SUZANNE WEISS
Bulletin Correspondent
"All things in moderation." We've heard that old maxim about a million times.
Well, Arieh Lev Breslow strongly suggests that we start living by it.
The former Berkeley resident, now an Israeli citizen, will experience a homecoming of sorts on Sunday, April 25 when he shows his stuff at the "Israel-In-A-Day Fair" at the Contra Costa Jewish Community Center in Walnut Creek.
Breslow is a master of tai chi and author of "When Less is More: Using the Mind to Exercise the Body." At the fair, he will teach classes in meditation and health for children and adults, and will discuss his book and accompanying video. The event is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay.
The founder of the Jerusalem School of T'ai Chi is an observant Jew who lives in the modern Orthodox community of Efrat and the author of "Beyond the Closed Door: Chinese Culture and the Creation of T'ai Chi Ch'uan."
Breslow sees parallels between the teachings of the Chinese ancients and those of the great medieval philosopher-physician Moses Maimonides, and finds wisdom in the words of Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin, all of whom are quoted side-by-side with Confucius in the pages of his book.
"I think people need to slow down and take the Middle Path and improve the quality of their lives," Breslow said by phone from Israel last week. "The whole idea of the Middle Path emphasizes that one should not go to extremes. The great thinkers are like one another in the avoidance of extremes. It all sort of connects. Even here in Israel we now have the Central Party.
"Tai chi teaches that you should take a moderate stance to do your exercise effectively," he added. "Well, the same thing is true of your temperament."
His book quotes the sages -- Eastern and Western -- on the wisdom of moderation in eating, drinking, emotional reaction and, yes, even exercising, as an antidote to the frenetic and competitive pace of modern life. Meditation, introspection and good sense is valued above bulging biceps and the "hard bodies" that generally are held up as role models in gyms.
Breslow also cautions people to be aware of their changing capabilities as they age -- the jogging you did when you were in your 20s may not be good for you when you are 45. Special needs also are addressed, with sections in each of the exercise chapters that adapt the movements to people with disabilities.
"The book is not really a tai chi book," he said. "It brings some of the principles of tai chi to a general audience in the interests of good health. The truth is, I've found over the years that tai chi is good for some people but it's difficult to learn. It can be very demanding."
Nonetheless, there is a great demand for his classes in Israel.
"Israelis are hungry for alternatives, ways to stay sane," he said. "People here live in a pressure cooker."
In his classes, though he encourages students to take the Middle Path, he does not dwell on ideological discussion. Instead, he focuses on hands-on training.
"The important thing is the doing," he said. "Especially in Israel, people tend to be very practically oriented. They won't put up with a lot of philosophy."
Breslow did not go to Israel intending to teach taichi -- or even to stay longer than a year.
A Bay Area teacher of Jewish studies and one of the early leaders of Berkeley's Aquarian Minyan, Breslow went to Israel in his 30s, some 19 years ago, in order to deepen his understanding of Judaism. Enrolling in the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, he fully intended to take a year's worth of courses and come right back.
Instead, he made aliyah.
"I loved the community and the strong sense of family I found here," he said. "I wanted that kind of lifestyle for myself."
He began teaching tai chi at the request of some of his new Israeli acquaintances, who knew he was adept in that discipline. And, as a result, he met the Canadian expatriate who later become his wife.
"Anne was a dancer who had injured her Achilles tendon while doing a film," he recalled. "She started coming to my classes to try and repair it."
Therapy for a torn tendon was not all she found. The couple now has three daughters, ages 12, 9 and 7.
"I've always said that, if tai chi had done nothing else but allowed me to meet my wife, it would have been enough."
Or, as has been said a lot lately, Dayenu!
Arieh Lev Breslow "When Less is More: Using the Mind to Exercise the Body" (134 pages, Almond Blossom Press, $19.95). To order: (877) 209-2937.