July 3-9 Classes @ EC

JULY 3-9

The Mazel and Brucha Experience

AM Classes

Barry Barkan & Max Samson

This workshop is being offered for people with caring hearts and souls who want a vacation time experience that cultivates mazel and brucha, good luck and blessings, in their lives. Join a circle of love and acceptance that will empower all to bring holiness, hope and heightened effectiveness to the places in our lives where we need to grow and prosper the most. In this week-long mikvah (immersion) for the soul we will use the Sh'ma (our liturgical expression of God's singular omnipresence) as the fountainhead to joyful impeccability, the awesome power of teshuvah (transformation) and the universal source of power which is always as near as an instant of concentration. We will use the Tree of Life formula to cultivate a field of blessings and good fortune in our personal lives, our relationships, our workworlds and our various communities.

JULY 3-9
[AM] The Mazel and Brucha Experience Barry Barkan; Max Samson

JULY 3-9

Conscious Community

Andrea Cohen-Kiener

Utilizing the teaching of Reb Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, the martyred rebbe of the Warsaw ghetto, we will explore his ideas on creating a relationship with our own soul. We will use sacred psychology and prayer to facilitate unblocking our souls from our personalities, thereby becoming more truthful with our selves. Using small group techniques of listening deeply to each other, chanting together, and conversing with one another, we will enhance the soulfullness of the group in our ongoing efforts to become ever clearer channels for our souls. The course will conclude with the sharing of ideas on bringing this all back to daily life.

JULY 3-9
[AM] Conscious Community Andrea Cohen-Kiener

JULY 3-9

Healing With Presence, Prayer, Meditation and Music

Debbie Friedman & Rabbi Stan Levy

Our tradition expresses the truth that gratitude is the gateway to joy. All of us experience pain, illness and loss. Although we can never change what has happened, we can choose how to relate and respond to these things so that we can live in gratitude and joy. In this program we will explore how we can use song and music, presence and prayer, imaging and meditation, love and compassion, as part of the journey of healing the pain, illness or loss and rediscovering the gratitude and joy.

JULY 3-9
[AM] Healing With Presence, Prayer, Meditation and Music Debbie Friedman; Rabbi Stan Levy

JULY 3-9

Faces of Light: Relationships as a Spiritual Encounter

Joel Ziff

Our relationships are complex, dynamic, and continually evolving. Long-term relationships are multi-faceted, requiring the ability to respond in different ways at different times. This workshop is designed for individuals, couples, and friends who want to develop better relationships. We will explore the different pathways for relationship that correspond to the Sefirot, the ten archetypal manifestations of our relationship with Spirit. From the perspective of Jewish mysticism, the Sefirot are conceived as a basic structure underlying all of creation. When applied to understanding our relationships, they provide a model for assessing how to build on our strengths and develop new capacities: in making connections, in communicating and listening, in asserting and responding, in giving and receiving, in leading and in following, and in co-creating. Using guided visualizations and psychodrama, we will apply this framework both to current and past relationships. We will explore how to be resources for one another, discovering how to create a safe, supportive, and transformative community, a place to gain insight into how we relate to others while supporting one another in experimenting with new possibilities.

JULY 3-9
[AM] Faces of Light: Relationships as a Spiritual Encounter Joel Ziff

JULY 3-9

What Me Worry?: Cultivating Jewish Joy

PM Classes

Rabbi Ya'acov Gabriel

Where does it say you can be Jewish and happy? Through Torah, Talmudic and Hassidic texts we will see what modern and ancient Masters teach about living with Simcha (joy) and Sasson (unexpected delights). These are not therapy sessions, but we will sing and discuss techniques and tips for furthering terrific living and transforming worry. There are no prerequisites for this class, except for a heart open to celebration.

JULY 3-9
[PM] What Me Worry?: Cultivating Jewish Joy Rabbi Ya'acov Gabriel

JULY 3-9

Jewish History: Continuity and Change

Rabbi Julie Greenberg

In every age the Jewish people inherited traditions from their ancestors and re-crafted those traditions using their own creativity, sensitivity and vision to ensure their future. Each day of this workshop, we will look at an historical epoch and see how the Jewish people took the best from the cultures they lived in, and recreated the nature of Judaism from those experiences. Drawing on excerpts from ancient Sumer, the Bible, Mishna, and other Jewish texts, we will end up with a framework of the development of Judaism within an historic timeline.

JULY 3-9
[PM] Jewish History: Continuity and Change Rabbi Julie Greenberg

JULY 3-9

I Can't Read Hebrew, I Never Went To Yeshiva, But I Want To Study Talmud

Arthur Kurzweil

Arthur Kurzweil

Our ancestors spent a lifetime studying Talmud. Now you can spend a week dipping into this ocean of legend, lore and law, without previous background or experience with the Talmud or Hebrew. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz teaches, If the Bible is the cornerstone of Judaism, then the Talmud is the central pillar...supporting the entire spiritual and intellectual edifice. In many ways, the Talmud is the most important book in Jewish culture... Using the renowned Steinsaltz edition (English) of the Talmud, we will discover its basic structure-the way it explores ideas. But most importantly, we will spend most of our time wrestling with select portions of the text itself - a quintessential Jewish learning experience. Our goal is to illustrate that the Talmud is an eternal source of wisdom and nourishment for those who learn to dig deep into its substance and become part of it. Participants will learn enough skills from this course to continue studying Talmud on their own. Texts will be provided by the teacher.
Arthur Kurzweil is an unbelievable pleasure to study with. I would not have believed that someone could have us on the edge of our chairs at 11pm with Talmud. His energy and love and wide-ranging mind make the texts come alive and the Talmud story seem absolutely compelling. Participant, Text Study, Shabbat 1999.

JULY 3-9
[PM] I Can't Read Hebrew, I Never Went To Yeshiva, But I Want To Study Talmud Arthur Kurzweil

JULY 3-9

Embracing the Shekhinah

Rabbi Leah Novick

Rabbi Leah Novick

In this class, we will explore the concept of Shekhinah-the Feminine Divine Presence-both as she has been understood by Jewish sages throughout our history and as we experience that energy in our own lives. We will read selections from the Torah, Midrash, Talmud, and Zohar, where the Shekhinah has been variously represented as the Desert Clouds of Glory (Anan Ha Kavod), the Pillar of Fire (Amud Ha Esh), the Protective Mother of Exiles, Heavenly Splendor and Glory, the Shabbos Queen and Celestial Matrona, the Knesset Yisrael,(Congregation of Israel) the Return to Zion, and the Spirit of the Earth. To deepen our personal awareness of the Divine Presence, Reb Leah will lead students in meditation, chant, and guided visualizations keyed to many of these representations.

JULY 3-9
[PM] Embracing the Shekhinah Rabbi Leah Novick

JULY 3-9

Beyond the Page: Deep Listening and the Rediscovery of Jewish Mystical Tales and Teachings

Rabbi Rami Shapiro

Deep Listening, a contemplative process created by Rami for use in individual text study and spiritual practice, is a technique whose roots can be found in many spiritual traditions. Blending meditation and journaling with a breath-based, focused reading technique, Deep Listening allows the reader to listen to the deepest wisdom of our classic texts. Students will master this technique in class through reading practice, silence, group discussion, and journaling, and use it to explore the transformative insights of a variety of Torah, Talmudic, and Hasidic texts. Our ultimate objective will be to make ourselves a bit more transparent to the universal truths at the heart of all authentic spiritual teaching.

JULY 3-9
[PM] Beyond the Page: Deep Listening and the Rediscovery of Jewish Mystical Tales and Teachings Rabbi Rami Shapiro