Kallah Links

Kallah

Classes

Kallah 2023 Classes

We are thrilled to announce our lineup of four-day classes!

Get to know our class teachers by clicking on the “Faculty” tab above.

If you’re looking for one-day workshops, click on the “Workshops” tab above.

Each class will meet for four sessions—Tuesday through Friday—each lasting 2.5 hours, for a total of 9.75 hours of class time (slightly shorter on Shabbat.)

You may select ONE morning class and ONE afternoon class, and by selecting a class, you commit to attending all four sessions of that class. Class hopping is not permitted.

When you register for Kallah, you’ll select your classes and/or workshops. Please read through the class and workshop lists thoroughly to make your selections prior to registering for Kallah. Note that each class has a strict maximum number of participants, and once that class is full, you will no longer be able to select that class.

If you have any questions about classes, please reach out to us at kallah@aleph.org.

Morning Classes

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AM101: The Seven Sefirot: Humans Created B’tzelem Elohim (In the Image of G!D)

Rabbi Phyllis Ocean Berman

After “learning” the Seven Sefirot through retreats with loving teacher Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l many years ago, Rabbi Phyllis Berman set out in an Olympic-sized swimming pool to “understand” them in her own body and mind. What unfolded was an unexpected revolution of thought and personal growth that guided her soul throughout each day.

Using meditation, chanting, self-reflection through the day, presentation, and partnered chevruta sharing, we will look at ourselves through the lens of the Sefirot. Throughout this process, we will note where we have too much or too little of these elements that enable us to refine the Creation, in an effort to become more ourselves and more connected to one another and to the Breath of All Life. This lifetime practice of doing, feeling, knowing, and being can provide us with the opportunity to truly transform.

Best for folks who are: no experience required

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

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AM102: The Hidden Ecological Culture at the Heart of Torah

Rabbi Ellen Bernstein

Come explore the ecological implications of several Jewish/biblical ideas including creation, the goodness/beauty of nature, the significance of land/earth, and the importance of interdependence, sustainability, rest/Shabbat, and celebration. We will consider how a biblical land ethic at the heart of Torah could help transform how we think and behave towards the earth. Each day, a special guest will share music (rooted in psalms and other texts) to help bring these ecological texts to life. There will be opportunities for embodied/outdoor exploration/meditation/prayer and/or learning with local guest speakers who work in the field of ecology.

On the first day, we will take a deep dive into the biblical creation stories and discover many ecological secrets woven deep into the text. On the second day, we will focus on the concept of land/earth that underlies the whole Torah and consider the spiritual, ecological, and universal dimensions of the word “eretz/land/earth.” On the third day, we’ll consider how we think about our own relationship to nature and how the way we communicate the environmental message can bring us together or divide us. We’ll also consider the ecological dimensions of the Jewish holidays and what role Jewish ideas and practices can play in helping the larger environmental movement. Our course will culminate on the fourth day with a playful and dramatic reading of the Song of Songs. As we consider the Song’s deep ecological message we will reflect on the question, “Can poetry save the world?”

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), no experience required

CATEGORY: ECO-JUDAISM

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AM103: We Are The Stories We Tell

Renée Brachfeld and Rabbi Mark Novak

Israeli evolutionary historian Yuval Harari teaches that what separates human beings from all other species is the ability to tell stories. Through stories we transmit heritage, share values, and introduce ourselves to each other and the world.

Join Renée and Rabbi Mark for this fun, thought provoking, and community building exploration of folk tales and personal storytelling. Renée & Mark create a fun and safe environment where stories arise naturally. Through games, exercises, and guided practice, there will be opportunity for participants to identify, craft, and share both folk tales and personal stories.

Whether you are new to storytelling or an experienced teller, this class is designed for you. Warning: This class is a lot of fun!

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, no experience required

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

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AM104: Embodied Jewish Wisdom: Humility, Compassion, Equanimity and Trust

Julie Emden

Explore and embody Jewish wisdom teachings on the “middot”: the qualities of Anavah / ענוה (Humility), Rachamim / רחמים (Compassion), Menuchat HaNefesh / מנוחת הנפש (Equanimity), and Bitachon / בטחון (Trust), as a resource for grounding, calm, and wholeness in your life.

Each day this class will begin with the body and move through a variety of somatic practices (Embodied Mindfulness, Conscious Dance, and Iyengar-based Yoga) infused with key teachings from our rich tradition to deepen our understanding of these four middot. With the words of text and Torah as our guides, we will engage in carefully constructed movement sequences, curated soundscapes, free movement, messy art (with newsprint and oil pastels), creative writing, reflection and rest.

There is no ‘perfect pose’ or ‘movement’ for any given middah. Each trait can be invoked in any movement or posture to support our spiritual growth. Our hope is to experience these qualities on all levels of being, so that we have a greater chance of cultivating them for ourselves, in relationship to others, and in service of creating positive change for our world. No previous experience with any movement or art form is necessary and all Hebrew texts presented will be transliterated and translated. Please wear layered clothing in which you can easily move.

Best for folks who are: looking for embodied experiences

CATEGORY: DANCE/MOVEMENT

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AM105: Jewish Selfhood and the (de-)Construction of Race 

Merissa Nathan Gerson

Understanding how to be Jewish in the American racial matrix is confusing. Are you white? Jewish? Both? Neither? How do we navigate both our inner worlds, and racial language in 2023 America? How does Judaism fit into the American racial landscape? Through personal writing, historical and spiritual texts, this class will examine Jewish historical tropes of race and how they have been constructed worldwide over the past 200 years. 

We will then look at modern American racial language and how to make sense of Judaism within this particular moment in the American racial milieu. This class will explore questions such as: Is Jewish a race? Is Jewish an ethnicity? Who are “the Jews?” And what language might we use to speak of Jewish experiences of oppression in a nation based on colorism? This class, engaging writing as a mindful practice, is a deep dive into the historical, emotional, and spiritual toll race and racism takes on all.

You will leave this class with a deeper understanding of your own Jewish identity, your own racial identity, and how to speak up for othersand yourselfin this wild new world.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), looking for embodied experiences

CATEGORY: SOCIAL JUSTICE

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CLASS FULL! AM106: Shema-nic Journeys: On the Mystical Interpretation and Embodied Practice of the Shema (AOP Credit Option Available)

Rabbi Dr. Elliot Ginsburg

Of all the prayers in the Jewish tradition, perhaps none is sunk deeper into our consciousness than the Shema. Often the first prayer we learn as a child (or when we embrace Judaism,) and the last prayer offered on our deathbed, it is a reminder that beneath all the variation, all the distinctions and separations, there is a deeper Unity. In this course, we will explore key interpretations and practices of the Shema. Over four days, we will learn kabbalistic notions of the Shema as map of consciousness (and try out the astonishing meditation of Isaac the Blind.) We will explore the Zohar’s reading of the Shema as a loving unification of the divine energies; and a Lurianic bedtime Shema practice of letting go/forgiveness, a practice that gently helps us prepare for dying.

Our learning will be complemented by hasidic and contemporary neo-hasidic teachings on the Shema as a means to the radical awareness that, at bottom, there is no separated existence: “all is God,” we inter-are, or as Reb Zalman z”l put it, “We’re cells of the living Earth.” By the course’s end, we will have experienced the Shema as a means of Bearing With-ness, and as a call to “deep listening.” Each class session will focus on a few core texts in both the original and English translation, and will include chanting, hevruta/dyadic study and an embodied spiritual practice. This is learning to grow with—and to integrate into your daily practice.

This course will also be offered for AOP credit. AOP students interested in the credit option may click here for detailed information.

This class is currently full. Please plan on selecting another morning class or workshop.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), looking for embodied experiences, Hebrew literacy recommended

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

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AM107: The Call of Love: Reimagining Religion with Love at the Center

Rabbi Shefa Gold

Together, through the sacred words of the Song of Songs, we will explore the territory of love. Part one will include seeking, longing, yearning, arousal, aiming, opening, becoming receptive, calling and hearing the call. Part two will focus on the work of love: meeting the obstacles, facing resistance, healing wounds of the past, opening and deepening our commitment. In part three, we will center ourselves in finding celebration, appreciation, enjoyment, acknowledging beauty and consummation. And finally in part four, we will be unlocking the secrets of love, illuminating the mystery, receiving the gifts, integration and stepping onto the path of love.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

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AM108: haKōl: The Voice is Everything (Using Sound and Voice to Connect Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit with the Allness of Life)

Rebekka Goldsmith and Gayanne Geurin

When we sing with others, we have the potential to be transported out of the mundane and into a much more essential and sacred nature of being alive. This is a place of deep spirit, connection, and healing. Linear time gives way to poetic time and we find ourselves in the experience of something bigger than ourselves. Through this practice, we grow our ability to listen, to be comfortable in the unknown, to receive and respond, to trust inspiration, to allow the shefa (sacred flow) of life to sing through us.

Join Rebekka Goldsmith and Gayanne Geurin to explore the sacred allness of sound. Using the four worlds—Assiyah (earth/physical), Yetzirah (water/emotional), Briyah (air/intellectual) and Atzilut (fire/spiritual)—as a spiritual arc, we will work with Jewish concepts, English and Hebrew chants, simple songs, easy-to-step-into vocal improvisation practices, tefillah (prayer), deep listening, rhythm, harmony, and the natural world to engage our bodies, minds and hearts, and catalyze deeper connection with each other. There will be a mixture of large and small group practices, as well as solo time and space for quiet and integration. Expect this session to be rich, surprising, healing, fun and joyful. All are welcome.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topi, looking for embodied experience, no experience required

CATEGORY: MUSIC

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AM109: 21 Ideas From Kabbalah I Made Sure to Teach My Children

Arthur Kurzweil

Join Arthur Kurzweil as we experience an in-depth exploration of some profound, life changing ideas drawn from Kabbalistic tradition; including the study of Kabbalistic texts and well as passages from the Talmud. We will leave with twenty-one clear notions as well as practical ways to integrate these Kabbalistic lessons into our own lives and the lives of our children. No previous experience with these ideas or texts is necessary.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), no experience required

CATEGORY: TEXT STUDY

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AM110: Davvenen’ Through the Worlds: A Master Class in Making Prayer Come Alive

Rabbi Marcia Prager and Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit

Join an adventure in Jewish prayer leadership modeled after DLTI: the acclaimed two-year training program in the high art of Jewish prayer. Our class will become a living laboratory for you to explore the deep structure of prayer and a range of leadership styles that that tap the potential of your own personal presence. Learn to use voice, body and gesture with comfort, to let melody create mood, and to shape phrasing so that your teaching also becomes prayer. Come deepen your prayer experience as we engage with the practice of Jewish communal prayer to activate the body, touch the heart, engage the mind and nourish spiritual growth. This class welcomes experienced practitioners as well as “beginners,” including DLTI grads who want to dip back in!

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: LITURGY

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AM111: In Search of Renewal: Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s Life & Work

Rabbi Or Rose

How did Reb Zalman (1924-2014) become a HaBaD-Lubavitch hasid? Why did he regard the great African American preacher and pastor, Rev. Howard Thurman, as a rebbe? How did his friendship with Catholic monks and nuns—including the renowned writer and activist Thomas Merton—influence his vision of the original B’nai Or community? When did Reb Zalman integrate feminist and ecological teachings into his evolving vision of contemporary Jewish life? Join us as we explore the singular—sometimes jagged—journey of our beloved teacher from Europe to North America and from Hasidism to the New Age. Our sessions will include a combination of biographical, historical, and textual learning, along with meditation and song. As we delve into Reb Zalman’s life and thought, we will also examine some of the “loose ends” of his project—theoretical and practical—in an effort to honor his legacy of renewal and continue to dance on the “growing edge.”

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), no experience required

CATEGORY: TEXT STUDY

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AM112: Me, Myself, and God: Non-Dual Practices for Personal & Collective Liberation Through Jewish Meditation

Rabbi Jeff Roth, D.Min. and Rebecca Schisler

In this introductory class in contemporary Jewish meditation practices, we will explore how paying careful, awakened, loving attention moment by moment to present sensory experience can be the stepping stone to directly discovering a different way to perceive life, the world, and our place in it. This is a profoundly simple and clear way to directly and personally realizing the truth behind the concept that “everything is God and nothing but God,” which is the Baal Shem Tov’s core teaching and the theological basis of Hassidism. The practice also cultivates kindness and compassion. The class will consist of some didactic material and time to practice in silence. These practices help open the heart leading to wisdom and compassion and ultimately result in manifesting kindness in day to day life. For those interested, Rebecca and Jeff will be leading contemplative prayer practice before breakfast that will augment the teachings in the classes.

Best for folks who are: no experience required

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

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AM113: For the Love of Gaia: Expressive Arts, Play and Ritual Deepen Our Connection to Our Living Planet

Rabbi Eva Sax-Bolder and Rabbinic Pastor/Mashpi’ah Ruchanit Sandra Wortzel

How can we add loving and creative intention to our awareness and care for our planet, Gaia? Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi z”l wrote, “We humans have the potential to be the global consciousness of a living planet, with every individual conscious cell and every group a contributing organ of… that vast living being… We can become Gaia’s most flexible digits for healing Herself where she hurts.”

In this class, we will spend the week exploring our relationship to the Earth/Gaia through a variety of expressive arts modalities to include art making, journaling, forest bathing, meditation, poetry, movement and song; culminating in communal artistic rituals. Each session will include time in contemplative and playful experiences—both indoors and in nature—to make a heart connection with each other and the world around us.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: ART

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AM114: Embodying Jewish Liberation — Spiritual Jewish Embodiment & Cultural Somatics for Countering Oppression

Yoshi Silverstein and Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife

Liberation is not just an historical event or an abstract concept but a way of being that we practice with our entire bodies and souls in order to counter oppression and experience the fractal microcosm of a fully liberated world to come. In this class, we’ll strengthen our understanding of the embodied dynamics at play in the context of marginalization and identity, and their impacts on interpersonal relations in and around Jewish communal environments. We’ll explore the role of the nervous system in how we respond to what’s happening around us; how societal messaging and oppressive ideologies can hijack our nervous system responses—with a particular focus on “embodied identities,” or those with particularly strong physical aspects of their expression such as gender and racialized identity—and what to do about that.

We’ll then explore embodied Jewish practices and cultural somatics in the realms of movement, breathwork, sensory experience, stillness and meditation, song and music, ritual, and nature connection that serve both to support us in maintaining our sense of sacred center and to model liberation in our actions, behaviors, and relationships. Based in deep Jewish wisdom, these practices give both the space for spiritual expression and exploration alongside practical tools and skills that enable us to appropriately respond to a variety of challenging situations with awareness and discernment.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

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AM115: Holy Drumming: Drumming While People are Praying

Akiva Wharton (Akiva the Believer)

How do you play your drum? How do you play your drum during services? Learn from Akiva the Believer, a popular, joyful master drummer. He will begin by showing you the basics of getting sounds from whatever drum you bring or borrow.

This class will focus on what rhythms work with which prayers, deepening your own kavannah, when NOT to play, listening, chanting and drumming together. Participants will learn about soloing, Middle Eastern rhythms, Reggae, and drumming as a spiritual practice. Other instruments we will cover include other percussion instruments: shakers, tambourine, and electronic drums for ecstatic dancing, hip hop etc. Join us in this opportunity to drum with other drummers, find your own authentic beat, and even design your own prayers using the energy of drum and voice.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: MUSIC

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Afternoon Classes

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PM201: The Kaddish: Writing Four Worlds in One Prayer

Trisha Arlin

Yitgadal v’Yitkadash… These opening words of Kaddish begin a journey into realms of possibility. Come explore in conversation, meditation, and writing the “Four Worlds” of Kaddish as embodied in four different versions of the Kaddish: Hatzi Kaddish, Kaddish D’Rabbinan, Kaddish Shaleim and the Mourner’s Kaddish. We will use these to inspire writing new personal prayers or poetry on holy separation, learning and study, G-d’s Name(s), and mourning.

This is a class in which to write creatively, using writing prompts that may occasionally be used as guided meditations, and to share your writing should you wish.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic; no experience required

CATEGORY: LITURGY

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CLASS FULL! PM202: Maggidut: Becoming an Inspirational Storyteller

Maggid Jim Brulé

Maggidut is the art of inspirational, spiritual storytelling. Maggid Jim Brulé will guide us on this spiritual and practical journey as we develop an understanding of how stories—when told with an open heart—can heal wounds, inspire the spirit, and transform lives. Drawing from his two-year curriculum for maggidut, this class will integrate oral storytelling, healing, Jewish folklore, and meditation in a highly interactive group process.

Telling stories in this way requires openness and intentionality in all four worlds. We will explore the neuroscience of telling and receiving these stories, and the associated physical storytelling techniques; we will appreciate and experience the emotional impact of encountering these stories; our minds will be challenged to consider alternate meanings of the same story; and our spirits will be lifted as we invite the Divine to live in these encounters.

This class is currently full. Please plan on selecting another afternoon class or workshop.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics)

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

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PM203: Reading Torah’s Animals in a Time of Climate Crisis (AOP Credit Option Available)

Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan

What can Torah’s animals teach us in a time of climate crisis? Biblical authors understood how each species lives on the land. In their stories, each animal brings a unique earth-based wisdom teaching. Locusts point out social and ecological imbalances. Sheep help us understand sustainable local food systems. Predatory lions show us when to stop hunting for more. In this class, we will look closely at the texts of animal stories through the lenses of ecological concern. New understandings of traditional Jewish wisdom will emerge as we draw on midrash, kabbalah, biology, and Indigenous wisdom. Join us as we will discuss, imagine, sing, write, and (weather permitting) visit the outdoors.

This course will also be offered for AOP credit. AOP students interested in the credit option may click here for detailed information.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic

CATEGORY: ECO-JUDAISM

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PM204: Unity, Separation & Transcendence: Psychedelics in Contemporary Jewish Life

Rabbi Dan Goldblatt and Zoë Goldblatt

The last few years have seen an extraordinary blossoming of a renewed appreciation of the power of psychedelics as sacred healing medicines. Studies at respected universities have explored the use of psychedelics in treating depression, grief, PTSD, and end-of-life transitions. Many contemporary scholars posit connections between mystical traditions and psychedelics in a wide range of religious traditions including Judaism. Deeply revered religious leaders including Reb Zalman, z”l, believed that psychedelics, if carefully curated for well-screened individuals, could be used to occasion primary religious experience.

In this class we will explore relevant Jewish texts, and the developing use of mind-expanding sacred medicines to expose dualistic illusions that create separations between oneself, one another and the divine. In transcendence beyond the ego, the identity which is largely made up of cultural and social constructs and defenses – such as notions of patriarchy, gender roles and feelings of social alienation – one can experience: Echad – Oneness; Ahavah – Unconditional Love; Shlemut – Wholeness; and Yichud – Unity with the Divine. Come delve into these insights and what they can mean for the contemporary power and practice of Judaism. We will look at some of the Jewish healing practices that are better enabling people to walk paths of grieving, deepening of intimacy, prayer and ritual, and a host of sacred transitions including end of life work.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), no experience required

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

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PM205: Women as Guardians of Culture: Sacred Water, Sacred Blood | An Embodied, Experiential Exploration of Menarche, Menstruation, Menopause, and Mikvah Rituals in an Intergenerational Red Tent

Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn, Ph.D. and Kohenet Annie Matan

Join us in the Red Tent for an experiential exploration of women’s ancient menstrual rites and co-creation of contemporary blessings and rituals. The work we do together is designed to be incorporated into community and home life long after the Kallah ends. Over the four days, we will journey through the Kabbalistic four worlds of Atzilut – Spirit, Briyah – Intellect, Yetzirah – Emotion, and Asiyah – Physical. Each day will be framed with a ritualized entry into and exit from our sacred space, accompanied by drumming and song.

Guided meditations, journaling, slides and interactive discussion will prepare us to write blessings for ourselves and each other during the first two days. The balance of the class will include the collaborative creation of a ritual, inspired by participants sharing their menstrual stories during the third and fourth days. Participants are encouraged to bring a drum or rattle, though it is by no means required! This class is for women only, and is trans-inclusive.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

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PM206: Kirtan Chant as Connective Prayer

Rabbi Andrew Hahn, Ph.D. (Kirtan Rabbi) and Shoshana Jedwab

Hebrew Kirtan—inspired by a form of devotional prayer developed in India—is continual call-and-response, participatory chant where short, sacred phrases from the Jewish tradition are treated as powerful, universal meditations. It is at once contemplative, ecstatic, and simply fun. During the pandemic, we discovered that it is nearly impossible to chant kirtan together on Zoom: The practice requires too much real togetherness and physical presence; in short, deep, personal connection.

In this four-day class, we will explore through chanting, breath exercises, voice work, rhythm and bodily movement avenues of (re-)connection in the post-Zoom era. The goal will be, together, to create a leaderless sound bath of prayer and easy vibrational meditation, utilizing kirtan and other chant modalities. Kirtan Rabbi and Shoshana Jedwab will be joined by vocal expert and prayer leader Renee Finkelstein. No knowledge of Hebrew is required to benefit fully from this class—just an eagerness to experiment and join. All are welcome to join a community-wide evening kirtan concert.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: MUSIC

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CLASS FULL! PM207: The Architecture of Being: Sefer Yetzirah and the Mysticism of the Here and Now

Rabbi Jill Hammer

Sefer Yetzirah is an ancient and foundational work of Jewish mysticism. This brief and cryptic book imagines Hebrew letters as the building blocks of the universe, and focuses our attention on the cosmic components of space, time, and being, and the elements of air, fire, and water. The book’s mysterious, poetic passages portray the entire world as both a temple and an artist’s workshop, and give us tools to contemplate, and even join with, the Divine creative process. The mysticism of Sefer Yetzirah is rooted in the physical world and in the underlying oneness of creation.

We will be reading sections from the book closely in order to delve into the ideas and practices of Sefer Yetzirah. We will also be drawing on the text’s vibrant images to engage in visioning practice. The course is based on Jill Hammer’s book, Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah. Translation will be provided; Hebrew literacy is not required.

This class is currently full. Please plan on selecting another afternoon class or workshop.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic, looking for embodied experiences

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

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PM208: B’Chol Nafshecha – B’Chol M’odecha/With All Your Breath – With All You Have In You: A Master Class in Jewish Spiritual Singing

Hazzan Jack Kessler

We were all born to sing! Come explore how you can allow your voice and musical creativity to tap your inner sources of power and validation. This master class blends fun group vocal exercises, chants and niggunim with individualized vocal coaching. Everyone from advanced singers to beginners who wish to lead song and prayer with greater clarity can benefit and grow as we travel into the blend of voice and melody that combine in the art of Jewish song and prayer. This class welcomes anyone looking for a deep dive into the creative realm of voice, song and the heritage of Jewish prayer with new friends and a loving master teacher.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: MUSIC

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PM209: Qi Torah: Embodied Practices for Thriving in These Times

Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein and Moon Smith

Torah teaches us alignment in all four worlds—body, emotion, intellect, and spirit. Qigong (energy cultivation), an ancient healing practice from China, also aligns us in the four worlds. In this class, we will connect these two wisdom traditions in a gentle, yet powerful mindful movement practice that you will be able to carry into your life, whether alone, with a partner, or in community. Words of Torah will inform our movements and our movements will deepen our understanding of Torah.

The fast of the 17th of Tammuz, which will be the 3rd day of class, is a golden opportunity to practice Qi Torah with the intention of honoring our pain for the world, transforming our grief into compassion for ourselves and others. The 17th of Tammuz marks the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem, leading to the destruction of the Temple, centuries of exile, and the renewal of Judaism. Qi Torah will support our renewal in the four worlds, growing our strength, clarity, courage, and inner peace.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: DANCE/MOVEMENT

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PM210: Age-ing to Sage-ing: Wisdom of the Heart – A Vision for Inner and Outer Healing

Sage-ing Vatika Lucinda Kurtz and Sage-ing Vatik Dr. Oran Hesterman

This inspiring program for spiritual growth as Sages offers initiation into the inner and outer transformations of consciousness that enables us to claim the wisdom of our maturing lives and harvest the fruits of our life experience. Building on the teachings of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l in his groundbreaking book, Age-ing to Sage-ing, our transformative Sage-ing tools are rooted in Jewish practices as well as the wisdom of other traditions and contemplative mind sciences. These practices help each one of us feel empowered to use our talents to benefit the next generation, the global community, and the earth.

Join us in this intergenerational workshop as we offer presentations intertwined with journal writing exercises, study texts, share stories, chant, and experience interactive and individual meditations. These methods, which draw on exploration of all Four Worlds, enables our class to become an interconnected, supportive community and enables students to take this work back to their own communities.

We’ll learn how to transform what appear as obstacles into new pathways and channels for shefa, holy creative energy, and offer it as a legacy for future generations.

This workshop fulfills the required Part One of the Yerusha Sage-ing® Legacy Program.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

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PM211: G-d, Beloved, HaShem, I Don’t Know: An Embodied Exploration of Our Relationship to the Divine

Dr. Julie Leavitt

I heard that there were 72 names of G-d. Then I heard there were 126. Then I saw there was no dash in God. Then I didn’t know anymore.

Let us “not know” together. At least, we can explore what feels true in our embodied experience. We will move, write, draw, walk in nature, talk, and play individually, in companioned conversations, and community. Together we can embody the “dash” we so often see between G and d, the “not knowing,” and some questions we may not know that we had. No one has to ‘believe’ in anything. We will gather to wonder and to listen for Presence, or perhaps find something new in the sacred space within our bodies.

Best for folks who are: looking for embodied experiences

CATEGORY: DANCE/MOVEMENT

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PM212: This class has been cancelled.

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CLASS FULL! PM213: Hands-On Papercutting Workshop: Cultivating Connections Through Hiddur Mitzvah

Diane Palley

The precious art form of paper cutting—often called “visual midrash”—was almost lost in the Holocaust. Only a hundred papercuts were preserved, and only a handful of papercut artists survived. Before the war, papercuts were integrated into Jewish communities with special designs created for holidays, life cycle events, and other communal needs. Diane Palley was mentored by teachers who learned from these precious few surviving papercutters.

In this class you will find a special mitzvah, prayer, verse, phrase, or word, and make some new friends as we share our choices with each other. You will also create visual images to enhance your texts and then learn how to cut paper. This is an exquisite art form and meditative practice, a form of “hiddur mitzvah,” through which we enhance each mitzvah in beauty. Some students report a kind of quiet bliss while cutting paper, opening a door to new sources of inspiration. You’ll achieve a completed small papercut or mezuzah ready for framing, and can bring your new skills home to teach this art form so full of healing, connection and beauty.

This class is currently full. Please plan on selecting another afternoon class or workshop.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: ART

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PM214: From Ancient Ancestors to Spirit Guides and Reincarnating Souls: Jewish Afterlife Traditions Throughout the Ages

Rabbinic Pastor Simcha Raphael, Ph.D.

Join Rabbinic Pastor Simcha Raphael, Ph.D. for an exploration of Jewish afterlife texts spanning three millennia of history. As travelers through time, we shall enter the worlds of Torah, Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, and Hasidic tales—investigating diverse ways Jews have understood the enigmatic mystery of death and the world beyond.

Searching for spiritual renewal of traditional teachings, we shall use these texts for reflection and discussion discovering practical guidelines for responding to the human encounter with death—personally, and in our families and communities.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), no experience required

CATEGORY: TEXT STUDY

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PM215: Bringing Our Own Lives Into Torah, Haftarah, and Festival

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Ph.D.

Join master teacher Rabbi Arthur Waskow in exploring his innovative way of guiding Torah study which links our personal and societal life experiences with a Torah passage addressing a similar problem. Explore his equally innovative approach to living each Jewish festival, which likewise becomes not only about the past, but a immediately relevant “actifest”: an activist festival that seeks to transform the future of society toward Jewish values of eco and social justice.

Our “life-in-Torah process” begins each class, followed by an exploration of “actifest,” to create a lively discussion drawing on our own life experiences as well as the accompanying daily Torah passage. The course will concentrate on four festivals: Fourth of July, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, and Pesach. The first festival—actually on the day of July 4—will be focused on the Torah roots of the Declaration of Independence found in the Torah passage called Perek haMelekh—limits on powers of the king. While exploring Yom Kippur, we may determine that an “actifest” might become a demonstration at Congressional home-district offices for Federal laws to end hunger or homelessness in America. Small groups of students will work together to plan an “actifest” for the festival being explored that day and bring those ideas home to inspire Torah and Festival-based activism.

Best for folks who are: looking for a deep dive into the topic, sparking conversation (edgy topics), looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: SOCIAL JUSTICE

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Cultivating Connections