Ba’al Shem Zen: Buber’s Hasidic Tales as Koans Event
Peacemaker Featured Event (May 14th, 2025)
Wednesday, May 14th, 12pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Ba’al Shem Zen: Buber’s Hasidic Tales as Koans
A rabbi and a roshi sat down to read Buber... More than a set-up for another inter-religious joke, this real-life occurrence has given rise to a rich exploration of spirit, mystical tradition and menschlichkeit, that untranslatable Yiddishism pointing to the condition of human decency and skillful means.
Join Rabbi David Curiel and Roshi Ken Byalin in a close reading of one of Martin Buber’s stories from The Legend of the Ba’al Shem—a collection of stories about the founder of the Hasidic movement—with touchpoints from both Jewish mystical and Zen traditions. We’ll explain inherent kabbalistic concepts, as well as introduce Zen koans that reflect similar (or divergent) viewpoints. Most of all, we will enjoy the stories and the frisson of deep learning and spontaneous insight.
About the speakers:
Rabbi E. David Curiel is currently serving as the Assistant Director of the Aleph Ordination Programs Hashpa’ah Training Program as well as assisting his teacher, Rabbi Nadya Gross, in teaching Secrets My Grandmother Told Me: A Wisdom School. Additionally, he also serves as adjunct faculty at Hebrew College as well as teaching and counseling private clients. He has led prayer and meditation and nourished souls for over a dozen years, including at Asiyah—the community he co-founded and led for five years in Somerville, MA—as well as with Nava Tehila in Jerusalem and Romemu in Manhattan. He has sat multiple vipassana retreats with various teachers at the Insight Meditation Society, as well as with Rabbi Alan Lew, z”l, and Rabbi David Cooper, z”l.
Roshi Ken Byalin is the spiritual leader of the Zen Community of Staten Island. A Dharma Successor of Roshi Bernie Glassman, Ken also studied with Roshis Jishu Holmes, Robert Kennedy, S.J., and Kyudo Nakagawa. His career in mental health and education culminated under Ken’s leadership in the founding of Integration Charter Schools. Under Ken’s leadership, ICS grew to a network of four schools serving 1500 students with annual revenue of $45 million. Ken lives on Staten Island with his wife, Diane, “Dee”, and their daughter, Morrigan and now spends his days writing. He has finished a draft of his first novel and is in the home stretch of a Zen memoir. Ken is co-editor of The Bernie Koans and a member of the Zen Peacemakers. His blog, In the Bardo, appears bi-weekly at https://www.zen-ken.com/blog
With gratitude,
The Zen Peacemakers Team