Alan Lew
Conservative rabbi
About Alan Lew
Lived 1943 – 2009 (aged 65–66).
Alan Lew (1943–2009) was a Conservative rabbi best known for establishing the world's first Jewish meditation center and for his work bridging Jewish and Buddhist traditions. Lew was often described as "the Zen rabbi," a phrase that he himself used in the title of his book One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi.
Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lew grew up in a secular Jewish household. In the 1960s, he experimented with Asian spiritual practices and eventually discovered Zen Buddhism. When preparing for ordination as a Zen Buddhist priest, he had an epiphany regarding his Jewish identity which set him on a path to exploring Judaism.
Selected works Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life (2007) This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation (2003) One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi (1999)
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Alan Lew's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Alan Lew?
Conservative rabbi (1943-2009)
When was Alan Lew born?
Alan Lew was born in 1943.
When did Alan Lew die?
Alan Lew died in 2009.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alan Lew. https://biography.guide/alan-lew/
MLA: "Alan Lew." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alan-lew/.
Chicago: "Alan Lew." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alan-lew/.
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