Kallah 2023 One-Day Workshops

Kallah features four-day classes (more info can be found under the “Classes” tab) and one-day workshops. Workshops will take place during the week (alongside four-day classes) as well as on Shabbat afternoon.

We are thrilled to announce our lineup of one-day workshops!

Get to know our workshop teachers by clicking on the “Leaders” tab above.

If you’re looking for four-day classes, click on the “Classes” tab above.

Each workshop listed below will meet for ONE session—Tuesday through Thursday—lasting 2.5 hours. You are welcome to attend four-day classes OR one-day workshops at Kallah. Please note tha selecting a four-day class meants you CANNOT select a one-day workshop that takes place during the duration for that class

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

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

————————————————————————————————————————-

Tuesday

————————————————————————————————————————-

AM301: Simple Mind-Body Practices For Resilient Relationships

Sue Priver

Successful relationships are built on the intersection of the four worlds: mind, body, heart, and spirit. Do you feel like you struggle with creating harmony among these areas? When one or more of these are not aligned with the others, your relationships suffer including the one with yourself and potentially even with G-d.

Come to this workshop to experience and learn simple mind-body practices including how to identify and release limiting beliefs, stuck emotions, spiritual blocks, and physical tension/pain. After attending, you will be able to put what you learned into practice to harmonize the four worlds of your life which will create more resiliency in your relationship with yourself, others, and G-d.

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

————————————————————————————————————————-

AM302: Science and Torah Collide

Miryam (Margo) Wolfson

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel z”l encouraged us to live our lives in Radical Amazement. In this workshop, we will delve into how knowledge of science supports this manner of approaching our universe and our lives. We have become used to considering science and religion as being opposite ways of being in and understanding the world—but how might they enrich and complement one another? It has never been more important to have a synergy between science and faith than right now in our 21st century world. We will explore the history, methodology, spirituality, and healing that can happen when science and Torah collide!

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

CATEGORY: ECO-JUDAISM

————————————————————————————————————————-

PM303: Embodying the Book of Exodus: From Slavery to Freedom

Rhonda Mason MSW, LCSW, ACC & Steve Schechter, N.P., H.H.P.

In this workshop, join Rhonda Mason and Steve Schechter to create experiences in which we will embody the transformative stories of Exodus. Every Pesach—in fact every day—we are commanded to remember the communal and personal liberation story of Exodus. Following the tradition of the Baal Shem Tov, we will walk on nearby trails to hear our inner prophet(ess). Beginning the journey with a reading from Exodus, and through group and “soul-o” meditations, chanting, movement, and journalist, we will deepen and embody these insights. By remembering the story of Exodus, we integrate our body, mind and spirit becoming more whole (holy).

This walking and meditative workshop explores how the story of Exodus can become our personal healing. On this journey we internalize the message of the burning bush— listening to the voice of Ha-Shem. As we return to our “familial home,” we confront our inner pharaohs. Surviving our “plagues” we can then move from the narrow places. With faith, trust, and boldness, we cross the sea to receive our personal “Torah.” As we begin the journey to the promised land, we create a healing story for ourselves, families, and renew our lineage—creating a sanctuary or Mishkan for our joyful community.

Best for folks who are: looking for embodied experiences

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

————————————————————————————————————————-

Wednesday

————————————————————————————————————————-

AM401: Teshuvah Tapping 365

Shelley Barchanowitz Goldberg

EFT, also known as Emotional Freedom Technique, focuses on tapping on meridian points in the body to release stress and anxiety. Join certified EFT Facilitator Shelley Goldberg as we focus on cultivating a daily practice of teshuvah by releasing stuck energy in the body and aligning and returning to our true essence of Love. In addition to the methodology of tapping, we will also utilize chant and mediation throughout this workshop. Tapping is often described as a relaxing renewal of body, mind, soul, and spirit. You will also leave with a handout to continue your EFT practice at home, as well as an inspirational pirkei avot card.

Best for folks who are: no experience required

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

————————————————————————————————————————-

AM402: Korav: To Be Brought Closer

Idelle Packer

Discover the mysteries and gifts of an embodied Aleph-Bet by delving into the Meru framework, a particular lexicon of gestures, one for each letter of the Aleph-Bet. Look at text from this week’s Parasha Pinchas describing the ancient practice of Karbonot קרבנת – “sacrfices”. Uncover worlds embedded in its root: Korav קֹרַב – “to be brought closer”. Examine Korav, letter by letter, finding secrets that lend nuance to our understanding of prayer. Create a personal prayer in movement inspired by meaningful inquiry into Kuf, Raysh, and Bet, suggested by their gestures, shapes, stories and the images that arise. Evoke an inner world of prayer, empowered by the beauty and messages of the Hebrew letters, a spiritual elevation embedded in the word, Korav. Experience the meditative quality of the gestural Aleph Bet accessing ancestral wisdom in a body-sensed, heartful, soulful way.

As Kabbalah teaches, our actions in the world of Assiyah, the world of action, can “bring closer” and influence the worlds above us, and bring holiness down from above. In this spirit, the actions we create with the ‘Otiyot’, letters as ‘signs’, illuminate an unfolding vision of self, fully present and potent with connection to the Divine – a knowing grounded in the somatic experience of bodily expression. Modalities include: traditional Jewish text, movement, gesture, dance, writing, sitting and moving meditation and prayer. This practice is appropriate for experienced movers and for those who desire ways to access movement and experience groundedness in their bodies; accommodation and choices for those with movement restrictions.

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

CATEGORY: DANCE/MOVEMENT

————————————————————————————————————————-

PM403: Kabbalistic Tarot as a Spiritual Path

Mark Horn

Did you know that more than half of the meanings originally assigned to the Minor Arcana in the tarot deck were sourced in the 13th century kabbalistic classic text, Gates of Light, by Rabbi Joseph Ben Abraham Gikatilla? Who first connected the tarot to Kabbalistic teachings and why? Once you know the kabbalistic understructure of the deck, how can you use it as an aid to do traditional kabbalistic practices?

This class will present scholarly, evidence-based history of the evolution of the tarot and its connection with Kabbalah—both traditional Jewish Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabbalah. But once you know this history and you understand how the structure of the deck encodes traditional teachings, we’re going practice. You’ll get hands on experience using the tarot as an aid in traditional practices and meditations for tikkun hanefesh, healing the soul. You’ll learn how to read the cards to answer questions with a nuanced understanding of how the answer reverberates multi-dimensionally through the four worlds. You’ll learn how to use the cards to go deeper in your practice of Counting the Omer. How to work with the cards to balance Sephirotic energies. And you’ll learn the basics of the Tree of Life spread, as a way of exploring one’s life purpose and one’s shoresh haneshamah, the root of your soul.

Previous study of Kabbalah isn’t necessary but some familiarity with the tarot is helpful. Participants should bring a tarot deck, preferably a Waite-Smith deck or a deck that is consciously structured on Kabbalistic principles.

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

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

————————————————————————————————————————-

PM404: Jewish Guide to Caring for the Caregiver

Rabbi Deni Deutsch Marshall

Based on the Capstone project for Rabbi Deni Deutsch Marshall’s rabbinic ordination, this workshop will consist of exploring the challenges and the blessings of being a caregiver from a four worlds Jewish perspective. More and more people today are having the experience of caring for a loved one who is disabled, ill, or dying. Anyone might become a caregiver at any time, and this workshop will help prepare them for that experience and give them tools to use should that occur. It will also prepare community members and clergy by helping them understand the needs of caregivers as well as what might help them during and after their time of caregiving.

The role of caregiver, even in the best of circumstances, can challenge a person physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. At the same time, many people find blessings in the experience. In the class we will listen to the stories of some caregivers that Rabbi Deni interviewed and share our own stories. We will learn about the ten core middot that the caregivers Rabbi Deni interviewed identified as essential in their role as caregivers. These are: savlanut/patience, rachamim/compassion, chesed/loving kindness, kavod/honor, gevurah/strength, seder/order, hakarat hatov/gratitude, simcha/joy, bitachon/trust, and emunah/faith. We will explore these middot from the lens of being a caregiver and discover which ones we each feel very confident of and which we need to cultivate more. In addition to the middot, we will explore the other Jewish materials and practices that the caregivers Rabbi Deni interviewed used to help them during their time of caregiving.

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

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

————————————————————————————————————————-

Thursday

————————————————————————————————————————-

AM501: Eenie Meenie Minor Mode? Jewish Music and Indigenous Middle Eastern Scales

Dr. Charles Kaplan

Have you ever wondered just what makes some Jewish music sound so… unique?

Prayer leaders call it Ahava Raba; for Klezmer and Yiddish musicians it’s Freigish; in the Sephardic/Mizrachi world it’s an Arabic scale called Hijaz. Neither major nor minor, it is a musical “mode” that can sometimes sound quite foreign to our Western ears.

In this workshop, we’ll explore Hijaz/Freigish/Ahava Raba in several ways that require NO musical training or sophistication! First, we’ll use our ears and our voices (and Dr. Charles Kaplan’s guitar!) to become familiar and comfortable with the scale/mode all by itself. Then we’ll listen to some beautiful recorded music in this mode, selected from the traditional music of the world-wide Jewish diaspora—including Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Yemen, Spain, and eastern Europe. Finally, we’ll do some singing and chanting together, utilizing songs both familiar and new as well as a bit of liturgy. Lyrics will be provided in both Hebrew and transliteration. This workshop is intended to be non-technical; Hebrew literacy and musical training are NOT needed. But do bring your open heart, ears, and mouth!

Best for folks who are: new to ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, looking for embodied experiences, no experience required

CATEGORY: MUSIC

————————————————————————————————————————-

AM502: The Spirit of Dialogue: Lessons from the Four Worlds in Transforming Conflict

Aaron Wolf and Jaclyn Best

The Kabbalistic Four Worlds—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—are not only basic needs that we seek to protect within ourselves, but their structure and energy flow provide guidance to how we can heal discord within us as individuals, between us in dialogue and in groups, and finally amongst us as nations and complex systems. This workshop draws practical lessons from the framework at each level and scale in order to heal conflict within our daily lives, even in these divisive times. Skills drawn from deeply Jewish sources and frameworks include: identifying and working with physical triggers to signal the need to elevate difficult conversations for greater connection; transformative listening, from the heart, to identify the insecurity that often lurks behind anger in oneself and in others; and identifying shared values that unite us even in deeply contentious contexts.

The highly interactive workshop will draw on the skills and approaches from Aaron Wolf’s book, “The Spirit of Dialogue”, by which he has brought facilitation and capacity-building to a variety of conflict settings, notably between entities who share water resources, and also in faith and interfaith communities, and within and between government agencies. Jaclyn Best brings intergenerationally-passed down Jewish Renewal wisdom and knowledge from teachers such as Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi z”l and Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone, which she integrates into her own expertise and studies in conflict management and facilitation. Trained also in nonviolent communication, she believes strongly in the power of empathic listening and compassion in order to create deeper connection and cooperation in conflict facilitation.

Best for folks who are: sparking conversation (edgy topics), no experience required

CATEGORY: PERSONAL GROWTH

————————————————————————————————————————-

PM503: Shirat Ha’Olam™: Song of the Universe Sound Bathing

Dr. Heidi Shira

Use of sound as a spiritual enhancer and healing/therapeutic tool has existed since ancient times, and has been well documented. The field of music therapy and sound healing have utilized the power of listening to, and creating music to heal the body, mind, emotions, and soul. Jews have used the sound of the Shofar to alert us, and awaken our spirits and our intentions. Jewish leaders have been sharing the virtues of sounds generated by singing bowls as sacred vessels over the last few years. In this experiential workshop participants will bathe in the meditative and healing sounds generated by Dr. Heidi Shira by playing a set of 7 white singing bowls made out of 99.9% quartz crystal, calibrated around 432 Hz. Not only are they beautiful, but their deep, pure, long resonance have been linked to inducing Theta brain waves, associated with deep meditative states of relaxation, trance, and healing. Listening to the binaural beats of playing more than one at a time has been associated with improving emotional states such as anxiety and depression and improving well-being.

While there is some debate about whether music calibrated around 432 Hz (Dr. Heidi Shira’s bowls) vs 440 Hz (American and European musical instruments) is preferred, the “frequency of the universe” or claims that our bodies atoms, thought waves, and even our DNA, respond positively to listening to sounds that are tuned to this slightly lower pitch, there are some studies supporting it being physically, psychologically, and spiritually beneficial. Participants will be invited to wear comfortable clothing, bring a yoga mat, pillow and blanket, to lay back and relax, to listen to the sounds and feel the vibrations and their impact on one’s body, mind, and spirit. Participants will have the option of focusing on a Hebrew Letter and its Kabbalistic properties, on a Mussar trait, or just freely allow the music and vibrations to take them on a spiritual journey. Time will be set aside to privately process the experience, and to communally share it with one another if desired.

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

CATEGORY: SPIRITUALITY

————————————————————————————————————————-

PM504: Torah Transcestors and Their Kabbalistic Overtones

Reuven Betzalel McCullough

Using Torah and commentary, join Reuven Betzalel McCullough as we follow the gender complexities of the first Jewish family through Bereshit and, with time, to the beginning of Shemot. Using the lenses of feminist and gender studies, trauma, and multifacted midrash allows us to note the subtle and subconscious threads of gender variance that follows Avraham’s descendants through Bereshit.

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

CATEGORY: TEXT STUDY

————————————————————————————————————————-