This year marks the centennial of Sage-ing International’s beloved founder, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, born in 1924 in Zholkiev, Poland in what is now western Ukraine. His story is narrated in three unique episodes by his daughter, Chana Tina (Schachter) Duskis of Israel. The episodes are presented separately in a podcast video-type format, accessed via ZOOM.

In the first episode, Chana Tina and her eldest brother Rabbi Shalom Schachter, Reb Zalman’s student Rabbi Or Rose, and others told us the story of the Schachter family’s harrowing escape from the Nazi Holocaust, 1938-1941. The second episode tells of the Schachter family’s passage through post-war trauma, grieving for their lost home and family, and adaptation to a new life in a new world.

We learn how young Zalman was drawn into a life commitment to spirituality, and

how his inquiring heart and mind took him on international adventures that he

never could have foreseen. We discover that the same people and issues that

inspired the US Civil Rights Movement and Peace Movement also shaped young

Zalman himself, as well as Jewish Renewal and the global Sage-ing project that he

conceived and founded.

Chana Tina continues spinning out the remarkable synchronicities leading up to

the next two Turning Points of her father’s life. Join her as she shares the

events and meanings behind not only her family’s new formation but also the very beginning of Sage-ing International’s as well.

Facilitators

Chana Tina (Schachter) Duskis is a Sage-ing Facilitator and member of the Faculty of The Yerusha Academy where she teaches training programs. 

Chana Tina is the youngest child of Rabbi Zalman and his first wife, Tziporah Faygl. May their memory be a blessing. Chana Tina grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba where her father taught. She enjoyed decades of parental guidance and influence throughout her life and hopes to continue his legacy by tiptoeing in his rather large footsteps, spreading Sage-ing wisdom throughout the world. 

Chana Tina is not retired but “Re-inspired,” lives in a small city called Bet Shemesh (House of the Sun) midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and stands ready to share her 69 years of life experience, wisdom and stories with you.

Rabbi Or Rose will be interviewing Chana Tina for this series. A student of Reb Zalman, he is the founding Director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College.

A prolific writer, Rabbi Rose has published several books and articles on Jewish spirituality, interreligious engagement, and social justice. His newest book is a co-edited anthology entitled With the Best of Intentions: Interreligious Missteps & Mistakes (Orbis Books, September 2023).

Rabbi Rose is currently working on a biography of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel for teen readers, and completing his doctoral thesis at Brandeis University on Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s emergence as a Neo-Hasidic and interreligious leader.

For program information or

to request one of a limited number of scholarships contact:

Education Coordinator Rosemary Cox, r.cox@sage-ing.org