Embodying Spirit Presents: Dancing with the Baal Shem Tov
Dancing with the Baal Shem Tov
led by Rabbi Diane Elliot
with Rabbi Rivkah Coburn and Zacha Belok
June 8-12, 2026 outside of Santa Rosa, CA
Come refresh your spirit for five glorious spring days in the hill country of Northern California! Embody the roots of Jewish Renewal with the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov (the BeShT), the great 18th century shaman, mystic and healer!
Through dance and chant, moving prayer and creative ritual, we’ll explore some of the BeShT’s core teachings on joy, sweetening suffering, and connecting with the Divinity inside ourselves and in the world. Enjoy delicious, fresh food in a rustic, country setting. Rabbi Diane Elliot along with Rabbi Rivkah Coburn and Zacha Belok will serve as your guides on this mystic mythic journey.
Anyone ready to move and be moved by spirit is welcome! Limited to 18 participants.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROGRAM?
Rabbi Diane Elliot can be reached at diane.elliot@aleph.org.
You can also email the ALEPH office at stephanie@aleph.org
Faculty
Rabbi Diane Elliot (she/her), spiritual teacher, dancer and somatic therapist, inspires her students to become clearer channels for Divine Light through awareness and movement practices, chant, and nuanced interpretations of Jewish sacred text. Founder of Wholly Present, A Center for Embodied Spiritual Practice, she was ordained at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, in 2006, and before that worked for many years as an internationally known modern dance performer, choreographer, and a teacher of Body-Mind Centering®. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she served as spiritual leader of the Aquarian Minyan from 2007-2009 and now teaches locally and nationally through ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Ruach Ha-Aretz, and The Awakened Heart Project.
Rabbi Diane also maintains a body-based spiritual direction practice, leads Jewish meditation retreats, and is the author of numerous articles, essays, and poems. Her wise, loving presence creates a safe space for those who wish to explore spirituality individually and in community. For more information about Rabbi Diane, see www.whollypresent.org.
Rivkah Coburn (she/her) is freshly ordained as a rabbi through the ALEPH Ordination Program. Rivkah sees becoming a rabbi as an integration of her life’s work, which includes mentoring young people and young people at heart for Brit Mitzvah, serving as a spiritual director and as a ritual and religious leader in her local Portland, OR communities as well as nationally. Having the blessing of studying with Rabbi Diane Elliot for over ten years, Rivkah received certification as a Jewish Embodiment Facilitator through the ESEB (Embodying Spirit En-Spirited Body) Program. Rivkah brings her life long backgrounds as a dancer and contemplative practitioner with the embodied Jewish prayer and practices that she teaches as a way to offer other seekers a path towards healing, wholeness, and greater service in the world.
Zacha Belok (he/him) is a life-long dancer, educator, and somatic practitioner. Based in the Bay Area, Zacha sees clients worldwide as an Integrative Somatic Coach, and mentors youth with Wilderness Torah. His work draws inspiration from nature, somatic psychology, and expressive arts therapy and focuses on what makes it safe to turn toward one’s inner life. He practices in the lineage of The Tamalpa Institute and The Discipline of Authentic Movement. Zacha guides non-profit leaders nationwide through the Leadership Exchange and Coaching Project, a program of the Northeast Regional Child Advocacy Center and the US Department of Justice. You can learn more about his work at zachabelokcoaching.com.
