpa’ah (spiritual direction)
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Mystical and devotional traditions
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Deep ecumenism and interfaith dialogue
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Tikkun haLev (healing the heart)
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Tikkun Olam (repairing the world)
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Social and ecological justice
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Multi-generational learning and community
Jewish Renewal does not separate inner transformation from outer transformation.
We believe spiritual practice should deepen compassion, widen belonging, and help people become more fully human.
Four Worlds Judaism
In Jewish Renewal we often speak in terms of the “four worlds.”
These can be mapped to the four seasons, four elements, and/or five levels of soul described by the kabbalists.
We understand that everything that arises, arises simultaneously in all four of these realms — though sometimes we may experience life primarily in one realm or another.
The four worlds are:
עֲשִׂיָּה
יְצִירָה
בְּרִיאָה
אֲצִילוּת
Earth, the objective world, where we live with our bodies in the physical world of action, including action for spiritual purpose.
This is the world of sensible, concrete facts and their data.
Here we are conscious of the physical realm and the laws of nature as we observe them. Here we are aware of being a creation of God.
This is the world of duality, in which everything is seen as separate, and subject to cause and effect. This is also the world of the life force, the senses, the breath, experiencing freedom and love of life, being the God-wrestler.
Guf (body); Nefesh soul aspect.
Water, the subjective world of vital feelings; the world of affect, of nuance, of aura, of sensitivity, of visceral and proprioceptive feelings.
Things are seen as synchronistic in this world. This is the world of interdependence and relationship issues.
Here is where our emotional being is attuned, where negative feelings of resentment, frustration, vindictiveness, and paranoia can be replaced by an attitude of gratefulness, appreciation, and joy.
Here we can learn empathy, humility, and awareness of our own mortality.
Ruach soul aspect.
Air, the symbolic world of the intellect, of contemplation, of pure thought. Everything is part of a pattern in this world; everything has a meaning.
We understand ourselves as being the result of intended, loved, and continuous creation.
Here we are commanded to exert ourselves to know and to reach the very edge of what is thinkable and understandable.
This is the reality of poetry, wonder, intuition, and visualization. In this world, we can work with symbols and with dreams.
Neshama soul aspect.
Fire, the holistic world of deep divine intuition and of beingness with God.
Reality is merged; all is one. This is the world of essence, where we recognize ourselves as being a spark of God’s fire.
It is not we who pray; rather, God prays in us.
With God’s own eye we see ourselves.
Chaya and Yechidah soul aspects.
Four Worlds, Eighteen Affirmations, One Covenant
Aleph Statement of Principles
We of Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal strive
to open ourselves to awareness of the sacred in all of existence.
We strive to create Jewish paths of prayer and meditation, study, communal life, practice, and public action that embody this outlook. We see ourselves in a crucial position at these times of paradigm shift and are committed to help develop a spirituality through which Judaism can transform itself to continued vitality in the service of tikkun olam—
world and soul healing.
Together we affirm principles and values that flow together from
the Four Worlds of Being, Knowing, Relating, and Doing:
1. The foundation and center of these principles is the Mystery we name God. We understand Judaism to be the individual and collective responses of Jews throughout our history, both in thought and deed, to the ongoing manifestations of the Divine.
2. We are committed to the search for a deeper and higher understanding of the spiritual realities in our lives and of our cosmic purposes.
3. We meditate on and reverentially engage with the Divine in ways that honor both the tradition, and how past generations experienced God as transcendent, and our intuition as to how we are addressed in the present.
4. We see the human spirit and the Divine as one evolving process that calls upon us all for the interaction that we call Godwrestling (“Yisrael”) and “Gathering the Sparks.”
5. We intend to open ourselves to the transformation of consciousness and action that is resulting from our living in a time when the Feminine is continuing to manifest after millennia of suppression, and we are dedicating ourselves to making space for and learning through Her manifestations.
6. In the sacred texts of the Jewish people and the writings of Jewish spiritual teachers of previous generations, we find enormous wisdom and insight that draw on Eternal truth and continue to have great potential to aid human beings in our quest for personal growth, empowerment, and healing—as well as those elements that are historically limited and need to be transcended. We will study, teach, and make accessible these texts and writings with all those who wish to encounter them, wrestle with their content and meaning, and decide what to draw on and what to leave behind.
7. Among our guides to interpretation of Torah are the Rabbinic, Prophetic, Kabbalistic, Hassidic and Jewish World traditions as they are now being transformed in the light of evolving contemporary spirituality, process theology, feminist theology and our own direct experience of the Divine.
8. We are committed to deep ecumenism; engaging respectfully with other spiritual traditions, sharing with them what we have learned about awakened consciousness and acknowledging what we might learn from them, to see whether and how it can enhance our practice of the Jewish path.6. In the sacred texts of the Jewish people and the writings of Jewish spiritual teachers of previous generations, we find enormous wisdom and insight that draw on Eternal truth and continue to have great potential to aid human beings in our quest for personal growth, empowerment, and healing—as well as those elements that are historically limited and need to be transcended. We will study, teach, and make accessible these texts and writings with all those who wish to encounter them, wrestle with their content and meaning, and decide what to draw on and what to leave behind.
7. Among our guides to interpretation of Torah are the Rabbinic, Prophetic, Kabbalistic, Hassidic and Jewish World traditions as they are now being transformed in the light of evolving contemporary spirituality, process theology, feminist theology and our own direct experience of the Divine.
8. We are committed to deep ecumenism; engaging respectfully with other spiritual traditions, sharing with them what we have learned about awakened consciousness and acknowledging what we might learn from them, to see whether and how it can enhance our practice of the Jewish path.13. In order to heal the world, we seek to re-balance the power relationships among human beings and institutions, redressing the interconnected socio-economic and ecological crises that plague marginalized communities, and aiming to work for liberation. We view these efforts as integral to Jewish spirituality and action.
14. We believe that the healthy expression of Jewish peoplehood requires vital, varied, and creative Jewish communities in Israel and throughout the world, and further depends on the continuous and open-hearted interchange between all these communities. We intend to treat with respect other Jews and other Jewish communities whose approaches to Jewish life differ from our own, even if we feel compelled to oppose their statements or their actions.
15. We are committed to the formation and growth of communities, programs, initiatives, and organizations that are in alignment with these principles. We invite and welcome fellow-travelers to co-create and even partner with us.
16. We are committed to Jewish life in Israel, land of enduring history, seat of sacred narrative, and land of the Bible. We do so in mutual recognition of our cousins, the Palestinians, and each other’s right to freedom, self-determination, justice, security and peace. We are committed to skillful efforts that seek a peaceful way to share the land of Israel/ Palestine among all peoples who cherish it and call it home.
17. We seek to amplify the voice of Gaian Consciousness: that all life is interconnected and interdependent, as both our ancient wisdom and modern science tell us.
We must reconnect with and cherish our planet, its wild and natural spaces, because the Earth we live on is holy ground. We must act for the healing and flourishing of healthy and diverse ecosystems. We see this as a moral imperative to each other and future generations.
18. We are committed to applying these principles to the renewal and revitalization of our personal and communal ceremonies, rituals, liturgies, spiritual practices, and life-paths, as well as to our processes for collective decision-making and collective actions, with curiosity, humility and trust in Judaism’s continuing evolution.
Our Values
1. Sacred Belonging
Every person deserves access to meaningful Jewish spiritual life.
2. Innovation Rooted in Tradition
We honor inherited wisdom while courageously evolving its forms.
3. Embodied Spirituality
Judaism lives not only in the mind, but in the body, voice, breath, and heart.
4. Deep Listening
To one another. To the earth. To the soul. To the Divine.
5. Multi-Generational Community
We believe transformation happens across generations, relationships, and shared practice.
Our History
A Brief Timeline
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1978 — B’nai Or is Founded
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi establishes B’nai Or, planting the seeds of the Jewish Renewal movement.
1980s — Renewal Expands
New forms of Jewish prayer, chant, spirituality, and social consciousness begin spreading through communities and gatherings as Reb Zalman travels around the world sharing his deep wisdom of Jewish tradition and relating it to modern movements, inspiring follower’s deeper connection to the divine and each other.
1993 — Aleph is Formed
B’nai Or merges with The Shalom Center to create ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Committed to supporting inspiring leader’s projects and growing Jewish Renewal communities around the globe.
1990s–2000s — The Kallah Becomes a Spiritual Home
Aleph’s gatherings become transformative spaces for learning, prayer, music, activism, and community. This week-long retreat in the summer weaves deep learning and spiritual enlivenment into a single experience, culminating in a powerful community Shabbat.
2014 — Passing of a Founder
Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi passes away and a new reality for Jewish Renewal without this luminary figure starts to take shape.
Ordination Programs Grow
Throughout the decade after Reb Zalman’s passing, Aleph strengthens it’s immersive clergy and spiritual leadership training rooted in Renewal values under the leadership of Rabbi Marcia Prager. Especially though the pandemic, the ALEPH Ordination Program (AOP) is seen as the premier remote learning program ordaining clergy across the globe.
2026: Today
With the appointment of Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan as Dean of the Seminary and Michelle W. Malkin as Executive Direction, ALEPH becomes Aleph: The Jewish Renewal Movement and Aleph: Seminary for Jewish Renewal, committed to bringing Jewish Renewal into contemporary communication channels, bringing people together in shared experiences, and cultivating a global network of seekers, teachers, communities, artists, clergy, and activists reimagining Jewish life for the future.
Our People
Directors & Staff
Michelle W. Malkin
Executive Director
(she/her)
Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, PhD
Aleph Ordination
Program (AOP)
(she/her)
Dr. Joel Kushner
AOP Dean of Students
Director of Admissions
(he/him)
Stephanie Buncher
Director of Events & Retreats
(she/her)
Shanley Horvitz
Director of Marketing
& Communications
(she/her)
Satya Levine
Director of Operations
(she/her)
Lynda Simons
Finance Director
(she/her)
Ruth Alcabes
Ordination Program Administrator
(she/her)
Rabbi Shefa Gold
Director of C-DEEP
The Center for Devotional Energy & Ecstatic Practice
& SOULIFT
(she/her)
Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael
Spiritual Arts Director
(she/her)
Rabbi Marcia Prager
Dean Emerita
Ordination Program
(she/her)
What the Movement Is
The Aleph Movement is a growing ecosystem of communities, congregations, spiritual leaders, educators, artists, activists, musicians, scholars, and seekers connected through a shared commitment to Jewish Renewal.
This is not membership in a static institution.
It is participation in a living movement.
A network rooted in spiritual depth, sacred creativity, collective care, and the belief that Judaism can continue evolving in meaningful, transformative ways.
Who It's For
The Movement is for:
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Congregations seeking deeper spiritual practice
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Independent minyanim and grassroots communities
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Rabbis, cantors, and spiritual directors
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Jewish educators and ritual leaders
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Artists, musicians, and culture-makers
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Social justice practitioners rooted in Jewish wisdom
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Seekers building new forms of Jewish community
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Individuals longing for spiritually alive Judaism
If you are helping Judaism become more compassionate, embodied, inclusive, creative, or soul-centered—
you belong here.
Our partnerships include affiliated communities, organizations, teachers, musicians, and movements committed to cultivating compassionate, spiritually alive Jewish life.
We are proud to collaborate with organizations including OHALAH and Renewal communities around the world.
Because the future of Judaism will not be built alone.
Community Involvement
& Partnerships
Jewish Renewal can not exist in isolation. Aleph works collaboratively across the broader Jewish and spiritual ecosystem through partnerships, gatherings, clergy networks, and amplification of connection opportunities.
