Sharon Salzberg in Conversation with 92NY's Rabbi David Ingber: The Practice of Compassion

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her forthcoming release, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom, is set for release in April of 2023 from Flatiron Books. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed six million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.

Sharon Salzberg, a student of Buddhism since 1971, has been leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Influenced by her more than twenty-five years of study with Burmese, Indian, and Tibetan teachers, she teaches intensive awareness practice (vipassana or insight meditation) and the profound cultivation of lovingkindness and compassion (the Brahma Viharas). She is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, both in Massachusetts. Salzberg is the author of several books including The Kindness Handbook, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, A Heart as Wide as the World, and the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness. She has also authored several Sounds True audio and interactive learning kit works including Insight Meditation (with Joseph Goldstein), Unplug, and Lovingkindness Meditation.

Rabbi David A. Ingber is Senior Director for Jewish Life and Senior Director of the Bronfman Center at 92NY. A nationally recognized Jewish leader, educator, and teacher of Jewish spirituality, he is the founding rabbi of Romemu, the largest Jewish Renewal synagogue in the United States.

Ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, Rabbi Ingber founded Romemu in New York City in 2006 and later established Romemu Yeshiva, the first fully egalitarian yeshiva dedicated to mystical and meditative Jewish learning and practice.

His approach to Torah, Jewish mysticism, prayer, and spirituality is informed by a broad range of Jewish traditions, philosophy, psychology, and religious thought. Rabbi Ingber has taught and lectured internationally and serves on the faculties of the Wexner Heritage Program and the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America and Israel. He was also an AJWS Global Justice Fellow.

Named by Newsweek as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in the United States and by The Forward as one of America's 50 most notable Jews, Rabbi Ingber is widely recognized for his thoughtful, inclusive approach to Jewish learning. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Ariel, and their three children.