“Jewish Mindfulness” as Spiritual Didactics Teaching Orthodox Jewish Religion through Mindfulness Meditation
Mira Niculescu
Religions December 25, 2019 DOI: 10.3390/rel11010011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | American Modern Orthodox rabbis |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Modern Orthodox rabbis use Mindfulness in three distinct ways—through, and, or as Judaism—which reshapes Jewish religious pedagogy and reflects cultural appropriation and boundary maintenance. |
Abstract
Since the late 1990s, the expression “Jewish Mindfulness” has become ubiquitous in Jewish community centers (JCCs) and synagogues in America, in Israel, and in the Western diaspora. “Mindfulness”, a secular meditation technique originating from Buddhism which has been popularized in Western culture through its recontextualization within the Western therapeutic culture, has been increasingly used in Jewish Religious settings, including Modern Orthodox. How do Modern Orthodox rabbis describe their use of “Mindfulness” in their religious teachings? Why do they refer to Mindfulness Meditation rather than to Jewish Meditation? In this article, I comparatively analyze the discourses spoken—online, and in print—of American rabbis from various Modern Orthodox trends as a case to study strategies of adaptation in the current context of globalization. By identifying three types of use of Mindfulness—through, and or as Judaism—I seek to highlight the various ways in which today’s Orthodox educators use “Mindfulness”, both as a meditation technique and as a spiritual mindset, and how this is reshaping the way they teach Jewish religion. Observing contemporary Orthodox discourses on Mindfulness within Jewish religious pedagogy can help us better understand the processes of cultural appropriation and translation as well as religious change in the making, as part of a boundary maintenance work within today’s cosmopolitan cultures.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Muslims and Mindfulness Training: Teachers’ and Trainees’ Perspectives Mindfulness July 3, 2026
- Reply: The PHIOMM Framework for Implementing Mindfulness in Public Health, With Groundwork Mindfulness March 1, 2025
- Mindfulness for Global Public Health: Critical Analysis and Agenda Mindfulness March 1, 2025