The ‘Jewish Secret’ and the Dalai Lama

Historic 1990 meeting in India between the Dalai Lama (front row, fourth from left) and Jewish rabbis and scholars, including Katz to the Dalai Lama’s right.

As the spiritual and temporal leader of a people who were defeated by Communist China nearly 60 years ago, the Dalai Lama wanted to learn the “Jewish Secret” for surviving in exile.

After all, he reasoned, the Jews had the expertise: 1,900 years of living in the Diaspora, all the while preserving their distinct religion. Surely the Tibetan people could benefit from Jewish experience, he reasoned.

Hear a first-hand account of this remarkable dialogue, one that spurred both Tibetans and Jews to understand not only one another, but themselves as well.