The Merging of Two Oceans

In The Merging of Two Oceans, Pir Netanel Miles-Yépez follows his In the Teahouse of Experience with a new collection of talks, laying the foundations for understanding the historical and spiritual connections between Sufism and Hasidism, two of the world’s great mystical traditions. He explores the many ‘meetings’ between these two traditions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, details his own role in the formation of a new Sufi lineage connected with Hasidism, and gives a series of teachings drawing on both traditions. The Merging of Two Oceans is a book that will fascinate admirers of these traditions and their teachings.

Praise for The Merging of Two Oceans

“Pir Netanel’s book opens further the doors of Jewish-Sufi cross-fertilization, offering beautiful stories and practices from both traditions, and furnishing interesting background material pertaining to the creation of the Inayati-Maimuni Order and its founding pir, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. If you are someone whose soul is stirred by both the Sufi and Hasidic traditions, this is a book you will want to read.”

— Gregory Blann (Shaykh Muhammad Jamal al-Jerrahi), When Oceans Merge: The Contemporary Sufi and Hasidic Teachings of Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

“With The Merging of Two Oceans, Pir Netanel Miles-Yépez has brought us an important and long-overdue piece of scholarship, as soulful as it is erudite. Peppered with practices, teaching tales, and the history of the Sufi and Jewish mystical traditions’ intertwining, The Merging of Two Oceans is an accessible and deeply nourishing read that many spiritual seekers will celebrate. ”

— Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, author of Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma

“Embracing the ancient maxim that “the height of human knowledge is to know that we do not know,” Pir Netanel encourages us to embrace the interspiritual learning that has enriched Jews and Muslims, Hasidim and Sufis, for centuries. He describes how these two “oceans” commingled in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and in the life of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. The Merging of Two Oceans also recounts a story of friendship between rebbe and student and beautifully describes the author’s ordination. Pir Netanel makes esoteric teachings accessible through references to contemporary literature and film, as well as history and stories, and philosophical, spiritual, and psychological wisdom gleaned from a contemplative reading of scripture. This rich context informs concrete advice on how to meditate and pray. If you find

yourself at the uncomfortable ‘crossroads of religions,’ Pir Netanel meets you there and lets you know you’re not alone.”

— Father David Denny, co-founder of The Desert Foundation, and co-author of Desert Voices: The Edge Effect and

“In this book, our dear brother Netanel Mu’in ad-Din has prepared a banquet of wisdom for the soul and mind that overflows with deep and detailed knowledge of tradition and practice. The clarity and mastery with which he explains the meeting and merging of these two traditions, Sufism and Hasidism, allows the reader to become familiar with the central teachings of both traditions in an accessible way, while also becoming acquainted with the nuances of their respective spiritual terminologies. In addition, by sharing details of his personal journey with his spiritual guide and the birth of a new lineage, he provides us with insights into the inner workings of the tradition, something that is often hidden and can only be speculated about. As a work that is at once spiritual manual, history and storytelling, this collection of talks can be seen as inspired by the malfuzat (‘discourses’) genre of Sufi literature.”

—Shaykh Issa Farajajé, Chishti-Nizami Sufi Shaykh

Pir Netanel (Mu'in ad-Din) Miles-Yépez is the current head of the Inayati-Maimuni Order of Sufism. An artist, writer, philosopher, and scholar of comparative religion, Pir Natanel first studied the History of Religions at Michigan State University before delving into Contemplative Religion at the Naropa Institute. He then pursued traditional studies and training in both Sufism and Hasidism with his pir and rebbe, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the famous pioneer in interfaith dialogue and comparative mysticism. Pir Natanel is the author of In the Teahouse of Experience: Nine Talks on the Path of Sufism (2020); the translator of My Love Stands Behind a Wall: A Translation of the Song of Songs and Other Poems (2015); coauthor of two critically acclaimed commentaries on Hasidic spirituality, A Heart Afire: Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic Masters (2009) and A Hidden Light: Stories and Teachings of Early HaBaD and Bratzlav Hasidism (2011); and the editor of various works on Sufism and InterSpirituality. Currently, Pir Natanel lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he is the chair of Wisdom Traditions at Naropa University.