J
onathan Omer-Man, a rabbi
and pioneer in Jewish medita-
tion whose meeting with the
Dalai Lama in 1990 was described
in Rodger Kamenetz’s bestselling
book The Jew in the Lotus, died May
2, 2023. He was 89.
Omer-Man was part of a dele-
gation of Jews, including rabbis of
various denomina-
tions, who went to
Dharamshala, India,
as part of an inter-
faith dialogue with
the exiled leader of
Tibetan Buddhism.
Kamenetz’s 1994
book focused in large
part on rabbis and
Jewish thinkers like
Omer-Man who were
looking to infuse Jewish practice
with techniques and insights drawn
from Eastern religions, and perhaps
understand why many young Jews
were drawn to traditions other than
their own.
To that end, Omer-Man was also
the founder of Metivta, an egali-
tarian, nondenominational Jewish
community based in Los Angeles
that emphasizes learning Jewish
texts and meditation. Omer-Man
rooted his lessons and techniques in
Jewish mystical traditions, including
the Kabbalah and the teachings of
Hasidic masters.
“There have always been Jews
who followed a traditional mystical
path, and there’s never been a rab-
binic consensus,
” he told an inter-
viewer in 2004. “
All there has been
is ‘our group versus their group.
’”
Born Derek Orlans in
Portsmouth, England, in 1934,
Omer-Man spent years working on
a kibbutz in Israel before his legs
were paralyzed by polio. He moved
to Jerusalem where he found vari-
ous jobs as an electrician, a teacher
and in the publishing industry
before he was captivated by the
study of Jewish mysticism in his
mid-30s.
He received a private rabbinic
ordination from Rabbi Zalman
Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of
the Jewish Renewal movement, and
in 1981 he moved to Los Angeles,
where he was invited by the Los
Angeles Hillel council to
set up an outreach program
for “religiously alienated
Jews” — specifically those
interested in faiths like
Hinduism and Buddhism.
“He worked for a number
of years on a one-on-one
basis,
” Kamenetz wrote
in The Jew and the Lotus.
“Jonathan had struck up
a conversation with some
Jewish kids from Los Angeles.
When they heard that Jonathan
would soon be opening a school of
Jewish meditation, they immediate-
ly signed up to study with him.
”
Omer-Man was one of the found-
ing teachers of the Institute for
Jewish Spirituality, an organization
founded in 1999 that develops and
teaches Jewish spiritual practices
including meditation, yoga, Torah
study, song and niggunim, or the
singing of wordless melody. He was
the author of multiple essays, short
fiction and verse, and taught and
lectured widely,
Omer-Man, who resided in
Berkeley, California, was married to
Nan Gefen, a fiction and nonfiction
writer. Their blended family has
seven children and 10 grandchil-
dren. The family recently welcomed
a great-grandson.
“People are very much into bring-
ing more fun into Judaism,
” Omer-
Man told Kamenetz in The Jew in
the Lotus. “But fun is not joy. Joy is
ecstatic knowledge with all parts
of one’s being, an integrated way of
knowing. It’s truly a quest.
”
Leader in Jewish
Meditation Dies at 89
JACKIE HAJDENBERG JTA.ORG
MAY 18 • 2023 | 109
NORMAN
ROSENBERG,
94, of West
Bloomfield, died
May 4, 2023.
He is sur-
vived by his daughter, Robin
Bloom (the late Richard
Bloom); son and daughter-
in-law, Mark and Lisa; loving
grandchildren, Jenny and
Andrew Moel, Courtney and
Evan Malkin, Alex and Rick
Rigutto, and Ryan Rosenberg;
two adorable great-grand-
children, Monroe and Briar
Malkin; many other fam-
ily members and devoted
friends.
Mr. Rosenberg was the
beloved husband of the late
Ina Rosenberg; brother of the
late Milton Rosenberg and
the late Jack Rosenberg.
Interment was held at
Clover Hill Park Cemetery in
Birmingham. Contributions
may be made to a charity of
one’s choice. Arrangements
by Dorfman Chapel.
DR. LAWRENCE
J. USHER, D.O.,
83, of
Farmington
Hills, died May 6,
2023.
He is survived by his
beloved wife, Lucinda Usher;
siblings, Sam Butterfly, Misha
Bowman, Sonia (Michael
Mcinery) Haack; many
loving nieces, nephews,
great-nieces and great-neph-
ews, great-great-nieces and
great-great-nephews, many
other family members and
devoted friends.
Dr. Usher was the dear
brother of the late Michael
Usher; uncle of the late
great-great-nephew, Rowan
Charles Keanu Hansen.
Interment was held
at Great Lakes National
Cemetery in Holly.
Contributions may be
made to Haven or to the
Zekelman Holocaust Center.
Arrangements by Dorfman
Chapel.
c. 1977
BONNIE
WEINSTEIN, 78,
of Farmington
Hills, died May
7, 2023.
She is survived
by her husband,
Dr. Robert
Weinstein; daughter and son-
in-law, Elisabeth Weinstein
and Craig Pacernick; son and
daughter-in-law, Michael and
Colleen Weinstein; grand-
children, Rachel, Dylan and
Justin Pacernick, Max, Asa
and Jesse Weinstein, and
Allison and Drew Joseph;
brothers and sisters-in-law,
James and Ilana Schmier,
and David Schmier and Lisa
Young.
Interment was at
Beth El Memorial Park.
Contributions may be made
to Be Well in School, 2817
West End Ave., #126-340,
Nashville, TN 37203, bewel-
linschool.org, Email: hello@
bewellinschool.org; Planned
Parenthood, P.O. Box 3673,
Ann Arbor, MI 48106,
plannedparenthood.org;
or JARC, 6735 Telegraph,
Suite 100, Bloomfield
Hills, MI 48301, jarc.org/
give. Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.
Rabbi Jonathan
Omer-Man, pictured
in 2011.
SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE