Psychedelics and the Future of Judaism with Rabbi Zac Kamenetz

Psychedelics and the Future of Judaism with Rabbi Zac Kamenetz

Wednesday September 1

7pm Pacific time

Ketamine clinics, endowed research centers, impending FDA approval of MDMA therapy, celebrities talking about ayahuasca on TV— the psychedelic renaissance is here and moving fast. As the plants and compounds become more widely available through legal means, what might be the religious and spiritual significance of their use and the insights gained by those seeking their allyship? How might Jewish maps of the cosmos and consciousness aid Jews in their journeying and healing? What might integration look like when it draws from Jewish spiritual practice? 

Join Rabbi Zac Kamenetz, founder and CEO of Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support for an evening of presenting a brief history of psychedelic use in sacred settings, models of expanded consciousness from Hasidic and Kabbalistic lineages, and an exploration of conscious psychedelic use in Jewish contexts. 

Zac Kamentz is a rabbi, community leader, and aspiring psychedelic-assisted therapist based in Berkeley, CA. He holds an MA in Biblical literature and languages from UC Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union and received rabbinic ordination in 2012. A sought-after educator and qualified MBSR instructor, Zac’s work has been centered on seeking answers to life’s essential questions within the Jewish tradition and embodied spiritual practice. As the founder and CEO of Shefa, Zac is pioneering a movement to integrate safe and conscious psychedelic use into the Jewish spiritual tradition, advocate for individuals and communities to heal personal and inherited trauma, and inspire a Jewish religious and creative renaissance in the 21st century.