A Rabbi, Priest And Atheist Smoke Weed And Bond Over A Hebrew Blessing
Image by Facebook
(JTA) — It sounds like a too-good-to-be-true social media stunt — a rabbi, a priest, and a gay atheist smoking marijuana together, talking about spirituality, and bonding over a shared hope for peace in one eight-minute video.
But digital content producers Cut have made all of that happen. The Seattle-based company’s video, uploaded to Facebook on Wednesday, has over eight million views as of Thursday morning.
To assuage any doubts about authenticity, it is worth noting that the video’s participants are real people. They are Rabbi Jim Mirel, rabbi emeritus at Temple B’nai Torah, a Reform synagogue in Bellevue, Washington; Reverend Chris Schuller, a former Episcopalian rector at a church in St. Petersburg, Florida; and Carlos Diller, a self-described conservative homosexual atheist.
Part of Mirel’s interest in the recreational drug might stem from his experience as a musician. A page on the online-only Washington Jewish Museum describes Mirel as an “accomplished” klezmer player who helped found “Music of Remembrance,” a classical music ensemble that commemorates Holocaust victims through commissioned works.
“I’m here to experience one of God’s creations,” he says towards the beginning of the video.
Schuller recently left the Episcopal Church to “minister outside of its boundaries.”
While he says that he hasn’t smoked since high school, he recently starred in a different online video praising marijuana and arguing that it should be legal and regulated like alcohol.
“Thanking God for weed might feel a little awkward at first,” Schuller says in that video.
Diller, who spent time in Baptist and Roman Catholic churches growing up, is the advanced weed-smoking pro in the group — and he helps Schuller use a bong properly in the video. Mirel looks comfortable with a joint on his own throughout the smoking session and requires no help to imbibe.
After some typical high-minded conversation (like a debate over the existence of a god), Mirel says that the anointing oil found in the Book of Exodus had some qualities that would “elevate” the user, and that one theory says that the oil came from the hemp plant.
Then the rabbi blesses both the priest and the atheist in Hebrew. Schuller says he got chills at the word “Shalom,” or peace.
“If [marijuana] lifts you up and gives you something, a new view of life, it’s a very positive thing,” Mirel says.
Amen.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
