In the Spring of 2002, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, then World Wisdom Chair holder at Naropa University and Spiritual Director of the Yesod Foundation, announced his intention to donate the material of his life's work to create an archive at Naropa University.

At the time, some asked why a rabbi would want to donate his archive to a Buddhist-inspired institution. His answer was characteristically practical and future-oriented. In a Jewish institution, he said, his collection of papers and materials were not likely to be more than one collection among many, and their use would likely focus on his work in the Jewish world alone, leaving half of his life's work neglected. Naropa University of Boulder, Colorado, though Buddhist-inspired, is essentially an ecumenical institution, concerned with contemplative practice as it is found in all the world's spiritual traditions. There, he believed, the entirety of his work (Jewish, ecumenical, and psychological) would be utilized in a genuinely spiritual environment, and the proper resources would be devoted to its development as a "living" legacy.

Desiring to honor Reb Zalman's wishes, the Yesod Foundation (also of Boulder, Colorado) began negotiations with Naropa University to forge a partnership that could achieve these ends. At the same time, the Yesod Foundation began the initial archival work by providing grants to an archivist and editor to begin an assessment of the size and value of the collection. But, from the outset, it was also clear that Reb Zalman's ideas of an archive were as much about "accessibility" as they were about "preservation;" he didn't want his work merely preserved, he wanted it to go on teaching, so the idea of the on-line digital archive was developed and the digitizing and editing of his writings became a project objective running parallel to the cataloguing and preservation work.

In late 2003, the partnership between the Yesod Foundation and Naropa University was well-established, and the "Reb Zalman Living Legacy Project" was officially begun. Its sole purpose was to establish Reb Zalman's wishes for his personal "legacy." An Executive Board, made-up of Yesod and Naropa representatives, was convened and a project administrator, a content development specialist, and an archival assistant were hired by Naropa University.

In 2004, the Reb Zalman Living Legacy Project invited an international advisory council of experts to meet in Boulder, Colorado for two days to discuss the nature and scope of Reb Zalman's legacy. The advice of this council and its committees continue to be of profound value to the project, and will be for many years to come.

Likewise in 2004, under the supervision of a professional archivist, the "Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Collection" of the Reb Zalman Legacy Archive at Naropa University was fully catalogued: 1239 audio tapes, 37 image media items, 62 literary items (approx. 5000 pages), 448 digital documents, 55 musical transcriptions, 641 photos, 10 digital photos, and 52 VHS tapes.