Surfing Rabbi: A Kabbalistic Quest for Soul

by Nachum Shifren

Book Overview

Growing up under the spell of surfdoms coveted mecca, Malibu Beach, Norm Shifren risks missing his own bar mitzvah to take his first shaky ride at the fabled surf spot. Benignly apathetic about his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0970073704
• ISBN13: 9780970073709
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Heaven Ink Publishing
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Spiritually Uplifting!

This book is a candid, honest, inspiring and fascinating story of one person's journey of self discovery. A synergy of the spiritual and the intellectual; a fascinating read that will move you!

CPR for the Soul

SURFING RABBI: A KABBALISTIC QUEST FOR SOUL Reviewed by Evan M. Stone"Words that come from the heart enter the heart," said the Sages. Rabbi Nachum Shifren's words will enter the heart of every reader, and if you're a surfing Jew hold on to the rails-tightly. SURFING RABBI: A KABBALISTIC QUEST FOR SOUL takes the brave reader through the white water to contend with the rip current of his Jewish soul. Recounting the highs and lows of his own life, Rabbi Shifren's autobiography shares his personal journey from assimilated Jew to Rabbi. Known as the Surfing Rabbi, Shifren's story is CPR for the soul: "Pure Stoke," to quote John Grissim. Shifren shared the familiar Southern California middle class upbringing of an assimilated Jew. His parents, hardly religious and heading toward divorce, were not able to relate to the pre-teen Shifren. He ran away shortly before his bar-mitzvah and tells a hilarious story of his kook ride, dropping in on a local Malibu hot shot called, "The Cat." Though he returned in time for his maftir, after high school, he was off to Hawaii for college. While on Oahu, he majored in big wave riding on the North Shore rather than academics. Eventually, Shifren dropped out of college returning to Southern California to pursue his surfing dreams. The twenty-one year old Shifren landed his dream job as a lifeguard. In top physical shape, he could swim twenty-six miles in the ocean without food. He was comfortable, so he thought. The lifeguard soon discovered rip currents exist in the soul as well as the ocean-a nagging, a yearning, a soft voice asking: "What am I? " The more he listened the stronger the voice grew. His soul searching took him to Israel where he served in the Army, lived on a kibbutz, and fell in love with a German woman whom he married. While in living in Germany with his wife and two children, Shifren experienced dissonance in his soul as his Jewish neshama demanded attention. A war raged in his heart between his actual life and what his soul yearned for-reclaiming his lost Jewish inheritance. The conflict between his reality Germany and the budding awareness of his Jewish identity engulfed his soul. His marriage painfully disintegrated. Shifren again returned to Southern California, this time to finish his studies and earn a teaching credential. But Shifren learned more than he anticipated after stumbling into the mysterious world of observant Judaism.The thirty-three year old Shifren met an indefatigable Chasidic black hatter named Rabbi Loschak after Shifren decided on impulse to attend a Chanukah party sponsored by Chabad. Little did Shifren know the candles he kindled that night would indeed burn longer than he expected. Shifren initially reacted to the bearded Chasid with an odd brew of mockery and respect much like any other assimilated Jew would react. Shifren's soul finally found the opportunity it sought. As he nurtured his relationship with Loschak, he chose to let his soul's ri

A Short Review by Glenn Hening

Just a quick note of congratulations to Norm on his book. To consistently marry the challenge of surfing with the challenge of his religion represents a fascinating combination of stoke and faith that I've rarely seen, if ever, in my 35 years of riding waves. As a founder of both the Surfrider Foundation and the Groundswell Society, I have always felt that surfing has to be something more than self-gratification, or else it becomes an obsessive pasttime that has no worth to anyone. Norm has been able to draw parallels between the world of riding waves with his religion that holds up under the scrutiny of long time surfers as well as Orthodox Jews. Now that Norm has put it all in a book, his efforts, along with his Surf and Soul Magazine, have actually enriched my perspectives on surfing and what's it is worth.Glenn Hening

Must read!

I consider myself a spiritual person, but for sure not a surfer. I never even felt the urge to try it, and certainly couldn't understand how the two could be related. But curiosity got the best of me. After reading Rabbi Shifren's book, I feel I missed out on something by growing up far from the ocean. Now at least I've been able to experience it vicariously, and I finally understand what it means to be a surfing rabbi. Please do yourself a favor and read this book. It will change how you look at some things.

From Malibu surfer to Surfing Rabbi

Not since "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" have two more unlikely activities been combined into one book title. Surfing Rabbi? If that sounds like an oxymoron to you, then you really should read this book. It's the totally honest personal story of a 1960's Malibu beach rat whose love of surf and sand eventually became a spiritual quest to delve more deeply into the power of his own Jewish roots. Today, he is both a Hasidic rabbi and avid surfer, demonstrating that to be a "religious Jew" does not have to mean withdrawing from the modern world. I read this book on a cold, snowy, Minnesota Sabbath afternoon, which is about as far away from the ocean as a person can get. I knew nothing about surfing when I opened the book, but soon found myself completely caught up in the story. Here was a man so devoted to surfing, that he drove through a war zone just to get to the beach. Foolhardy or adventurous? I had to find out! Rabbi Shifrin writes in a clear, personal style, so that even a landlubber like me can easily picture the beaches and surfer culture that he describes. Not that every scene comes out of "Endless Summer." Shifrin's first attempt to catch a wave at Malibu was a dangerous disaster that knocked his fantasies down to earth -- but also spurred him on to master this most challenging of sports. He became an expert surfer, lifeguard, and triathelete, so totally focused on riding the waves that he had little time for anything else in his life. Still, something was missing. The quest to fill that void eventually led him back to his Jewish roots and on to rabbinic ordination, where he learned that Judaism, like the ocean, is deep beyond imagining. Today, Shifrin uses surfing as a form of youth outreach, and is known worldwide as "The Surfing Rabbi." His life, in the words of surf film producer Ira Opper, is about "riding the energy of the universe." Gentiles and Jews alike will find inspiration in this fascinating story.