Moshe Gafni

Moshe Gafni, born Mordechai Winiarz in 1960, is an American-Israeli spiritual teacher and author who integrates classical Jewish mysticism with integral philosophy and evolutionary spirituality. Ordained as an Orthodox rabbi, he has developed teachings emphasizing unique self-expression, ethical uniqueness, and a "cosmo-erotic" worldview, authoring books such as Soul Prints and co-founding the Center for World Philosophy and Religion to advance these ideas globally.

Gafni's early career involved serving as a rabbi in Orthodox communities in the United States and later founding spiritual centers in Israel during the 1990s, where he attracted followers through innovative interpretations of Kabbalah and personal growth seminars. His work evolved to collaborate with integral theorist Ken Wilber, contributing to frameworks that merge ancient wisdom traditions with modern developmental psychology. Despite these contributions, Gafni's public profile has been dominated by persistent allegations of sexual misconduct, including claims from the 1980s of abusing teenage girls in New York and further accusations in Israel involving coercion and assault, which have led to investigations by rabbinic bodies and professional ostracism in Jewish Renewal circles. Gafni has consistently denied these charges, attributing them to coordinated smears by detractors, and continues to maintain a platform through online teachings and partnerships in the integral community.

Moshe Gafni was born on May 5, 1952, in Tel Aviv, Israel, into an Orthodox Jewish family committed to traditional religious observance. His upbringing emphasized Ashkenazi Haredi values, prioritizing Torah study and religious devotion over secular education or pursuits, reflecting the insular cultural norms of ultra-Orthodox communities during Israel's early statehood years.

Gafni received his primary education in a yeshiva, where intensive study of Jewish texts formed the core of his early intellectual and spiritual development, a standard path in Haredi society that deferred formal secular learning. He later relocated to Bnei Brak, a densely populated Haredi enclave near Tel Aviv, establishing his family residence there and deepening his immersion in this environment of rigorous religious life.