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psychedelics

Rabbi Zac Kamenetz, founder of the Jewish psychedelic organization Shefa, prays in the Giant Sequoia Grove in Berkeley, Aug. 6, 2025. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff)
Posted inLocal Voice

Psychedelics: A new approach to healing Jewish trauma is on the horizon

Rabbi Zac Kamenetz by Rabbi Zac Kamenetz April 27, 2026April 27, 2026

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that has settled into Jewish life in America. It did not begin on Oct. 7, 2023, though that day cracked open something that […]

Rabbi Zac Kamenetz
Posted inIdeas

Rabbis who took psychedelics for study describe ‘profound,’ spiritual experiences

Niva Ashkenazi (Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff) by Niva Ashkenazi August 22, 2025August 28, 2025
A view of a street in Pisac, Peru. (Photo/JTA-Jacob Kessler)
Posted inTravel

Israelis flock to this tiny town in Peru for vacation — and psychedelic spirituality

by Jacob Kessler May 31, 2023
Rabbi Ben Gorelick measures out a precise amount of psilocybin mushrooms during a Sacred Tribe "Sacrament ceremony" at his home in Denver, Nov. 6, 2021. (Photo/JTA-Andy Cross-MediaNews Group-The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Posted inU.S.

Denver drops drug charges against ‘mushroom rabbi’ who promotes religious psychedelic use

Philissa Cramer by Philissa Cramer and JTA December 12, 2022
Participants in a program at Urban Adamah, where Shefa's cannabis retreat will be held. (Photo/Courtesy Urban Adamah)
Posted inBay Area

Zac Kamenetz, the psychedelic rebbe of Berkeley, seeks applicants for Jewish cannabis retreat

David A.M. Wilensky
(Photo/Aaron Levy-Wolins)
J. The Jewish News of Northern California Staff Headshots. by David A.M. Wilensky July 1, 2022July 8, 2022
Rabbi Zac Kamenetz is one of the organizers of the first ever Jewish Psychedelic Summit. (Photo/file; Background/Courtesy Shefa-Shannon Levin)
Posted inReligion

What a trip! The first ever Jewish Psychedelic Summit is about to take off

David A.M. Wilensky
(Photo/Aaron Levy-Wolins)
J. The Jewish News of Northern California Staff Headshots. by David A.M. Wilensky April 12, 2021April 12, 2021
Rick Doblin is a leading advocate for the use of MDMA in psychotherapy. A clinical trial he championed produced favorable results this year. (Photo/JTA-Ben Harris; Illustration/JTA-Grace Yagel)
Posted inNews

Meet Rick Doblin, the Jewish psychedelics advocate working to turn a club drug into legal medicine

by Ben Harris and JTA November 24, 2020November 24, 2020
an old bald man stands in a well-appointed book-lined study
Posted inJewish Life

Psychedelic journeys brought peace to this Holocaust survivor. Now he’s helping others on their own journeys.

Alix Wall by Alix Wall July 16, 2020August 3, 2020
Rabbi Zac Kamenetz during his first psilocybin experience at Johns Hopkins University (Photo/Courtesy Kamenetz)
Posted inJewish Life

Can psychedelics heal the Jewish people? This rabbi is exploring that question.

David A.M. Wilensky
(Photo/Aaron Levy-Wolins)
J. The Jewish News of Northern California Staff Headshots. by David A.M. Wilensky August 20, 2019May 12, 2020

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