Our 2025 OHALAH Conference Presenters and Workshops
Monday Workshops
Power Dynamics, Consent, and Tools for Self-Awareness with Rabbi Diana Brewer
How does positional power affect consent in asymmetrical relationships? How can we be aware of the influence we have, even unwittingly, over others? What can we do to mitigate this effect? We will explore these questions through Talmudic musings on the effect of power dynamics on consent and some of Reb Zalman’s texts on personal accountability.
Hazzan Diana Brewer is the Dean of Students of the ALEPH Ordination Program, where she was ordained in 2019. She serves part-time as Hazzan at the Jewish Community of Amherst, a Reconstructionist community in Western Massachusetts, and was on the faculty of DLTI for several years. She came to hazzanut from a career as a classical singer specializing in Early Music.
How does positional power affect consent in asymmetrical relationships? How can we be aware of the influence we have, even unwittingly, over others? What can we do to mitigate this effect? We will explore these questions through Talmudic musings on the effect of power dynamics on consent and some of Reb Zalman’s texts on personal accountability.
Hazzan Diana Brewer is the Dean of Students of the ALEPH Ordination Program, where she was ordained in 2019. She serves part-time as Hazzan at the Jewish Community of Amherst, a Reconstructionist community in Western Massachusetts, and was on the faculty of DLTI for several years. She came to hazzanut from a career as a classical singer specializing in Early Music.
Jews and Indigenousness: Contradictions, Problems, and Blessings with Rabbi David Seidenberg
Even though Judaism's cycles and rituals are keyed to the land and ecology of Canaan/Israel/Palestine, the Torah insists the Israelites are not indigenous to Canaan. Why? An answer to this question emerges from contrasting the ecology of Canaan and its rain-fed agriculture vs. the river-fed agricultures of Sumer and Egypt. The question of indigenousness also highlights the divergence between the conquest model of peoplehood found in Joshua and the stranger model found in the Avot stories and the Shmitah year. This workshop is for everyone who cares about Israel/Palestine, no matter your relationship is to Zionism or Palestinian liberation.
Rabbi David Seidenberg is the creator of neohasid.org, author of Kabbalah and Ecology, and a musmach of JTS and Reb Zalman. He is an avid music composer and dancer, and a student of Maimonides, Buber and Chasidus, and is well-known for his work on ecology, human rights, and animal rights.
Even though Judaism's cycles and rituals are keyed to the land and ecology of Canaan/Israel/Palestine, the Torah insists the Israelites are not indigenous to Canaan. Why? An answer to this question emerges from contrasting the ecology of Canaan and its rain-fed agriculture vs. the river-fed agricultures of Sumer and Egypt. The question of indigenousness also highlights the divergence between the conquest model of peoplehood found in Joshua and the stranger model found in the Avot stories and the Shmitah year. This workshop is for everyone who cares about Israel/Palestine, no matter your relationship is to Zionism or Palestinian liberation.
Rabbi David Seidenberg is the creator of neohasid.org, author of Kabbalah and Ecology, and a musmach of JTS and Reb Zalman. He is an avid music composer and dancer, and a student of Maimonides, Buber and Chasidus, and is well-known for his work on ecology, human rights, and animal rights.
Establishing and Sustaining Your Devekut with Rabbi Shefa Gold
We will explore the Hasidic ideal of Devekut, which is the capacity to be in the world and yet stay lovingly connected to the Oneness, to the Great Mystery that holds us. We'll support each other in crafting a spiritual practice that can serve as an anchoring awareness of love-soaked God-consciousness that can sustain us in our lives of service.
Rabbi Shefa Gold received her ordination both from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and is the director of C-DEEP, The Center for Devotional, Energy and Ecstatic Practice. Shefa has produced ten albums, and is the author of 4 books: Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land, In the Fever of Love, The Magic of Hebrew Chant, and Are We There Yet? Travel as a Spiritual Practice. Her new project - Love at the Center, is an immersion in The Song of Songs- a mystical text that is meant to transform our lives so that we can transform the world.
We will explore the Hasidic ideal of Devekut, which is the capacity to be in the world and yet stay lovingly connected to the Oneness, to the Great Mystery that holds us. We'll support each other in crafting a spiritual practice that can serve as an anchoring awareness of love-soaked God-consciousness that can sustain us in our lives of service.
Rabbi Shefa Gold received her ordination both from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and is the director of C-DEEP, The Center for Devotional, Energy and Ecstatic Practice. Shefa has produced ten albums, and is the author of 4 books: Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land, In the Fever of Love, The Magic of Hebrew Chant, and Are We There Yet? Travel as a Spiritual Practice. Her new project - Love at the Center, is an immersion in The Song of Songs- a mystical text that is meant to transform our lives so that we can transform the world.
Tachlis: Building a Renewal Community in a Secular Jewish Landscape: a 30-Year Case Study with Rabbi Dan Goldblatt
In 1994, I was invited to serve Beth Chaim, a suburban, predominantly secular Jewish community. I approached Reb Zalman, zt”l, and told him that I wasn’t sure that I was the right match. He told me that if Renewal was to have an impact on the Jewish landscape it would need to be cultivated in mainstream, secular synagogues like Beth Chaim. He said that this was an important test for Renewal and he would support my efforts. As I retire from my position, 30 years later, I believe that we developed an interesting beta test that others can learn from.
Rabbi Dan Goldblatt is an ALEPH Musmach and served as rabbi of Beth Chaim Congregation, Danville, CA for 30 years. He served on the Boards of OHALAH and ALEPH, is a Past President of OHALAH and currently on the Board of Governors for ALEPH. Co-founder of AriYael Jewish Healing Center.
In 1994, I was invited to serve Beth Chaim, a suburban, predominantly secular Jewish community. I approached Reb Zalman, zt”l, and told him that I wasn’t sure that I was the right match. He told me that if Renewal was to have an impact on the Jewish landscape it would need to be cultivated in mainstream, secular synagogues like Beth Chaim. He said that this was an important test for Renewal and he would support my efforts. As I retire from my position, 30 years later, I believe that we developed an interesting beta test that others can learn from.
Rabbi Dan Goldblatt is an ALEPH Musmach and served as rabbi of Beth Chaim Congregation, Danville, CA for 30 years. He served on the Boards of OHALAH and ALEPH, is a Past President of OHALAH and currently on the Board of Governors for ALEPH. Co-founder of AriYael Jewish Healing Center.
Discernment Pastoral Counseling with Rabbinic Pastor Carl Viniar
Clergy often deal with the issue of divorce. Couples or individuals want to talk about it. There are two common approaches: immediately refer to a therapist, lawyer or mediator, without offering any pastoral care (for this crisis situation). The other is to try a few sessions of pastoral marriage counseling, and then refer them. Both approaches are often unsuccessful because the people do not start on the same page. One wants out, the other desperate to keep the couple together. This session will explore how to engage in discernment counseling, a process designed to get them on the same page.
Rabbinic Pastor Carl Viniar is the Co-Director of the AOP Rabbinic Pastor program. Prior to his ordination, he'd been a practicing attorney and a pioneer transformative mediator. In this work he saw how difficult it was to work with couples who were not on the same page about continuing their relationship.
Clergy often deal with the issue of divorce. Couples or individuals want to talk about it. There are two common approaches: immediately refer to a therapist, lawyer or mediator, without offering any pastoral care (for this crisis situation). The other is to try a few sessions of pastoral marriage counseling, and then refer them. Both approaches are often unsuccessful because the people do not start on the same page. One wants out, the other desperate to keep the couple together. This session will explore how to engage in discernment counseling, a process designed to get them on the same page.
Rabbinic Pastor Carl Viniar is the Co-Director of the AOP Rabbinic Pastor program. Prior to his ordination, he'd been a practicing attorney and a pioneer transformative mediator. In this work he saw how difficult it was to work with couples who were not on the same page about continuing their relationship.
“YHVH Yevarekh Et Amo BShalom (Mishna Oktzin 3:12)” ה' יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם Baal HaSulam’s Torah of Peace w/ Rabbi Reuben Modak
Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag (1885-1954), Ba’al HaSulam, passionately dedicated his life to updating Kabbalah for 20th century Israel. As violent attacks by Arab neighbors challenge the Jewish community of Palestine, Baal HaSulam investigates the spiritual role of Peace-Making. He teaches that Shalom is one of the core ingredients of Jewish spiritual development, along with Truth, Loving Kindness, and Justice. We will survey excerpts from Ashlag’s writings on the topic.
Rabbi Modek is the spiritual leader of Kehilat Kodesh Beit Israel- Masorti synagogue, Netanya, Israel. Ordained by both ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal and the Academy for Jewish Religion, Rabbi Modek is a researcher and teacher of trends in Jewish spirituality, Hasidut, and Kabbalah.
Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag (1885-1954), Ba’al HaSulam, passionately dedicated his life to updating Kabbalah for 20th century Israel. As violent attacks by Arab neighbors challenge the Jewish community of Palestine, Baal HaSulam investigates the spiritual role of Peace-Making. He teaches that Shalom is one of the core ingredients of Jewish spiritual development, along with Truth, Loving Kindness, and Justice. We will survey excerpts from Ashlag’s writings on the topic.
Rabbi Modek is the spiritual leader of Kehilat Kodesh Beit Israel- Masorti synagogue, Netanya, Israel. Ordained by both ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal and the Academy for Jewish Religion, Rabbi Modek is a researcher and teacher of trends in Jewish spirituality, Hasidut, and Kabbalah.
Opening to Guidance through Shemot Kedoshim/Holy Names with Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel, Stacia Kenet, M.D.
Concealed within the Torah is Divine Guidance that is sustaining, healing and revelatory. In this experiential workshop, we will learn how to use Roshei Tevot to create a Shem Kadosh/Holy Name, reviving an ancient practice as a path to Guidance. We will dip into the wisdom of Hekhalot/Merkava literature, the roots of this tradition, and awaken our souls through song and movement. This will prepare us to chant a Holy Name together. Please bring a Hebrew verse from the Tanakh that is calling to you at this time. It may open the gates to the guidance you seek.
Concealed within the Torah is Divine Guidance that is sustaining, healing and revelatory. In this experiential workshop, we will learn how to use Roshei Tevot to create a Shem Kadosh/Holy Name, reviving an ancient practice as a path to Guidance. We will dip into the wisdom of Hekhalot/Merkava literature, the roots of this tradition, and awaken our souls through song and movement. This will prepare us to chant a Holy Name together. Please bring a Hebrew verse from the Tanakh that is calling to you at this time. It may open the gates to the guidance you seek.
Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel (above) is a poet and mystic through whom song and inspiration flow. She weaves together prayerful melodies and thoughtful teachings in a web of spirit and celebration. She's been planting seeds of Jewish Renewal in the US and Candada since the late 1960s. In 1982, she was the first woman to receive the title of Eshet Hazon/Woman of Vision and Midwife of Soul.
Stacia Kenet MD (left), Mashpi'ah Ruchanit, is a longtime student of esoteric practices including experiential Kabbalah and energy healing. She is a graduate of ALEPH's Hashpa'ah training program and after 30 years as an Integrative MD, she has moved from treating the body to tending the soul. Stacia is an 8th generation direct descendant of the Vilna Gaon & his daughter Chine, a well-known healer in her time.
Stacia Kenet MD (left), Mashpi'ah Ruchanit, is a longtime student of esoteric practices including experiential Kabbalah and energy healing. She is a graduate of ALEPH's Hashpa'ah training program and after 30 years as an Integrative MD, she has moved from treating the body to tending the soul. Stacia is an 8th generation direct descendant of the Vilna Gaon & his daughter Chine, a well-known healer in her time.
From Sorrow to Song: Using Jewish Music for Healing and Transformation with Lior Tsarfaty
Since ancient times, music has been used to connect us to our internal world and to help us explore different parts of ourselves. We would like to invite you to a unique opportunity to celebrate the connection between sounds, voice, silence, music, and our inner experience. In Jewish rituals, music, chants, and prayers have always been such a meaningful and important part of the tradition. We will explore how Jewish music and Hebrew chants can connect us to our heart, our soul, and to a sense of community. No musical ability is necessary. You can be tone deaf! Music has the capacity to touch us very deeply, evoke our feelings, move our bodies, and inspire our spirits. We are born with an innate sense of love, personal mission, natural self-expression, authenticity, and grace that often becomes compromised through the inevitable hurts and disappointments that wound us, and around which we tend to contract away from our essence. This workshop is designed to help you reconnect with what is deepest in you, the music of your soul, the richness of your own song that is longing to be sung. You will be supported in embodying your own uniqueness in a safe, gentle, and music-filled environment where you can rediscover yourself in connection with others.
Lior Tsarfaty, a native Israeli, is the musical director of Chochmat HaLev, a Jewish Renewal Congregation in Berkeley. He is an internationally touring musician and recording artist, uniquely weaving music and various healing modalities to create transformative experiences for his audience and clients. He does music "peace work" with Muslims and Jews and offers mindfulness and chanting workshops in the Bay Area, Israel, and China. Lior is the founder of Village Song, a school and a movement that brings the power of music to Alzheimer's communities.
Since ancient times, music has been used to connect us to our internal world and to help us explore different parts of ourselves. We would like to invite you to a unique opportunity to celebrate the connection between sounds, voice, silence, music, and our inner experience. In Jewish rituals, music, chants, and prayers have always been such a meaningful and important part of the tradition. We will explore how Jewish music and Hebrew chants can connect us to our heart, our soul, and to a sense of community. No musical ability is necessary. You can be tone deaf! Music has the capacity to touch us very deeply, evoke our feelings, move our bodies, and inspire our spirits. We are born with an innate sense of love, personal mission, natural self-expression, authenticity, and grace that often becomes compromised through the inevitable hurts and disappointments that wound us, and around which we tend to contract away from our essence. This workshop is designed to help you reconnect with what is deepest in you, the music of your soul, the richness of your own song that is longing to be sung. You will be supported in embodying your own uniqueness in a safe, gentle, and music-filled environment where you can rediscover yourself in connection with others.
Lior Tsarfaty, a native Israeli, is the musical director of Chochmat HaLev, a Jewish Renewal Congregation in Berkeley. He is an internationally touring musician and recording artist, uniquely weaving music and various healing modalities to create transformative experiences for his audience and clients. He does music "peace work" with Muslims and Jews and offers mindfulness and chanting workshops in the Bay Area, Israel, and China. Lior is the founder of Village Song, a school and a movement that brings the power of music to Alzheimer's communities.
Tuesday Workshops and Plenaries
Plenary on Cultivating Conscious Community: Texts, Tools, and Group Wisdom w/ Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener and Tirzah Firestone
With the exceptional challenges and political hazards that have arisen for Jewish leaders everywhere during the past months of war and profound distress, two veteran community leaders have been invited to offer their choice texts, tools, and personal vulnerabilities to help point us toward the love and compassion we want to cultivate in our OHALAH community. In the spirit of ever-renewing the culture of our sacred fellowship, this plenary will provide participants with an opportunity for Talmud Torah, self-reflection, and reaffirming healthy community relationships within a safe container. We’ll work to identify trauma residue and trauma-related reactivity, and become more observant Jews who can watch and recognize these states. We’ll share teachings around hachna’a, toch’cha and kavod.
With the exceptional challenges and political hazards that have arisen for Jewish leaders everywhere during the past months of war and profound distress, two veteran community leaders have been invited to offer their choice texts, tools, and personal vulnerabilities to help point us toward the love and compassion we want to cultivate in our OHALAH community. In the spirit of ever-renewing the culture of our sacred fellowship, this plenary will provide participants with an opportunity for Talmud Torah, self-reflection, and reaffirming healthy community relationships within a safe container. We’ll work to identify trauma residue and trauma-related reactivity, and become more observant Jews who can watch and recognize these states. We’ll share teachings around hachna’a, toch’cha and kavod.
Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener (above) is a translator and student of Kalanymous Shapira, the Piazetzner Rebbe. She is blessed to count Reb Zalman, Rabbi Shefa Gold and Leah Green (Compassionate Listening Project) as teachers and life guides. She recently retired from the Greenfield MA temple and continue to serve the renewal congregation in West Hartford. In her semi-retirement, she is teaching Hebrew and hassidut, reading palms (!) and trying stand-up comedy (!!). She visit my children and grandchildren regularly and many of them are above average.
Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Ph.D. (left), is an author, Jungian psychotherapist, a leader in the international Jewish Renewal Movement, and a renowned Jewish scholar and teacher. Widely known for her groundbreaking work on Kabbalah, depth psychology, and the re-integration of the feminine wisdom tradition within Judaism, Rabbi Tirzah lectures and teaches internationally about spiritual and ancient wisdom practices that are honed to assist us at this critical time in world history. Her latest work, Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma (Monkfish, 2019) is the recipient of the 2020 Nautilus Book Award Gold in Psychology and the Jewish Women's Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology 2020 book award.
Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Ph.D. (left), is an author, Jungian psychotherapist, a leader in the international Jewish Renewal Movement, and a renowned Jewish scholar and teacher. Widely known for her groundbreaking work on Kabbalah, depth psychology, and the re-integration of the feminine wisdom tradition within Judaism, Rabbi Tirzah lectures and teaches internationally about spiritual and ancient wisdom practices that are honed to assist us at this critical time in world history. Her latest work, Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma (Monkfish, 2019) is the recipient of the 2020 Nautilus Book Award Gold in Psychology and the Jewish Women's Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology 2020 book award.
Salvaging Hilkhot Lashon Hara with Rabbi Jeremy Sher
This is a sequel to last year's very productive session, "Can Hilkhot Lashon Hara Be Salvaged?". We will continue the discussion building on the takeaways from last year's discussion. We need guidance on lashon hara, but the guidance we need is not the guidance we've received from past generations. Join this effort to find a halakhic way forward in lashon hara that keeps people and communities safe while still helping us to guard our tongues.
Rabbi Jeremy is a board-certified chaplain and the mostly remote rabbi of Hakehillah Korea, Jewish Renewal's first congregation in East Asia. Rabbi Jeremy has been an outspoken advocate of clergy ethics accountability for over a decade. He was ordained by a bet din led by Rabbi Natan Margalit in 2016, and holds an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School.
This is a sequel to last year's very productive session, "Can Hilkhot Lashon Hara Be Salvaged?". We will continue the discussion building on the takeaways from last year's discussion. We need guidance on lashon hara, but the guidance we need is not the guidance we've received from past generations. Join this effort to find a halakhic way forward in lashon hara that keeps people and communities safe while still helping us to guard our tongues.
Rabbi Jeremy is a board-certified chaplain and the mostly remote rabbi of Hakehillah Korea, Jewish Renewal's first congregation in East Asia. Rabbi Jeremy has been an outspoken advocate of clergy ethics accountability for over a decade. He was ordained by a bet din led by Rabbi Natan Margalit in 2016, and holds an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School.
Listening for the Still Small Voice with Rabbi Lori Klein and Rabbi Lori Shaller
How can the “still small voice” guide our behavior? How do we discern H”S’s voice from our own conscience, ego, and the often conflicting values we derived in our families, schooling, spiritual tradition, and the society in which we grew up and live now? How can this happen: I’ve listened for the still small voice and yet I engage in a conflict of interest, abuse power, fail to disclose? What filters the “still small voice” for me? The voice of the powerful? Survivors of abuse? The majority? My own filter? We will share resources and consider case studies with accompanying texts.
How can the “still small voice” guide our behavior? How do we discern H”S’s voice from our own conscience, ego, and the often conflicting values we derived in our families, schooling, spiritual tradition, and the society in which we grew up and live now? How can this happen: I’ve listened for the still small voice and yet I engage in a conflict of interest, abuse power, fail to disclose? What filters the “still small voice” for me? The voice of the powerful? Survivors of abuse? The majority? My own filter? We will share resources and consider case studies with accompanying texts.
Rabbi Lori Klein (above) is a chaplain at Stanford Health Care and Montage Health, published author, engaging workshop leader. She teachers on moral distress vicarious trauma, and cultural humility. She is co-editing a book, Transdisciplinary Spiritual Care: Practices at the Intersection of Awe and Vulnerability, that is forthcoming in 2026.
Rabbi and Spiritual Director Lori Shaller (left) is a Spiritual Care Counselor with Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha's Vineyard. She works independently as a rabbi. She has published curriculum with the Jewish Women's Archive and is a contributing editor of Renewing Ger Toshav.
Rabbi and Spiritual Director Lori Shaller (left) is a Spiritual Care Counselor with Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha's Vineyard. She works independently as a rabbi. She has published curriculum with the Jewish Women's Archive and is a contributing editor of Renewing Ger Toshav.
Tachlis: B'nai Mitzvah Soup to Nuts: A Keva Guide with Rabbinic Pastor Cantor Lisa Levine
Administrating and tracking a successful B'nai Mitzvah program can be daunting and time-consuming. Whether your numbers each year are large or small, organization is crucial and this workshop will give you all the tools you need. From creating digital charts with basic information and time-lines to creating a B'nai Mitzvah Handbook, from Family Education to the tachlis of successful mentoring and tutoring on Zoom and in person, we will tackle it all to form a container around the Administrative Keva (set of tools) you need for a successful and well organized B'nai Mitzvah program.
Rabbinic Pastor and Cantor Lisa Levine RYT500 received her BA at UCIrvine and Masters, Cantorial Ordination and Doctorate in Sacred Music from HUC-JIR-DFSSM in NYC. She has served in prestigious congregations as B'nai Mitzvah Coordinator, teacher and tutor. Lisa received Ordination as Rabbinic Pastor with AOP in 2018 and continues to share her worship music, Yoga Shalom practices , sacred chant and poetry around the world. www.CantorLisaLevine.com
Administrating and tracking a successful B'nai Mitzvah program can be daunting and time-consuming. Whether your numbers each year are large or small, organization is crucial and this workshop will give you all the tools you need. From creating digital charts with basic information and time-lines to creating a B'nai Mitzvah Handbook, from Family Education to the tachlis of successful mentoring and tutoring on Zoom and in person, we will tackle it all to form a container around the Administrative Keva (set of tools) you need for a successful and well organized B'nai Mitzvah program.
Rabbinic Pastor and Cantor Lisa Levine RYT500 received her BA at UCIrvine and Masters, Cantorial Ordination and Doctorate in Sacred Music from HUC-JIR-DFSSM in NYC. She has served in prestigious congregations as B'nai Mitzvah Coordinator, teacher and tutor. Lisa received Ordination as Rabbinic Pastor with AOP in 2018 and continues to share her worship music, Yoga Shalom practices , sacred chant and poetry around the world. www.CantorLisaLevine.com
The Torah of Agreeing to Disagree with Rabbi Evan Krame
We live in a time when words are called violence and differences of opinion are used to form battle lines. Our disagreements have become disagreeable and given rise to a cancel culture. The Jewish tradition addresses this dynamic. It teaches us how we can grow past and heal the cleavages rending our culture. From Torah, through Talmud, filtered through the Hasidic Masters and revealed in poetry, Judaism finds a way to affirm differences with chesed and gevurah.
Rabbi Evan J. Krame is co-founder of the Jewish Studio, serving the adult Jewish community of Maryland and DC as a service leader, event organizer, civil rights tour leader, and educator. Rabbi Krame recently served as President of the Washington Board of Rabbis, the first Renewal Rabbi to do so in a major American city. Honors include Hillel's Exemplar of the Year and Shared Horizon's Humanitarian of the Year.
We live in a time when words are called violence and differences of opinion are used to form battle lines. Our disagreements have become disagreeable and given rise to a cancel culture. The Jewish tradition addresses this dynamic. It teaches us how we can grow past and heal the cleavages rending our culture. From Torah, through Talmud, filtered through the Hasidic Masters and revealed in poetry, Judaism finds a way to affirm differences with chesed and gevurah.
Rabbi Evan J. Krame is co-founder of the Jewish Studio, serving the adult Jewish community of Maryland and DC as a service leader, event organizer, civil rights tour leader, and educator. Rabbi Krame recently served as President of the Washington Board of Rabbis, the first Renewal Rabbi to do so in a major American city. Honors include Hillel's Exemplar of the Year and Shared Horizon's Humanitarian of the Year.
Integral Halakah Plenary: Flawed Beings Learning From Flawed Teachers
How does our Tradition view the conundrum about how to respond when a teacher behaves in a way that contradicts our ethics standards? How should we respond?
Moderator: Rabbi SaraLeya Schley was ordained in 2005 by the ALEPH Ordination Program, for which she currently teaches the Integral Halakhic Process class. In 2017, she was part of the inaugural group to receive dayan smikha by R. Daniel Siegel. She authored a 2020 responsum about Medical Assistance in Dying that was published by the Integral Halachah Institute and is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Hartman Institute. A resident of Sparks, NV, she is mother to 3 and savta to 4. She continues to be involved with various Renewal communities, including Chochmat HaLev and Wilderness Torah, as an adjunct leader, teacher and elder.
How does our Tradition view the conundrum about how to respond when a teacher behaves in a way that contradicts our ethics standards? How should we respond?
Moderator: Rabbi SaraLeya Schley was ordained in 2005 by the ALEPH Ordination Program, for which she currently teaches the Integral Halakhic Process class. In 2017, she was part of the inaugural group to receive dayan smikha by R. Daniel Siegel. She authored a 2020 responsum about Medical Assistance in Dying that was published by the Integral Halachah Institute and is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Hartman Institute. A resident of Sparks, NV, she is mother to 3 and savta to 4. She continues to be involved with various Renewal communities, including Chochmat HaLev and Wilderness Torah, as an adjunct leader, teacher and elder.
'When I Sit in Darkness, God is my Light' with Melila Hellner-Eshed
In this workshop, we will explore Jewish sources spanning from biblical verses and images through Jewish medieval mystical text all the way to contemporary poems addressing the chaos-creating and birthing dynamics of crisis 'mashber' - both in personal and collective dimensions.
Melila Hellner-Eshed is a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. She has taught for the past 25 years Jewish mysticism and Zohar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and serves on the faculty of the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. She has been teaching and working with Jewish communities around the world. Her publications include A River Flows from Eden: The Language of Mystical Experience in the Zohar (Stanford University Press, 2009) ; "Seekers of the Face - The Secrets of the Idra Rabba in the Zohar (Stanford 2022). Her new book co-written with Omri Shasha, On the Path of the Tree of Life – An Introduction to the Zohar (Brandeis forthcoming). Melila is active in the 'Sulha' - a reconciliation project that brings together Israelis and Palestinians.
In this workshop, we will explore Jewish sources spanning from biblical verses and images through Jewish medieval mystical text all the way to contemporary poems addressing the chaos-creating and birthing dynamics of crisis 'mashber' - both in personal and collective dimensions.
Melila Hellner-Eshed is a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. She has taught for the past 25 years Jewish mysticism and Zohar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and serves on the faculty of the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. She has been teaching and working with Jewish communities around the world. Her publications include A River Flows from Eden: The Language of Mystical Experience in the Zohar (Stanford University Press, 2009) ; "Seekers of the Face - The Secrets of the Idra Rabba in the Zohar (Stanford 2022). Her new book co-written with Omri Shasha, On the Path of the Tree of Life – An Introduction to the Zohar (Brandeis forthcoming). Melila is active in the 'Sulha' - a reconciliation project that brings together Israelis and Palestinians.
Wednesday Workshops and Plenaries
Tikkun Olam Plenary: Navigating in the Wake of October 7
How have the events since October 7 affected you as a Jewish spiritual leader in community? In the last 14 months members, our Jewish communities have had a wide spectrum of relationships and reactions to the tragedies suffered by Israeli and Palestinian peoples. As Jewish spiritual leaders we have special responsibilities in times of crisis. Each of us is a unique leader and with unique communities with differing diversities and which require our care and attention. This plenary is a moment to hear and to share.
Moderator: Rabbi David J. Cooper, emeritus Kehilla Community Synagogue. Member of the Tikkun Olam Committee of OHALAH. Kehilla, founded by R' Burt Jacobson z"l, has over 550 households with a spectrum of relationships to Israel/Palestine. David has acted as a consultant for rabbis dealing with the centrifugal forces in their shuls since 2023.
How have the events since October 7 affected you as a Jewish spiritual leader in community? In the last 14 months members, our Jewish communities have had a wide spectrum of relationships and reactions to the tragedies suffered by Israeli and Palestinian peoples. As Jewish spiritual leaders we have special responsibilities in times of crisis. Each of us is a unique leader and with unique communities with differing diversities and which require our care and attention. This plenary is a moment to hear and to share.
Moderator: Rabbi David J. Cooper, emeritus Kehilla Community Synagogue. Member of the Tikkun Olam Committee of OHALAH. Kehilla, founded by R' Burt Jacobson z"l, has over 550 households with a spectrum of relationships to Israel/Palestine. David has acted as a consultant for rabbis dealing with the centrifugal forces in their shuls since 2023.
Tachlis: Deep Listening Across the Generational Divide with Diane Elliot, Irwin Keller
In this session, Rabbi Diane Elliot and Rabbi Irwin Keller will offer insights culled from our seven years of collaboration as stewards and faculty for the Taproot Community Retreat and Immersion programs. We’ll speak about the ways that we’ve grappled with how to most effectively serve younger radical and progressive activists, folks in their 20s and 30s hungry to ground themselves in Jewish lineages, learning, and traditions to which they heretofore haven’t had access, and we’ll share some of the ways we’ve stretched and changed as a result of this engagement. Join us to expand and deepen this conversation.
In this session, Rabbi Diane Elliot and Rabbi Irwin Keller will offer insights culled from our seven years of collaboration as stewards and faculty for the Taproot Community Retreat and Immersion programs. We’ll speak about the ways that we’ve grappled with how to most effectively serve younger radical and progressive activists, folks in their 20s and 30s hungry to ground themselves in Jewish lineages, learning, and traditions to which they heretofore haven’t had access, and we’ll share some of the ways we’ve stretched and changed as a result of this engagement. Join us to expand and deepen this conversation.
Diane Elliot (above) is a rabbi, spiritual director, somatic movement therapist, and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She created ALEPH's Embodying Spirit trainings, is faculty and co-founder at the Taproot Community and has authored four books of sacred poetry, most recently Traces: Poems, Prayers and Torah.
Irwin Keller (left) is a rabbi of Congregation Ner Shalom in Sonoma County, California and faculty and co-founder of the Taproot Community. His blog, Itzik's Well, can be found at irwinkeller.com. He is the author of Shechinah at the Art Institute: Words, Worry, Wonder.
Irwin Keller (left) is a rabbi of Congregation Ner Shalom in Sonoma County, California and faculty and co-founder of the Taproot Community. His blog, Itzik's Well, can be found at irwinkeller.com. He is the author of Shechinah at the Art Institute: Words, Worry, Wonder.
Swords Into Plowshares with Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin
This session will reach back in time to uplift the words and vision of the Prophet Isaiah who spoke of a time when the world will achieve peace. The program reaches forward with a vision of how to fulfill this ancient prophecy in practical and achievable incremental steps of transformation of a global economy based on militarism to a global economy based on collective peace-building. This program is moving forward under the auspices of a UNESCO chair and was presented at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago last summer.
Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin is a rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, Oregon. His rabbinic career has included interfaith activism, disability rights and he is now participating in a UNESCO peace initiative. He is a composer of Jewish Renewal music and is best known for his CD 'Treasure Each Day.'
This session will reach back in time to uplift the words and vision of the Prophet Isaiah who spoke of a time when the world will achieve peace. The program reaches forward with a vision of how to fulfill this ancient prophecy in practical and achievable incremental steps of transformation of a global economy based on militarism to a global economy based on collective peace-building. This program is moving forward under the auspices of a UNESCO chair and was presented at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago last summer.
Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin is a rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, Oregon. His rabbinic career has included interfaith activism, disability rights and he is now participating in a UNESCO peace initiative. He is a composer of Jewish Renewal music and is best known for his CD 'Treasure Each Day.'
Kol Refuah: Healing Voice with Hazzan Shayndel Adler
Open, nurture, and sustain your voice and your whole being with therapeutic, Uncovering the Voice exercises. Uncovering the Voice is a spiritual approach to singing that was developed by Valborg Werbeck-Svardstrom in collaboration with Rudolf Steiner. Shayndel has been teaching Uncovering the Voice for over twenty years and she integrates a Kabbalistic understanding of the nature of sound into this profound and healing practice. In addition to deepening our connection to pure, universal musical tones, Uncovering the Voice exercises reflect archetypal aspects of being human and how we relate to the world and one another. In this group singing experience, we will balance dualities and resonate together in beauty, compassion and harmony. For more information, visit: https://www.shayndeladler.com/singing-lessons.
Hazzan-Kohenet Shayndel Adler (she/her) has dual ordinations as a Spiritual Leader/Ritual Officiant through ALEPH and the Kohenet Institute. She is an Atma Buti Sound and Vibrational Therapist, a singing teacher of Uncovering the Voice, a Holistic Health Practitioner, an educator, and is the founder of Kol Refuah, based in Denver, CO. https://www.shayndeladler.com/
Open, nurture, and sustain your voice and your whole being with therapeutic, Uncovering the Voice exercises. Uncovering the Voice is a spiritual approach to singing that was developed by Valborg Werbeck-Svardstrom in collaboration with Rudolf Steiner. Shayndel has been teaching Uncovering the Voice for over twenty years and she integrates a Kabbalistic understanding of the nature of sound into this profound and healing practice. In addition to deepening our connection to pure, universal musical tones, Uncovering the Voice exercises reflect archetypal aspects of being human and how we relate to the world and one another. In this group singing experience, we will balance dualities and resonate together in beauty, compassion and harmony. For more information, visit: https://www.shayndeladler.com/singing-lessons.
Hazzan-Kohenet Shayndel Adler (she/her) has dual ordinations as a Spiritual Leader/Ritual Officiant through ALEPH and the Kohenet Institute. She is an Atma Buti Sound and Vibrational Therapist, a singing teacher of Uncovering the Voice, a Holistic Health Practitioner, an educator, and is the founder of Kol Refuah, based in Denver, CO. https://www.shayndeladler.com/
Hallel-You-YaH: The Shivim Panim of Sefer Tehillim with Rabbi Dr. Brielle Rassler
The text of Sefer Tehillim is a masterclass in revealing the Shivim Panim of possibility for understanding and experiencing sacred text. This workshop will uncover new ways of connecting with the Psalms and using them as the powerful and potent prayer-poems they were brought down to be. We will explore general themes and dive deep into a particular Psalm (you’ll have to come to the workshop to see if I choose your favorite!) – to come panim el panim with the Shivim Panim of Sefer Tehillim waiting to be uncovered and explored anew.
Rabbi Dr. Brielle Paige Rassler is a licensed psychologist, mashpiah ruchanit, author, and artist. She maintains a private practice and serves as Lead Chaplain of Integrative Wellness at Penn Medicine Princeton Health. Her Psalms translations have been featured in multiple publications and her full translation, “Psalms: A Millennial’s Poetic Interpretation” was selected as a Gold Award winner of the 2023 Nautilus Book Awards.
The text of Sefer Tehillim is a masterclass in revealing the Shivim Panim of possibility for understanding and experiencing sacred text. This workshop will uncover new ways of connecting with the Psalms and using them as the powerful and potent prayer-poems they were brought down to be. We will explore general themes and dive deep into a particular Psalm (you’ll have to come to the workshop to see if I choose your favorite!) – to come panim el panim with the Shivim Panim of Sefer Tehillim waiting to be uncovered and explored anew.
Rabbi Dr. Brielle Paige Rassler is a licensed psychologist, mashpiah ruchanit, author, and artist. She maintains a private practice and serves as Lead Chaplain of Integrative Wellness at Penn Medicine Princeton Health. Her Psalms translations have been featured in multiple publications and her full translation, “Psalms: A Millennial’s Poetic Interpretation” was selected as a Gold Award winner of the 2023 Nautilus Book Awards.
Tachlis: Building Blocks of Belonging: Practical Strategies for Vibrant Congregations with Rabbi Schachar Orenstein
Would you like to learn some best practices for building vibrant communities? Are you tired of carrying the entire congregation on your shoulders? After many years of serving diverse congregations, I discovered a powerful framework and set of tools that have helped me uplevel my community building. This workshop will empower clergy to build communities where people contribute more and feel deeper connection and belonging. Inspired by Peter Block, a renowned community-building expert and author of "Community: The Structure of Belonging," participants will discover actionable strategies to foster inclusivity, trust and dynamism within their congregations.
Rabbi Schachar Orenstein brings over two decades of experience in guiding communities of diverse sizes and affiliations. He is part of the fifth cohort of the School for Leadership by the Mastery Foundation, co-founded by Peter Block. An executive ALEPH Canada, he currently serves as rabbi of Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue in Wheeling, Illinois.
Would you like to learn some best practices for building vibrant communities? Are you tired of carrying the entire congregation on your shoulders? After many years of serving diverse congregations, I discovered a powerful framework and set of tools that have helped me uplevel my community building. This workshop will empower clergy to build communities where people contribute more and feel deeper connection and belonging. Inspired by Peter Block, a renowned community-building expert and author of "Community: The Structure of Belonging," participants will discover actionable strategies to foster inclusivity, trust and dynamism within their congregations.
Rabbi Schachar Orenstein brings over two decades of experience in guiding communities of diverse sizes and affiliations. He is part of the fifth cohort of the School for Leadership by the Mastery Foundation, co-founded by Peter Block. An executive ALEPH Canada, he currently serves as rabbi of Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue in Wheeling, Illinois.
Earth-Based Video Torah for Healing a Fractured World with Rabbinic Student Aaron Rotenberg & Rabbi Natan Margalit
Join us for a multimedia exploration of core Earth-Based Judaism concepts based on Natan's book The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking. We will watch Aaron's newly produced short video as a jumping-off point for an interactive discussion and learning about how we integrate modern ecological and systems concepts with Jewish wisdom including Minyan/Emmergence, Mikdash/Nestedness and Mitzvah/Tipping Points. In our world where the sense of community with other humans and with the more than human world is deeply fragmented, these "3 Mems" show us how to reconnect and see how diversity creates a holiness greater than the sum of its parts.
Rabbi Natan Margalit, above, is the author of The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking. He was ordained in Jerusalem in 1990 and earned a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley, 2001. He has taught at Bard College, RRC, and Hebrew College Rabbinical School. Natan is currently Interim Dean of Faculty and chair of the Rabbinic texts Department at the ALEPH Ordination Program. He is also Director of AOP's Earth-Based Judaism program and founder of the non-profit Organic Torah. He lives in Newton, MA with his wife, two sons and dog.
Join us for a multimedia exploration of core Earth-Based Judaism concepts based on Natan's book The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking. We will watch Aaron's newly produced short video as a jumping-off point for an interactive discussion and learning about how we integrate modern ecological and systems concepts with Jewish wisdom including Minyan/Emmergence, Mikdash/Nestedness and Mitzvah/Tipping Points. In our world where the sense of community with other humans and with the more than human world is deeply fragmented, these "3 Mems" show us how to reconnect and see how diversity creates a holiness greater than the sum of its parts.
Rabbi Natan Margalit, above, is the author of The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking. He was ordained in Jerusalem in 1990 and earned a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley, 2001. He has taught at Bard College, RRC, and Hebrew College Rabbinical School. Natan is currently Interim Dean of Faculty and chair of the Rabbinic texts Department at the ALEPH Ordination Program. He is also Director of AOP's Earth-Based Judaism program and founder of the non-profit Organic Torah. He lives in Newton, MA with his wife, two sons and dog.
Rabbinic Student Aaron Rotenberg, left, (smicha in 2025) is the Spiritual Leader of Annex Shul in downtown Toronto, a rabbinical student at ALEPH and a graduate of ALEPH's Earth-based Judaism Program. He spends his summers as an educator at Heart to Heart, a society- building summer camp program for Jewish and Palestinian teens.
Play to Find Yourself: Playing Tabletop Roleplaying Games for Growth, Exploration, and Healing with Rabbi Menachem Cohen
Looking for playful ways of spiritual exploration, team bonding, and problem solving? In this session we will discuss how tabletop roleplaying games (similar to Dungeons & Dragons) can be used these ways, as well as play a little, of course! Nathan the Prophet used a story to tell King David how terrible he is for having Uriah killed so he can marry Batsheva, bypassing David’s ego and defenses. Games allow us this fictional distance, since it’s just a story, so we can explore the big questions of identity and purpose, and work through difficult experiences.
Menachem Cohen (he/they) is the rabbi of Makom Shalom Mitziut in Chicago. Menachem also offers spiritual direction, coaching, and mentoring. He has smicha from Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer and Hebrew Seminary, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Loyola University and an MFA in Writing.
Looking for playful ways of spiritual exploration, team bonding, and problem solving? In this session we will discuss how tabletop roleplaying games (similar to Dungeons & Dragons) can be used these ways, as well as play a little, of course! Nathan the Prophet used a story to tell King David how terrible he is for having Uriah killed so he can marry Batsheva, bypassing David’s ego and defenses. Games allow us this fictional distance, since it’s just a story, so we can explore the big questions of identity and purpose, and work through difficult experiences.
Menachem Cohen (he/they) is the rabbi of Makom Shalom Mitziut in Chicago. Menachem also offers spiritual direction, coaching, and mentoring. He has smicha from Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer and Hebrew Seminary, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Loyola University and an MFA in Writing.
Today’s Machlochet l’Shem Shamayim? Talking About the Gaza War with Rabbi David ALadjem & Rabbi Lori Shaller
The war in Gaza has surfaced deep debates within North American Jewry. For instance, is a cease-fire justified and under what conditions? Is Israel committing genocide? What is Hamas’ responsibility? How can we respond with compassion to these challenges? Under the rubric of a machlochet l’shem Shamayim (an argument for the sake of heaven), our tradition contains wisdom that can help us address these challenges. This session will draw on that wisdom, through text study and role-playing exercises, to give our chevre perspectives and tools to address these challenges in ways that build – rather than destroy – community and understanding.
Rabbi David (above) is a spiritual leader who delights in reviving the forgotten or misunderstood wisdom of our sages. By shining new light on the eternal wisdom of Zion, he hopes to help usher in the new paradigm that Reb. Zalman dreamt of but could not bring in on his own.
The war in Gaza has surfaced deep debates within North American Jewry. For instance, is a cease-fire justified and under what conditions? Is Israel committing genocide? What is Hamas’ responsibility? How can we respond with compassion to these challenges? Under the rubric of a machlochet l’shem Shamayim (an argument for the sake of heaven), our tradition contains wisdom that can help us address these challenges. This session will draw on that wisdom, through text study and role-playing exercises, to give our chevre perspectives and tools to address these challenges in ways that build – rather than destroy – community and understanding.
Rabbi David (above) is a spiritual leader who delights in reviving the forgotten or misunderstood wisdom of our sages. By shining new light on the eternal wisdom of Zion, he hopes to help usher in the new paradigm that Reb. Zalman dreamt of but could not bring in on his own.
Rabbi and Spiritual Director Lori Shaller (left) is a Spiritual Care Counselor with Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard, provides spiritual direction to individuals and in groups, serves as a guest Rabbi teaches, and prays couples into marriage, individuals into b’mitzvah, babies into community and souls into the next world. She is a fellow of Rabbis without Borders. Rabbi Lori has published curricula on the Jewish Women’s Archive website and is a contributing editor of Renewing Ger Toshav: Opening the Gates that More May Enter to Praise God.
