Meet our Key Presenters . . .
Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, author, scholar, ritualist, poet, dreamworker, mystic, and midrashist, is the Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion (www.ajrsem.org), a pluralistic seminary based in Yonkers, NY, and co-founder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute (www.kohenet.org), a spiritual leadership training program and community centering embodied, earth-based feminist Jewish leadership. She is the author of Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreaming, Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah, The Hebrew Priestess: Ancient and New Visions of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership (with Taya Shere), The Omer Calendar of Biblical Women, The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons, Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women, and The Book of Earth and Other Mysteries.
Rabbi Hammer is also the author of articles published in journals such as Religion and Literature, Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies and Gender Studies, The Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and The Journal of Lesbian Studies, and anthologies including Best Jewish Writing 2002 and the Encyclopedia of Women and World Religions, newspapers, magazines such as Lilith Magazine, websites such as feminismandreligion.com, and beyond. She is the translator of The Romemu Siddur and of Siddur haKohanot: A Hebrew Priestess Prayerbook. She has written a children’s book, The Garden of Time.
Rabbi Hammer has led retreats, classes, workshops, and rituals around the country and around the world. Her students and colleagues praise her as “brilliant and accessible,” “a multi-gifted teacher, translator, and facilitator,” “among the most creative spiritual teachers in the Jewish world today.” She lives in Manhattan with her family.
Rabbi Hammer is also the author of articles published in journals such as Religion and Literature, Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies and Gender Studies, The Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and The Journal of Lesbian Studies, and anthologies including Best Jewish Writing 2002 and the Encyclopedia of Women and World Religions, newspapers, magazines such as Lilith Magazine, websites such as feminismandreligion.com, and beyond. She is the translator of The Romemu Siddur and of Siddur haKohanot: A Hebrew Priestess Prayerbook. She has written a children’s book, The Garden of Time.
Rabbi Hammer has led retreats, classes, workshops, and rituals around the country and around the world. Her students and colleagues praise her as “brilliant and accessible,” “a multi-gifted teacher, translator, and facilitator,” “among the most creative spiritual teachers in the Jewish world today.” She lives in Manhattan with her family.
Musician-in-Residence: Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz serves the Hadar Institute as Director of Tefillah and Music. An educator, practitioner, and facilitator of Jewish communal prayer, R’ Deborah serves and supports communities and individuals who seek to deepen, sharpen, and unlock their practice of empowered song and tefila. As a musician, Deborah has partnered creatively with a diverse array of voices in the Jewish soundscape; in addition to collaborating on over two dozen albums, she released her first record of original spiritual music, The Narrow and the Expanse, in 2020. Beloved ongoing artistic projects include Joey Weisenberg’s Hadar Ensemble, R’ Josh Warshawsky’s Chaverai Nevarech, and New Moon Rising with Elana Arian and Chava Mirel.
R’ Deborah received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she also earned her MA in Women and Gender Studies. She holds degrees in music and religious anthropology from the University of Michigan. Learn more about Deborah's work at www.deborahsacksmintz.com
R’ Deborah received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she also earned her MA in Women and Gender Studies. She holds degrees in music and religious anthropology from the University of Michigan. Learn more about Deborah's work at www.deborahsacksmintz.com
Expressive Artist-in-Residence: Rabbi Eva Sax-Bolder is the rabbi of The Shul of New York in Manhattan. As a spiritual leader, spiritual companion and creative artist, she designs transformative learning and ritual opportunities to provide seekers with joyful and creative approaches to Judaism. Ordained by ALEPH, R’ Eva also serves as Rosh Hashpa’ah, head of Spiritual Direction for the AOP, supporting the spiritual development of the seminary students and faculty.
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Expressive Artist-in-Residence: Rabbinic Pastor & Mashpiah Ruchanit Sandra Wortzel relishes integrating what she knows and loves: Jewish Renewal, Expressive Arts, and Hashpa’ah. She encourages seekers to express their yearnings through the arts: uniting spirituality, creativity and nature. Sandra is the Administrator, a Core faculty and Supervisor for the AOP Hashpa’ah training.
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As Expressive Arts Muses-in-Residence, Reb Sandra Wortzel and Rabbi Eva Sax-Bolder will be offering our chevra the gift of opening up to our creative potential and possibilities. Throughout the conference we will be guiding participants through experiences using a multitude of arts-based explorations, such as visual art, movement, poetry/writing, music, and improvisational play. We will be meeting "workshop style" for most of our creative play. You will have opportunities in groups, dyads and individually--on your own--to explore the daily themes of the conference. A list of suggested materials will be sent out prior to the conference for participants to have on hand, and we encourage everyone to join our mikdash me’at workshop on Sunday, January 3 to prepare yourself for our time together.
