Somewhere way back…I honestly can’t remember when but am far too lazy to search for it…I blogged about a gentleman who lives in Venice Beach who represents quite an unusual mixture of cultures. His name is Norm Shifty Shifren, but he is better known among the locals who ply the tasty waves of So Cal as the Surfing Rabbi.
Now, perhaps Neil, who lives in Venice Beach, knows better than I do, but this seems a bit odd even for Southern California. But then again, it is a fine gimmick…and one that Rabbi Shifren has put to some personal use. He leverages the appeal of his off-beat, yarmulked image to teach surfing classes, make public appearances and, of course, to write a book. This being So Cal, the only thing missing is a movie deal…though perhaps that’s in the works.
Rabbi Shifren calls his classes a “Kabbalistic Quest for the Soul”, which immediately conjures up images of Madonna, cone bra in full extension, hanging ten on a curling blue wave. The reason I bring this all up about the rabbi, is that a friend of mine recently mentioned that a friend of his did the Rabbi’s surfing camp in Costa Rica and I thought, man, that is one of those adventures worth writing home about. For more on the Rabbi, let me point you to this rather old, but entertaining piece in Salon.