JONATHAN SHEFA
Global Sabbath represents a convergence of the two sides of Jonathan’s life—the engaged and the spiritual.
Jonathan spent more than a decade involved in the struggle to end hunger. During that time, he worked for everything from local NGOs to the UN. He also studied the problem of hunger formally, receiving his masters in Public Policy from Harvard University. He represented Harvard at the 2002 World Food Summit, and eventually went on to spend two years participating in landmark inter-governmental negotiations at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. There, he gained invaluable first-hand insights into the true sense governments have of their responsibility to end hunger.
Meanwhile, Jonathan’s undergraduate degree focused primarily in Buddhist metaphysics. For many years, he was a formal student of Zen. He has also studied and practiced yoga for twenty years. Over the past ten years, the primary focus of Jonathan’s spiritual practice has been within the Jewish tradition. He has studied ancient sources in various seminaries in both Israel and Canada, and has taught Jewish mysticism, social justice and spiritual transformation across the United States, from the Esalen Institute to the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. Jonathan is a trained facilitator and life coach, and a practitioner of Non-Violent Communication.
Jonathan is currently living in Jerusalem, where he is studying to become a rabbi. He spends the remainder of his time writing, praying and working to establish Global Sabbath as a vehicle for healing this world…
