Our 2024 OHALAH Conference Presenters and Workshops
Handouts for workshops, davvenen or plenaries can be accessed here.
Download or Print Schedule here.
HB'nei Kodesh - Raising Children & Working as Clergy with Rabbi Elyssa Austerklein
Midrash Tanchuma teaches that God would not give the Torah to the People of Israel until we offered our children as guarantors. No doubt the Jewish tradition places a high value on our children and our responsibility to protect them. As clergy, we are in a unique position with regard to our children. In pulpits, they are sometimes held to different standards. How does being a clergyperson influence how we parent? How does being a parent inform our ministry? We will explore through text, chevrutah, guided writing, and group discussion. This session is especially for people who have children ages baby-11 years old.
Ethics Plenary: Holy Communication with Rabbi Karyn Berger, Rabbi Ken Rosenstein and Rabbi T'mimah Ickovits
Presentation Part 1, Presentation Part 2
An Intimate Workshop for Clergy Couples Only: The joys and complexities of working together at home and in clerical roles with Rabbi Phyllis Berman and Rabbi Andi Kuti
How do you navigate the inevitable storm in a cup(le) to make it feel like dancing in the rain? What have you cultivated as a strength in working together at home and at work? What are your strategies and guiding lights to make this coupling work, bringing out the best of each of you and the communities/projects you work with? How do you juggle, navigate, celebrate? How do you support one another? How do you disagree? How do you manage conflict at the workplace and/or at home? What works really well for the two of you? Come share, be supported, and offer support whether your life & work partner is with you at OHALAH or at this breakfast session or not.
Spirit & Resilience: A Personal Journey of the Survival of The Abuyadaya Jews of Uganda with Rabbi Leila Gal Berner
Last August, Reb Leila Gal Berner visited in Namutumba, Uganda with the Abayuda community, which the non-profit organization Ezra Uganda Assistance supports. It is a faith-filled, spiritual community that faces challenges of hunger, disease and abject poverty. Yet the people are resilient, God-centered and in love with the customs, practices and traditions of Judaism. Reb Leila will share her experiences and offer a rich slide presentation of the people of Namutumba.
Trop-informed Torah Declamation with Hazzan Diana Brewer
In this session, we will look at some of the core structures of cantillation, and start learning how to apply it for meaningful declamation of the sacred texts of TaNaKh. This workshop is appropriate for anyone who is just getting started with cantillation, including singers and non-singers.
Handouts (5): Trop Basics, Trop Shapes, Practice Pesukim, Conjunctives and Disjunctives, Chart of Te-amim w Meanings and Functions
Co-Convening our Shalshelot Neshamot: An Experience of Deep Ecumenism with Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone with Rabbi Dr. Chava Bahle
Wisdom comes from many sources. The practice of engaging our shalshelet neshamot, the lineage of souls from which we descended into this world, invites understanding from the many teachers, sources and traditions that have touched our lives. To prepare we will share a meditative ablution practice. (Please bring a washcloth/hand towel.) Through the teaching and stories of our Rebbe (R. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z''l) and a guided journey, we will re-engage our shalshelot neshamot to listen for insight, guidance and the Torah of the moment. Following the meditation, we’ll share our wisdom to expand the G!d field. By doing this practice together, we will find not only personal gems but collective knowledge that transcends time and space. Participants will leave with a powerful practice they can repeat anytime they desire the loving resonance of their teachers across the ages. Please bring a journal and a photo or photos of your major teacher/s for a co-created altar for this workshop.
Money: Torah’s Competing Theories with Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan
We work in a time of increasing economic inequality. The Tanakh is filled with resources for understanding how to respond. It presents and comments on feudalism, imperial colonialism, social democracy, and more. We can find these observations in story, prophecy, and law codes, woven throughout Torah, prophets, historical books, and wisdom literature. Together, we will inquire into selected texts. We’ll use different interpretive techniques. And we’ll talk about how the ideas can help us as we’re called to teach, comfort, support, or take action.
Back to the Future: Reexamining the Emergence of Chavurat Shalom for Perspective on the Future of Jewish Renewal with Rabbi Jeff Foust
This Back to the Future Session will feature highlights from my personal participation and original research on the founding and emergence of Chavurat Shalom in 1968, and the beginning of contemporary efforts at Jewish renewal. The research was part of my undergraduate honors thesis at Brandeis and a master's thesis at Oberlin. I did extensive oral interviews with amazing quotes from Zalman, Art Green, Everett Gendler, and others. After sharing some of this material, we'll open up to a four worlds sharing in the group on where there are lines of continuity and where new innovation is needed.
The Barefoot Sofer: Sacred Craft of Emergency Torah with Sofer Kevin Hale
Once upon time, most communities had local scribes who wrote torah, tefillin, mezuzot and other sacred documents, and also maintained community's existing torah scrolls to keep them kosher and fit for public use. We dream of the day when professional scribes as well as citizen-scribes are writing torah all across the Jewish landscape. Until then, the pressing need, especially far from Israel a handful of large cities outside Israel, is to restore the capacity of a local community to determine the condition of a scroll and whether (and why) a scroll is pasul or still kosher, and to perform essential repairs in order to keep on reading from a kosher scroll. Some scrolls need minor repairs, some major and beyond the scope of a "barefoot" sofer, and some are beyond repair. But frequently, sewing a seam, patching a tear or rewriting a letter can return a scroll to kosher service. This class will be an overview of and introduction to the craft and halachah involved with applying such first aide.
A Meditative Alef-Bet Journey with Rabbinic Student Elizheva Hurvich
In this session, you will be invited to "lean in" to the Alef-Bet. Using sound and guided visual meditations, drawing on the Sefer Yetzirah and Kabbalah, we will balance our nervous systems, draw on the abundant shefa of shamayim to reignite our own inner flames. Wear comfy clothes and bring a journal, if you'd like.
While My Guitar Gently Davens with Hazzan Steve Klaper
Since its appearance in the late 1960s, the use of the guitar in Jewish worship has become fairly widespread across all denominations outside of Orthodox. There is something in the simplicity, versatility and portability of small stringed instruments that sometimes feels more personal than choirs and less imposing than keyboards. Our deepest worship experiences can be enhanced by simply letting the guitar daven — not a singalong instrument, but another voice, another member of the minyan, swaying with the same emotions as the rest of the kahal. It’s a different way of thinking about your instrument, a means of subtly affecting the energy in the room. This workshop is open to anyone but will be most useful for experienced worship leaders who are guitarists at the intermediate level and above.
Your Eyes Shall See Your Teachers: Exploring Kaddish d'Rabbanan- Rabbi Sherril Gilbert w/ Rabbi Schachar Orenstein, Rabbi Andrea D. Lobel
“Your eyes shall see your teachers.” (Isaiah 30:20) Join us on an exploratory journey into the heart of the Kaddish d’Rabbanan/Rabbis’ Kaddish, a gratitude prayer/recitation. In this workshop, we’ll dive into the text of this earliest Kaddish, exploring its history, significance, and variations. We’ll reflect on and share stories of our most beloved and significant teachers and mentors and their impact on our formative journeys. And we’ll each have a hands-on opportunity to create a digital collage incorporating images of our most influential guides. These collages will be individual, unique expressions of gratitude, appreciation, and admiration. Please bring your laptop or tablet.
Presentation: kaddish d’rabbanan,
What does The Niggun of Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev- say to us? with Rabbi and Spiritual Director Chaya Gusfield
As a rabbi in the lineage of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (LYB), learning his niggun deepened my understanding of his Torah. I will share the journey I had connecting with LYB through studying his life and Torah with Rabbi Sue Morningstar. We will learn and experience his niggun in an interactive session reflecting on our experience through writing and sharing with each other as we spiritually accompany one another. (The niggun will be sung at different times throughout, with different approaches, etc.) One goal of the workshop is to experience devotional listening to a rebbe's niggun as one portal to connect with them. R. Morningstar plans to join us on Zoom.
Handouts (2): Source Sheet, A Dudele: A You Song!
Innovating Shabbat- Rabbi Evan Krame w/ Rabbi Jennifer Singer
Renewal communities offer an evolving approach to Shabbat - we put gates into fences, and move into open fields of Shabbat observance. With an exploration of texts and quotes from Reb Zalman, Art Green, and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, we can explore balancing the prescriptive and the descriptive approaches to Shabbat. Is our Shabbat observance balanced between observance and remembering the reason for Shabbat? And what do we and future generations need to create a Shabbat that nourishes their souls?
Jewish Guide to Caring for the Caregiver with Rabbi Deni Deutsch Marshall
Caring for a loved one who is ill, disabled or dying is a mitzvah and the one who provides the caregiving also needs self-care. Rabbi Deni Marshall interviewed a number of Jewish caregivers from a Four Worlds perspective. In this workshop, Deni will share how Jewish practices such as Mussar, rituals, readings, and prayer can assist all of us, whether we are currently caring for a spouse, parent or child, or preparing ourselves for a time that will likely come. The workshop will also touch on what Rabbis and their communities can do to help the caregivers.
Handout (1): Outline
Falafel Kabbalah with Rabbi Rueben Modek
Has falafel influenced how we approach Kabbalah? The creation of Israel was a spiritual as well as political paradigm shift. Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag (1885-1954), Ba’al HaSulam, courageously dedicated his life to updating Kabbalah for 20th-century Israel. Rabbah Saphir Noiman, a 21st-century scholar of Ba’al HaSulam, and an Israeli Rebbe, is charting a new path for Avodah, spiritual development. Her approach is uniquely rooted in the soil and soul of modern Israel. We will survey texts of Ashlag and teachings of Noiman about renewal for a taste of a falafel-ball Kabbalah, fresh, spicy, and deeply nourishing.
Refining Ourselves as Instruments for Blessings Baal Bracha- Chaplain, Maggid Leon Olenick w/ Baal Bracha Barry Barken
Everything in the universe stems from G-d’s blessings. From ancient days as the Tzelem of Elohim, we transmit our blessings. At one time or another, each of us has given over our blessings and in doing so we are instruments for the divine. In our session, participants will share stories of our blessings. We will describe a process of refining ourselves as instruments for the Divine to play Her blessings through us, and together we will work on the act of giving blessings. There is a blessing boomerang that comes back to us enriching our lives with open hearts and love.
The Song of Moshe and Miriam- Hazzan Jalda Rebling
We all know the song of Moshe shirat hayam as a great beautiful poem. Our rabbis call it in BT Pessachim 117a the first Hallel. The scholar Nissim Amzallag found an interesting structure of this wonderful T´hilla. We will sing the song of Moshe and Miriam and we will renew the old Shir, a new piece on the shalshelet hazahav in the ancient tradition of the levi´im and levi´iot.
Handouts (3): The Song at the Sea, Shirat Hayam, Shirat Hayam Motifs
Clergy and the Ethics of Power with Rabbi Charna Rosenholtz
The role of spiritual leadership and community health is a complicated relationship that must demonstrate ethical behavior, healthy boundaries, and clear communication. Many of these dynamics are delineated within our sacred texts and biblical stories. In our roles as rabbis, cantors, and pastors we can draw on these Torah stories to clarify both ethical guidance and human behaviors that impede a healthy community.
Handouts (5) : RUPI More Information, Role Responsibilities Assessment, Up and Down Power Differences, 5 Types of Power, Power Shadow Quiz
Extending the Chain of Tradition via Writing as Personal Expression with Rabbi Ken Rosenstein w/ members of the OHALAH Writers' Circle who are rabbis and cantors
Judaism has an inbuilt chain of transmission via Torah, midrash, Talmud, commentaries which continue to this day. Writers have their chain of tradition exemplified via ancestral lineage, culture, spiritual tradition, place of upbringing, and interests of their unique selves. Several years ago the OHALAH Writers' Circle was formed. Its members share their writings monthly for feedback. Our Circle is offering this workshop which is open to all guests and attendees who are interested in our group process and those who are interested in possibly joining our Circle. Come join us as these two chains converge at our workshop!
Handout (1): Writing Group Prayer
Rethinking Hilchot Lashon Hara for the #MeToo era with Rabbi Jeremy Sher
The Chofetz Chaim had pure intentions, to prevent the spread of harmful gossip in the Jewish community. However, there are times when silence is more harmful than speech, especially when it comes to sexual or financial abuse by the powerful against the less powerful. Clergy especially have used hilchot lashon hara to silence survivors, protect and support offenders, perpetuate injustice and crime, and even to enable further crimes. Meanwhile, in a chilling hypocrisy, survivors have found themselves denounced and shunned, sometimes even forced to leave their communities.
If we approach the question with the conviction that offenders who abuse trust must face serious consequences, both to deter future similar offenses and because power with impunity is morally repugnant to us, and with the conviction that survivors are to be supported, not further shamed, what value do hilchot lashon hara have for our #MeToo era? Can the edifice of hilchot lashon hara be salvaged to accomplish worthwhile goals while not becoming an instrument of abuse?
Handout (1): Can Hilchot Lashon Hara Be Salvaged?
Tikkun Olam Sharing Circle with Rabbi Jeremy Sher
Gather with us informally to share our tikkun olam projects and experiences. It's always inspiring to hear what each other is doing, and there may be ways we can collaborate. Join this relaxed, fun session, and let us know what you're working on!
Integral Halakah Panel: We Honour Our Ba’al Tikkun/Master of Repair, Rabbi Daniel Siegel, for His 50 Years of Sacred Service
Reb Zalman ztz”l ordained 26 year old Daniel Siegel as his first Musmach in January 1974. He transmitted this new and ancient lineage at a private ceremony in the basement of Rabbi Neal and Carol Rose in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since then, Rabbi Daniel has devoted his life’s work to making Jewish Renewal a reality by building community and empowering others through relevant Torah, compassionate counsel, soulful prayer, and visionary courage. Join us as we honor Rabbi Daniel and learn with him, Rabbi Hanna Tiferet, and others in a joy-filled experience, informed by essential teachings that are needed for this time.
Handout
Tikkun Olam Plenary: Healing & Innovating in Israel/Palestine by the Tikkun Olam Committee
Join us in grieving, healing, and redoubling our commitment to Israel/Palestine at a critical moment in history when our voices are needed. We will answer the call of our Israeli colleagues, not to sit idle but to use our voices to bring about Israel/Palestine that will be a safe and free homeland for us and for the Palestinian people.
Handout
Reshape American Jewry as a Spiritually Rooted, Liturgically Flowering Activist Movement, enriching the festival cycle with Actifests for Eco/Social Justice with Rabbi Arthur Waskow
This moment in history may define for the world what / who Jews and Judaism are: a grabby and hyperviolent Yaakov facing and bolstering a hyperviolent Esau, or the Yisrael he strove to become, a Godwrestler ready to encourage a peaceful Esau with a peaceful response and to pursue the festival cycle with public activism as part of the festival.
Handout (2): Godwrestler: Person, Tribe, State?, Actifests
SpeakChorus Torah Flash Mob Community Midrash- Rabbi Melissa Wenig w/ Hazzan Abbe Lyons
What do you get when you mix poetry, flash mob, bible, midrash, humor, and a little singing thrown in for good measure? SpeakChorus Torah! Session 1 Using Torah circles, Contemplative Torah, writing exercises, niggunim, discussion and movement, we will unpack, explore and connect to a Torah text. This will generate the words for our script. Everyone welcome! Session 2 Learn the process as we craft and practice our holy sound-sculpture of story, poetry, and melody. Our voices will weave in and out, separately and together. We will be preparing to present it that evening at the Cabaret. Come prepared to be part of the SpeakChorus!
Handout
Download or Print Schedule here.
HB'nei Kodesh - Raising Children & Working as Clergy with Rabbi Elyssa Austerklein
Midrash Tanchuma teaches that God would not give the Torah to the People of Israel until we offered our children as guarantors. No doubt the Jewish tradition places a high value on our children and our responsibility to protect them. As clergy, we are in a unique position with regard to our children. In pulpits, they are sometimes held to different standards. How does being a clergyperson influence how we parent? How does being a parent inform our ministry? We will explore through text, chevrutah, guided writing, and group discussion. This session is especially for people who have children ages baby-11 years old.
Ethics Plenary: Holy Communication with Rabbi Karyn Berger, Rabbi Ken Rosenstein and Rabbi T'mimah Ickovits
Presentation Part 1, Presentation Part 2
An Intimate Workshop for Clergy Couples Only: The joys and complexities of working together at home and in clerical roles with Rabbi Phyllis Berman and Rabbi Andi Kuti
How do you navigate the inevitable storm in a cup(le) to make it feel like dancing in the rain? What have you cultivated as a strength in working together at home and at work? What are your strategies and guiding lights to make this coupling work, bringing out the best of each of you and the communities/projects you work with? How do you juggle, navigate, celebrate? How do you support one another? How do you disagree? How do you manage conflict at the workplace and/or at home? What works really well for the two of you? Come share, be supported, and offer support whether your life & work partner is with you at OHALAH or at this breakfast session or not.
Spirit & Resilience: A Personal Journey of the Survival of The Abuyadaya Jews of Uganda with Rabbi Leila Gal Berner
Last August, Reb Leila Gal Berner visited in Namutumba, Uganda with the Abayuda community, which the non-profit organization Ezra Uganda Assistance supports. It is a faith-filled, spiritual community that faces challenges of hunger, disease and abject poverty. Yet the people are resilient, God-centered and in love with the customs, practices and traditions of Judaism. Reb Leila will share her experiences and offer a rich slide presentation of the people of Namutumba.
Trop-informed Torah Declamation with Hazzan Diana Brewer
In this session, we will look at some of the core structures of cantillation, and start learning how to apply it for meaningful declamation of the sacred texts of TaNaKh. This workshop is appropriate for anyone who is just getting started with cantillation, including singers and non-singers.
Handouts (5): Trop Basics, Trop Shapes, Practice Pesukim, Conjunctives and Disjunctives, Chart of Te-amim w Meanings and Functions
Co-Convening our Shalshelot Neshamot: An Experience of Deep Ecumenism with Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone with Rabbi Dr. Chava Bahle
Wisdom comes from many sources. The practice of engaging our shalshelet neshamot, the lineage of souls from which we descended into this world, invites understanding from the many teachers, sources and traditions that have touched our lives. To prepare we will share a meditative ablution practice. (Please bring a washcloth/hand towel.) Through the teaching and stories of our Rebbe (R. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z''l) and a guided journey, we will re-engage our shalshelot neshamot to listen for insight, guidance and the Torah of the moment. Following the meditation, we’ll share our wisdom to expand the G!d field. By doing this practice together, we will find not only personal gems but collective knowledge that transcends time and space. Participants will leave with a powerful practice they can repeat anytime they desire the loving resonance of their teachers across the ages. Please bring a journal and a photo or photos of your major teacher/s for a co-created altar for this workshop.
Money: Torah’s Competing Theories with Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan
We work in a time of increasing economic inequality. The Tanakh is filled with resources for understanding how to respond. It presents and comments on feudalism, imperial colonialism, social democracy, and more. We can find these observations in story, prophecy, and law codes, woven throughout Torah, prophets, historical books, and wisdom literature. Together, we will inquire into selected texts. We’ll use different interpretive techniques. And we’ll talk about how the ideas can help us as we’re called to teach, comfort, support, or take action.
Back to the Future: Reexamining the Emergence of Chavurat Shalom for Perspective on the Future of Jewish Renewal with Rabbi Jeff Foust
This Back to the Future Session will feature highlights from my personal participation and original research on the founding and emergence of Chavurat Shalom in 1968, and the beginning of contemporary efforts at Jewish renewal. The research was part of my undergraduate honors thesis at Brandeis and a master's thesis at Oberlin. I did extensive oral interviews with amazing quotes from Zalman, Art Green, Everett Gendler, and others. After sharing some of this material, we'll open up to a four worlds sharing in the group on where there are lines of continuity and where new innovation is needed.
The Barefoot Sofer: Sacred Craft of Emergency Torah with Sofer Kevin Hale
Once upon time, most communities had local scribes who wrote torah, tefillin, mezuzot and other sacred documents, and also maintained community's existing torah scrolls to keep them kosher and fit for public use. We dream of the day when professional scribes as well as citizen-scribes are writing torah all across the Jewish landscape. Until then, the pressing need, especially far from Israel a handful of large cities outside Israel, is to restore the capacity of a local community to determine the condition of a scroll and whether (and why) a scroll is pasul or still kosher, and to perform essential repairs in order to keep on reading from a kosher scroll. Some scrolls need minor repairs, some major and beyond the scope of a "barefoot" sofer, and some are beyond repair. But frequently, sewing a seam, patching a tear or rewriting a letter can return a scroll to kosher service. This class will be an overview of and introduction to the craft and halachah involved with applying such first aide.
A Meditative Alef-Bet Journey with Rabbinic Student Elizheva Hurvich
In this session, you will be invited to "lean in" to the Alef-Bet. Using sound and guided visual meditations, drawing on the Sefer Yetzirah and Kabbalah, we will balance our nervous systems, draw on the abundant shefa of shamayim to reignite our own inner flames. Wear comfy clothes and bring a journal, if you'd like.
While My Guitar Gently Davens with Hazzan Steve Klaper
Since its appearance in the late 1960s, the use of the guitar in Jewish worship has become fairly widespread across all denominations outside of Orthodox. There is something in the simplicity, versatility and portability of small stringed instruments that sometimes feels more personal than choirs and less imposing than keyboards. Our deepest worship experiences can be enhanced by simply letting the guitar daven — not a singalong instrument, but another voice, another member of the minyan, swaying with the same emotions as the rest of the kahal. It’s a different way of thinking about your instrument, a means of subtly affecting the energy in the room. This workshop is open to anyone but will be most useful for experienced worship leaders who are guitarists at the intermediate level and above.
Your Eyes Shall See Your Teachers: Exploring Kaddish d'Rabbanan- Rabbi Sherril Gilbert w/ Rabbi Schachar Orenstein, Rabbi Andrea D. Lobel
“Your eyes shall see your teachers.” (Isaiah 30:20) Join us on an exploratory journey into the heart of the Kaddish d’Rabbanan/Rabbis’ Kaddish, a gratitude prayer/recitation. In this workshop, we’ll dive into the text of this earliest Kaddish, exploring its history, significance, and variations. We’ll reflect on and share stories of our most beloved and significant teachers and mentors and their impact on our formative journeys. And we’ll each have a hands-on opportunity to create a digital collage incorporating images of our most influential guides. These collages will be individual, unique expressions of gratitude, appreciation, and admiration. Please bring your laptop or tablet.
Presentation: kaddish d’rabbanan,
What does The Niggun of Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev- say to us? with Rabbi and Spiritual Director Chaya Gusfield
As a rabbi in the lineage of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (LYB), learning his niggun deepened my understanding of his Torah. I will share the journey I had connecting with LYB through studying his life and Torah with Rabbi Sue Morningstar. We will learn and experience his niggun in an interactive session reflecting on our experience through writing and sharing with each other as we spiritually accompany one another. (The niggun will be sung at different times throughout, with different approaches, etc.) One goal of the workshop is to experience devotional listening to a rebbe's niggun as one portal to connect with them. R. Morningstar plans to join us on Zoom.
Handouts (2): Source Sheet, A Dudele: A You Song!
Innovating Shabbat- Rabbi Evan Krame w/ Rabbi Jennifer Singer
Renewal communities offer an evolving approach to Shabbat - we put gates into fences, and move into open fields of Shabbat observance. With an exploration of texts and quotes from Reb Zalman, Art Green, and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, we can explore balancing the prescriptive and the descriptive approaches to Shabbat. Is our Shabbat observance balanced between observance and remembering the reason for Shabbat? And what do we and future generations need to create a Shabbat that nourishes their souls?
Jewish Guide to Caring for the Caregiver with Rabbi Deni Deutsch Marshall
Caring for a loved one who is ill, disabled or dying is a mitzvah and the one who provides the caregiving also needs self-care. Rabbi Deni Marshall interviewed a number of Jewish caregivers from a Four Worlds perspective. In this workshop, Deni will share how Jewish practices such as Mussar, rituals, readings, and prayer can assist all of us, whether we are currently caring for a spouse, parent or child, or preparing ourselves for a time that will likely come. The workshop will also touch on what Rabbis and their communities can do to help the caregivers.
Handout (1): Outline
Falafel Kabbalah with Rabbi Rueben Modek
Has falafel influenced how we approach Kabbalah? The creation of Israel was a spiritual as well as political paradigm shift. Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag (1885-1954), Ba’al HaSulam, courageously dedicated his life to updating Kabbalah for 20th-century Israel. Rabbah Saphir Noiman, a 21st-century scholar of Ba’al HaSulam, and an Israeli Rebbe, is charting a new path for Avodah, spiritual development. Her approach is uniquely rooted in the soil and soul of modern Israel. We will survey texts of Ashlag and teachings of Noiman about renewal for a taste of a falafel-ball Kabbalah, fresh, spicy, and deeply nourishing.
Refining Ourselves as Instruments for Blessings Baal Bracha- Chaplain, Maggid Leon Olenick w/ Baal Bracha Barry Barken
Everything in the universe stems from G-d’s blessings. From ancient days as the Tzelem of Elohim, we transmit our blessings. At one time or another, each of us has given over our blessings and in doing so we are instruments for the divine. In our session, participants will share stories of our blessings. We will describe a process of refining ourselves as instruments for the Divine to play Her blessings through us, and together we will work on the act of giving blessings. There is a blessing boomerang that comes back to us enriching our lives with open hearts and love.
The Song of Moshe and Miriam- Hazzan Jalda Rebling
We all know the song of Moshe shirat hayam as a great beautiful poem. Our rabbis call it in BT Pessachim 117a the first Hallel. The scholar Nissim Amzallag found an interesting structure of this wonderful T´hilla. We will sing the song of Moshe and Miriam and we will renew the old Shir, a new piece on the shalshelet hazahav in the ancient tradition of the levi´im and levi´iot.
Handouts (3): The Song at the Sea, Shirat Hayam, Shirat Hayam Motifs
Clergy and the Ethics of Power with Rabbi Charna Rosenholtz
The role of spiritual leadership and community health is a complicated relationship that must demonstrate ethical behavior, healthy boundaries, and clear communication. Many of these dynamics are delineated within our sacred texts and biblical stories. In our roles as rabbis, cantors, and pastors we can draw on these Torah stories to clarify both ethical guidance and human behaviors that impede a healthy community.
Handouts (5) : RUPI More Information, Role Responsibilities Assessment, Up and Down Power Differences, 5 Types of Power, Power Shadow Quiz
Extending the Chain of Tradition via Writing as Personal Expression with Rabbi Ken Rosenstein w/ members of the OHALAH Writers' Circle who are rabbis and cantors
Judaism has an inbuilt chain of transmission via Torah, midrash, Talmud, commentaries which continue to this day. Writers have their chain of tradition exemplified via ancestral lineage, culture, spiritual tradition, place of upbringing, and interests of their unique selves. Several years ago the OHALAH Writers' Circle was formed. Its members share their writings monthly for feedback. Our Circle is offering this workshop which is open to all guests and attendees who are interested in our group process and those who are interested in possibly joining our Circle. Come join us as these two chains converge at our workshop!
Handout (1): Writing Group Prayer
Rethinking Hilchot Lashon Hara for the #MeToo era with Rabbi Jeremy Sher
The Chofetz Chaim had pure intentions, to prevent the spread of harmful gossip in the Jewish community. However, there are times when silence is more harmful than speech, especially when it comes to sexual or financial abuse by the powerful against the less powerful. Clergy especially have used hilchot lashon hara to silence survivors, protect and support offenders, perpetuate injustice and crime, and even to enable further crimes. Meanwhile, in a chilling hypocrisy, survivors have found themselves denounced and shunned, sometimes even forced to leave their communities.
If we approach the question with the conviction that offenders who abuse trust must face serious consequences, both to deter future similar offenses and because power with impunity is morally repugnant to us, and with the conviction that survivors are to be supported, not further shamed, what value do hilchot lashon hara have for our #MeToo era? Can the edifice of hilchot lashon hara be salvaged to accomplish worthwhile goals while not becoming an instrument of abuse?
Handout (1): Can Hilchot Lashon Hara Be Salvaged?
Tikkun Olam Sharing Circle with Rabbi Jeremy Sher
Gather with us informally to share our tikkun olam projects and experiences. It's always inspiring to hear what each other is doing, and there may be ways we can collaborate. Join this relaxed, fun session, and let us know what you're working on!
Integral Halakah Panel: We Honour Our Ba’al Tikkun/Master of Repair, Rabbi Daniel Siegel, for His 50 Years of Sacred Service
Reb Zalman ztz”l ordained 26 year old Daniel Siegel as his first Musmach in January 1974. He transmitted this new and ancient lineage at a private ceremony in the basement of Rabbi Neal and Carol Rose in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since then, Rabbi Daniel has devoted his life’s work to making Jewish Renewal a reality by building community and empowering others through relevant Torah, compassionate counsel, soulful prayer, and visionary courage. Join us as we honor Rabbi Daniel and learn with him, Rabbi Hanna Tiferet, and others in a joy-filled experience, informed by essential teachings that are needed for this time.
Handout
Tikkun Olam Plenary: Healing & Innovating in Israel/Palestine by the Tikkun Olam Committee
Join us in grieving, healing, and redoubling our commitment to Israel/Palestine at a critical moment in history when our voices are needed. We will answer the call of our Israeli colleagues, not to sit idle but to use our voices to bring about Israel/Palestine that will be a safe and free homeland for us and for the Palestinian people.
Handout
Reshape American Jewry as a Spiritually Rooted, Liturgically Flowering Activist Movement, enriching the festival cycle with Actifests for Eco/Social Justice with Rabbi Arthur Waskow
This moment in history may define for the world what / who Jews and Judaism are: a grabby and hyperviolent Yaakov facing and bolstering a hyperviolent Esau, or the Yisrael he strove to become, a Godwrestler ready to encourage a peaceful Esau with a peaceful response and to pursue the festival cycle with public activism as part of the festival.
Handout (2): Godwrestler: Person, Tribe, State?, Actifests
SpeakChorus Torah Flash Mob Community Midrash- Rabbi Melissa Wenig w/ Hazzan Abbe Lyons
What do you get when you mix poetry, flash mob, bible, midrash, humor, and a little singing thrown in for good measure? SpeakChorus Torah! Session 1 Using Torah circles, Contemplative Torah, writing exercises, niggunim, discussion and movement, we will unpack, explore and connect to a Torah text. This will generate the words for our script. Everyone welcome! Session 2 Learn the process as we craft and practice our holy sound-sculpture of story, poetry, and melody. Our voices will weave in and out, separately and together. We will be preparing to present it that evening at the Cabaret. Come prepared to be part of the SpeakChorus!
Handout
Immersive Wednesday
Hot Springs Spa and Massage with Rabbi Elyssa Austerklein, 9:15am- 3pm
U'shavtem mayim b'sasson mimaynai hayeshua - Draw the waters of joy from the (hot) springs of salvation! Did you know a soothing hot springs soak can aid in natural pain reduction and rehabilitation? It can also relax the mind and soothe the soul. Join us on this excursion and experience: awakening/ bliss / blooming / cheer / peace. We will do a few chants but most of the experience will be an informal relaxation and fellowship.
Encounter Indigenous Arts and Culture with Rabbi Julie Danan, Rabbi David Seidenberg, and Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav, 9:15am - 3:30pm
Being in Denver offers a unique opportunity to learn and experience Native American culture and creativity. Experience a guided tour of the Denver Art Museum's unparalleled exhibit of Indigenous Arts of North America. The giant sculpture Mud Woman with her children will be our springboard to learn more about the culture it represents, as well as to study, create, and contemplate our own relationship to Mother Earth, Shekhinah, the Shalshelet Hakabbalah, and future generations. Weather permitting, our day will conclude with time for contemplation and ritual in nature.
Precursors who called for Renewal of Judaism with Rabbi Victor Gross, 9:15am - 12:00pm
"The past is the prelude to the future." We will engage in deep reflection of the texts that were precursors to Reb Zalman's call for Jewish renewal. What programs were advanced by Rosenzweig, Buber, Heschel and Zetlin in their call for the need to renew Judaism. Our discussion will examine the unfinished tasks and the new emerging realities that we are called to respond to.
Handout (1): Buber on Renewal
U'shavtem mayim b'sasson mimaynai hayeshua - Draw the waters of joy from the (hot) springs of salvation! Did you know a soothing hot springs soak can aid in natural pain reduction and rehabilitation? It can also relax the mind and soothe the soul. Join us on this excursion and experience: awakening/ bliss / blooming / cheer / peace. We will do a few chants but most of the experience will be an informal relaxation and fellowship.
Encounter Indigenous Arts and Culture with Rabbi Julie Danan, Rabbi David Seidenberg, and Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav, 9:15am - 3:30pm
Being in Denver offers a unique opportunity to learn and experience Native American culture and creativity. Experience a guided tour of the Denver Art Museum's unparalleled exhibit of Indigenous Arts of North America. The giant sculpture Mud Woman with her children will be our springboard to learn more about the culture it represents, as well as to study, create, and contemplate our own relationship to Mother Earth, Shekhinah, the Shalshelet Hakabbalah, and future generations. Weather permitting, our day will conclude with time for contemplation and ritual in nature.
Precursors who called for Renewal of Judaism with Rabbi Victor Gross, 9:15am - 12:00pm
"The past is the prelude to the future." We will engage in deep reflection of the texts that were precursors to Reb Zalman's call for Jewish renewal. What programs were advanced by Rosenzweig, Buber, Heschel and Zetlin in their call for the need to renew Judaism. Our discussion will examine the unfinished tasks and the new emerging realities that we are called to respond to.
Handout (1): Buber on Renewal