Progressive Jewish Temple Excited For Interfaith Event With Shaman

Future events with the shaman remain in doubt; he will soon be engaged in a 41-month spiritual retreat.

Lawrence, January 6 – Members and administration of Temple Israel in this affluent Long Island suburb acknowledged their enthusiasm today ahead of a program this evening that as its highlight will give the stage to the leader of a different faith community, one whose traditions and sources constitute a radical departure from their own, and whose exotic, to them, provenance will provide attendees with an experience to broaden their understanding of other spiritual traditions while gaining insight into the shared human elements that inform and inspire all.

The temple’s Vice President for Adult Jewish Education, Jake Angel, told reporters that he and his staff, in addition to Rabbi Chansley Jacob, have spent the better part of the day so far expressing excitement over tonight’s event with the shaman from Arizona, whose tattooed skin, animal-fur ceremonial attire, and colorful face paint offer an edifying contrast to the comparatively straight-laced, upper-middle-class milieu of most of the synagogue’s membership.

“I’m excited to have him in the sanctuary,” Mr. Angel stated. “We’ve had leaders from other faiths here, but those are mostly the ‘mainstream’ religions. I’m proud that we hosted a Muslim imam not too long after September 11, 2001, and we’ve even held dialogue sessions with Black Hebrews and various Christian figures. But this is the first time I can recall we’ve gone way outside our religious box and invited an actual shaman. Speaking personally, I hope to get a better picture of the authentic indigenous rites he can explain to us.”

The shaman, who carries the title Yellowstone Wolf, is scheduled to take the stage at about 8:30 this evening. Mr. Wolf has informed the temple event coordinators that he will conduct a brief ceremony before his prepared remarks, given that today is a significant day on his people’s calendar. A short online exchange with the spiritual figure elicited that he will educate the cosseted suburban membership regarding his people’s beliefs, among them a reverence for, coupled with suspicion of, the powerful forces around us that shape our reality and, often without our awareness, control of various phenomena that most people assume to be natural, normal, and benign, when in fact they are none of those. He also plans to share with attendees the measures he and his community employ to keep those forces at bay, neutralize them, or mitigate their effects.

Audience response to the event will inform decisions regarding future events with the Shaman, who unfortunately will be engaged in a 41-month spiritual retreat.

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