Today, many Jewish Americans are embracing a dual religious identity, practicing Buddhism while also staying connected to their Jewish roots. This book tells the story of Judaism's encounter with Buddhism in the United States, showing how it has given rise to new contemplative forms within American Judaism--and shaped the way Americans understand and practice Buddhism.

Taking readers from the nineteenth century to today, Emily Sigalow traces the history of these two traditions in America and explains how they came together. She argues that the distinctive social position of American Jews led them to their unique engagement with Buddhism, and describes how they incorporate aspects of both Judaism and Buddhism into their everyday lives. Drawing on a wealth of original in-depth interviews conducted across the nation, Sigalow explores how Jewish American Buddhists experience their dual religious identities. She reveals how Jewish Buddhists confound prevailing expectations of minority religions in America. Rather than simply adapting to the majority religion, Jews and Buddhists have borrowed and integrated elements from each other, and in doing so they have left an enduring mark on the American consciousness.

American JewBu highlights the leading role that American Jews have played in the popularization of meditation and mindfulness in the United States, and the profound impact that these two venerable traditions have had on one another.

American JewBu: Jews, Buddhists, and Religious Change, Emily Sigalow, Princeton University Press, Paperback, 280 pages, $22.95

Emily Sigalow is a sociologist of contemporary Jewish life and executive director of the Impact and Performance Department at the UJA-Federation of New York, a leading Jewish philanthropic organization. Website: emilysigalow.com

CONTENTS: American JewBu
List of Illustrations		ix
A Note on the Spelling of JewBu		xi
Acknowledgments		xiii
Introduction: Sheldon on the Mountain		1
PART I. FOUR PERIODS OF JEWISH-BUDDHIST ENGAGEMENT		15
Chapter 1	Breaking down the Barriers	17
Chapter 2	Buddhist Paths to Self-Discovery in the Early Twentieth Century	38
Chapter 3	Jews and the Liberalization of American Buddhism	56
Chapter 4	Buddhism and the Creation of a Contemplative Judaism	81
PART II. LIVED EXPERIENCE OF JEWISH BUDDHISTS IN THE UNITED STATES		97
Chapter 5	Making Meditation Jewish	99
Chapter 6	Mapping Jewish Buddhist Spirituality	123
Chapter 7	Constructing a Jewish Buddhist Identity	148
Conclusion: After The Jew in the Lotus		178
Appendix A: Research Methods		193
Appendix B: Teacher Interview Guide		203
Appendix C: Lay Practitioner Interview Guide		209
Notes		217
References		237
Index		251