Virtual Programs

Date: Sunday, July 3 
Time: 8 pm ET (5 pm PT)
Cost: Pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $36) 
Led by: Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael and friends

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l is the grandfather, visionary, and inspiration of the Jewish Renewal movement. For the past couple of years, we have gathered to honor his legacy and life by connecting with his stories, songs and teachings. 

This year, we gather on his yahrzeit (day of his passing) to remember. Led by Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael, join as Reb Zalman’s friends, family, and students share their memories in tribute to this incredible soul.

Dates: June 16, 23 and July 14, 21, 28
Time: 7:00-8:30 pm ET (4:00-5:30 pm PT)
Cost: $144
Led by: Rabbi Dr. Natan Margalit

In this class we’ll dive into one of the most beloved of rabbinic writings, Pirkei Avot, which focuses on the development of ethical qualities. The goal of these classes is to help students improve their reading skills in Rabbinic Hebrew. Everyone will have a chance to read out loud (if they want), to prepare on their own and get feedback and to learn together with the class about the language and thought of the ancient and medieval rabbis. Since reading these texts is not only about technical skills but also about interpretation, we’ll also discuss the content and ideas as they come up. We’ll focus on the classical medieval commentators, but also take a look at the famous commentary of the Maharal of Prague whose approach to Pirkei Avot is unique and fascinating.  This class is best for students with some Hebrew reading background who wish to improve their reading ability. We’ll explore areas such as learning some Aramaic terms which come into Hebrew in the rabbinic writings and learning to read without vowels, pacing our study according to students’ needs. AOP students may combine this class with further study to receive AOP credit.

Date: June 21
Time: 7:30pm ET (4:30pm PT)
Cost: $18
Led by: Barb Segura

Class Description:

Living/Dying/Grieving – has been on all of our minds since 2020. We have our own brutal and  tender stories and experiences of these past two years. Grief is a change we don’t want. To grieve is human and to grieve is to have loved and to continue to love. In fact, the love we have for them doesn’t leave us, so why should stop loving when they are no longer physically with us? 

During our time together we will have the opportunity to actively engage with questions, concepts and tap into the wisdom of our lived experiences. 

Together, we will face our fears of living, dying and grieving so as to live a little more fully. We will do a guided meditation and spend some time reflecting on our current relationship with death. How does knowing that you will die inform your living? 

– – –

Batya/Barb Segura grew up Catholic in Queens, NY and went to SUNY Potsdam for her BA. She received her graduate degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with concentration in addiction rehabilitation from Springfield College in Massachusetts.  She retired from the State of Connecticut, Department of Correction, Addiction Services Unit where she facilitated grief support groups for men in outpatient and therapeutic community treatment programs. She also worked at the Hope Center, a community mental health clinic and as an imbedded clinician supporting the Connecticut National Guard during the OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) years. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor FL 16347 and Certified Addiction Counselor FL 002738-2014 and Licensed Professional Counselor CT 00463.

She converted to Judaism, her father’s unspoken religion in 2018 and is a member at P’nai Or Synagogue in Philadelphia.

When she is not spending time with her children and grandchildren, she serves as a Grief Educator, certified by the internationally known grief expert, David Kessler, teaching and speaking wherever she is invited. She facilitates and ongoing grief support group for Temple Beth Sholom in Melbourne, FL  For fun, Barb loves road trips, hiking, Hebrew, singing and playing guitar.

Date: Tuesday, June 28
Time: 7:30 – 8:30 PM ET (4:30 – 5:30 PM PT)
Cost: FREE
Led by: Rabbi Natan Margalit, PhD

Description:

This panel of leaders in the fields of Jewish social justice, spirituality, and environmental education and activism will discuss insights and implications of Margalit’s new book, The Pearl and the Flame.

The Panel:

Rabbi Sid Schwarz, PhD, moderator — Senior Fellow at Hazon, director of Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI) and Kenissa: Communities of Meaning Network
Rabbi Natan Margalit, PhD — Chair of Rabbinic Texts Department, ALEPH Ordination Program; Director of Earth-Based Judaism Program and Organic Torah
Michal Smart — Chief Program Officer, Institute of Jewish Spirituality
Rabbi Laura Bellows — Director of Spiritual Activism and Education, Dayenu: A Jewish Call for Climate Action

In the words of Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, one of the pioneers of Jewish environmentalism, this book “illuminates the radical ecological nature of ancient Jewish thinking. Through personal stories and exploration of the most cutting-edge ecological thinking, Rabbi Margalit brings to life the wisdom of the rabbis, who understood that the meaning of life is forged by creating connections. At this time of such brokenness, The Pearl and The Flame inspires us to find creative new ways to make the world whole again.”  

If you wish to purchase a copy of Rabbi Margalit’s book, The Pearl and the Flame, you may do so here.

Dates: Wednesdays, July 6, 13, 20, and 27
Time: 7:30 – 9 pm ET (4:30 – 6 pm PT)
Cost: $72
Led by: Roberta Wall

Class Description:

An Evening of Soulful Spirit: ALEPH Virtual Cabaret
Benefitting ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal

Date: Sunday, July 17

Time: 7 – 9 pm EST (4 – 6 pm PST)
Welcome and centering from 6:45 – 7 pm EST (3:45 – 4 pm PST)

Cost: Pay-what-you-can with a suggested donation of $36 or more

Description: It’s that time of year again: time for the third annual Virtual ALEPH Cabaret! A stellar lineup of performers will lift us up in song, connect with us through words, and bring us all together—beyond our Zoom screens—as one collective soul. Produced by Rabbinic Pastor/Cantor Lisa Levine, ALEPH’s biggest summer fundraiser is going to be an unforgettable evening you won’t want to miss.

Date: July 17
Time: 4:00pm ET (1pm PT)
Cost: $18
Led by: Jinks Hoffmann

Waking up—becoming conscious—is a lifetime endeavor. In dialogue with Bobbi Breitman, Jinks Hoffmann will reflect on the divine daily call to wholeness: in our relationships and work, our joys and dreams, our messes and triumphs, our losses and grief. Jinks’ book was coming together in a very dark time in the world where archetypal and personal shadow ran rampant. Synchronistically, Jinks was upended by unusually traumatic circumstances. Journeying through dark and also radiant shadow, Jinks learned much about surrender, about “I don’t know,” and about the dark and light of life and of the Divine.

In conversation, Bobbi and Jinks will also reflect on the teachings of six remarkable teachers of contemporary Jewish mysticism—Arthur Green, Lawrence Kushner, Michael Fishbane, Sanford Drob, Tirzah Firestone, and Melila Hellner-Eshed—whose wisdom comforted and sustained Jinks during this period. Jinks offers the perspective that by waking up, we can grow in our minds, bodies, hearts and souls. We learn that when we welcome our vulnerability and strength we heighten our humanity and heal our souls. By becoming kinder and more compassionate with ourselves and with one another, we keep waking up and can contribute to our own healing and that of our fractured and exquisite world.

There will be time for questions and reflections.

Dates: Sunday, July 24
Time: 1 pm ET (10 am PT)
Cost: $20
Led by: Dominique Tomasov Blinder

Class Description:

For the past two decades Dominique Tomasov Blinder has focused on ancient Jewish cemeteries, combining her professional background and her involvement in the Jewish community. Dominique is an independent researcher and Jewish heritage activist.

In 1999, she took the Jewish narrative out on the streets in Spain where she advocated for ancient Jewish cemeteries to obtain historical landmark designation.

Cemeteries are loaded with tradition and meaning. They are fundamental sites of collective memory that call upon us to fulfill the responsibility of Kvod hamet.

This ancient cemetery in Barcelona (pictured) dates back to the 9th century. After the violent attacks in 1391 throughout Castille and Aragon, the Jewish community in town did not recover and the cemetery was forcibly abandoned, looted and subdivided through the centuries, but graves still lie underground with no visible evidence.

These sites offer a very powerful opportunity for local and visiting Jews to reinforce their sense of belonging and reconnection to the place. The question is how to integrate ancient Jewish cemeteries in the local historical narrative. Should we present them as places of the past or as part of the ongoing life of the people who established them?

– – –

Dominique Tomasov Blinder is the grandchild of Jews from Belarus and Ukraine who settled in Buenos Aires. She was born in NY and raised in Argentina. After earning an architecture degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Dominique moved to New York and, twelve years later, settled in Barcelona in 1991.
A founding member of the first egalitarian synagogue in Spain, she is responsible for its Chevra Kadisha.
Dominique is an independent researcher and Jewish heritage activist. In 1999 she took the Jewish narrative out on the streets,for the first time ever in Spain.She is a strong advocate for ancient Jewish cemeteries and obtained historical landmark designation for the one in Barcelona.

The Nechamah Minyan was started in January 2021 by Reb Geela Rayzel Raphael as a place to say kaddish (Jewish prayer for the dead) for her mom, Natalie Robinson, (Nechama Leah bat Elke v’Chayim). 

For Jews in mourning, it is traditional to say daily Kaddish in a minyan, which is a group of 10 or more persons. All who mourn, who are honoring yahrzeits, or who wish to participate in the mitzvah of making a minyan, are invited to join this important program.

If you would like to register, please reach out to Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael at rrayzel@shechinah.com.

If you are looking to attend a minyan taking place that evening, please contact Rabbi Geela Rayzel by 6 pm EDT.

If you’d like to be on the last-minute text list (to be contacted to participate in the mitzvah of making a minyan, in the case not enough are gathered) please reach out to Rabbi Geela Rayzel at the email above.

If you’d like to lead one of the evenings (creative, traditional, and all types of services are welcome!) please reach out to Rabbi Geela Rayzel at the email above.

If you would like to express your gratitude for this type of program, please feel free to make a donation HERE.

Date: Weekly on Wednesdays
Time: 11:30 am-12:30 pm ET (8:30-9:30 am PT) 
Cost: Pay-what-you-can 
Presenter: Rabbi Anne Brener

Description: Overwhelmed with stress from social distancing, quarantine, and COVID-19? Join Rabbi Anne Brener for a chanting and meditation service, using the structure of the morning service, to calm our bodies and connect our souls. There will be time for some check-in afterward.