Index of Teachers by Last Name

Marcia Albert has taught yoga, meditation, and breathing therapy for over 25 years and trained with the Indian master T.K.V. Desikachar. She excels in using the healing power of breath in yoga to strengthen mind, body, and soul. Since its inception, she has been staff yoga instructor for Elat Chayyim. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Praying with Your Body, Breath and Heart: A Yoga Workshop

Barry Barkan dubbed the Baal HaBracha (master of blessings) by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, is a founding member of the Aquarian Minyan and has been teaching rebbe craft for about 25 years. He and his partner, Debby, have dedicated their lives to renewing the culture of nursing homes and aging in America. Lately, they have been teaching about relating to our aging parents as spiritual practice. ; JULY 3-9, The Mazel and Brucha Experience

Suzanne Benton is a painter, printmaker and sculptor in metal and mixed media. Since 1971, she has traveled the globe, presenting her one-woman shows of tales from the Bible and world myth, using her wrought-iron masks. A former Fulbright Scholar and resident artist in six countries, her artworks are represented in over 500 private and museum collections around the world. ; July 24-30, Biblical Collage: Juxtapositions, Transparencies and Discovery

Phyllis Berman an Eyshet Hazon (Woman of Vision) is Summer Program Director at Elat Chayyim. She is a board member of ALEPH, is the founding Director of the Riverside Language Program, an intensive English language school for adult legal immigrants and refugees, as well as teacher-trainer for Counseling Learning Institutes. She co-authored Tales of Tikkun: Getting Into It, and numerous articles about life rituals. ; July 24-30, Midrash in Sacred Time: Weaving Torah into the Shabbat Service ; SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 1 , ROSH HASHANAH RETREAT

Rabbi Leila Gal Berner Ph.D, teaches in the Dept. of Religion at Emory Univ. and is Rabbi-Havera of Havurat Lev Shalem in Atlanta, GA. Ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, she is co-editor of Or Chadash, the Shabbat morning siddur of ALEPH, and has a tape of new Jewish music called Hevdelim, Differences. Leila lives with her life-partner, Renee Gal Primack, and their daughter Kayla Moriya Gal. ; JULY 10-16, Welcoming the World to Come: Jewish Reflections on the Messiah

Sylvia Boorstein is the senior teacher of the Mindfulness Leadership Training and has taught regularly at Elat Chayyim since 1993 and widely on the subject of a mindful Jewish life. She is the author of That\'s Funny, You Don\'t Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist. She is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA and a senior teacher at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. ; MAY 21-25, ADVANCED MEDITATION RETREAT FOR RABBIS AND JEWISH PROFESSIONALS ; MAY 4-7 , CONTEMPLATIVE SHABBAT ; May 7-10, BEGINNER'S MEDITATION RETREAT FOR RABBIS AND JEWISH PROFESSIONALS ; OCTOBER 27 - 29 , CONTEMPLATIVE SHABBAT

Barbara Breitman is a psychotherapist, and an instructor of Advanced Practice at the Univ. of PA School of Social Work and of pastoral counseling at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Barbara is a student at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and has been named as a Spiritual Director, Maspea Ruchani, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week , The Ebb and Flow of the Spiritual Journey

Anne Brener chosen as Eshet Hazon at the 1995 ALEPH Kallah, is a psychotherapist and writer living in LA. She leads workshops and classes on bereavement, spirituality, and Jewish feminist issues. The author of Mourning and Mitzvah and other publications, she is a founder of the Jewish Healing Center at Metivta where she also teaches. Anne is a doctoral student at Hebrew Union College. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Doing Kaddish: Rituals for Healing at Times of Loss & Transition

Moshe Budmor PhD, is a composer, conductor and musician, with degrees from Juilliard, and a doctorate from Columbia University. He has directed and taught internationally. An expert in teaching non-musicians to compose innovative music that interprets sacred texts, he has presented his workshops in the US, Israel and Europe. ; July 24-30, The Shape of the Word: Creating Midrash Through Sound and Silence

Andrea Cohen-Kiener is a teacher, translator, author, and guide. She is a leader in Jewish teen education with specialties in Mussar/emotional growth and spirituality. She is co-director of a citizen\'s diplomatic mission to Israel-Palestine, The Compassionate Listening Project. Andrea is the translator of Reb Kalanymous Kalman Shapira\'s Conscious Community: A Guide to Inner Work and is currently developing a teacher\'s guide to prayer and spirituality ; JULY 3-9, Conscious Community

Rabbi David Cooper leads contemplative workshops across the country. He is an experienced practitioner in many spiritual traditions and is the author of God Is A Verb; Renewing Your Soul; Entering the Sacred Mountain; The Heart of Stillness; and Silence, Simplicity & Solitude. He is also the author of the audio-tape series, The Mystical Kabbalah and The Holy Chariot. ; DECEMBER 24 - JANUARY 1, 2001 , THE TURNING OF THE SECULAR YEAR: AN EIGHT-DAY MEDITATION RETREAT ; JUNE 25-JULY 2, 7-DAY MEDITATION RETREAT

Shoshana Cooper teacher of Japanese Tea Ceremony, long-time practitioner of meditation, and composer of sacred Jewish chant, leads contemplative workshops across the country. She brings the skill and compassion of her previous career as an oncology nurse and university-level nursing instructor to her teaching. ; DECEMBER 24 - JANUARY 1, 2001 , THE TURNING OF THE SECULAR YEAR: AN EIGHT-DAY MEDITATION RETREAT

Dove been involved with bike riding since he was very young. He started using a two-wheeler at five, and quickly outgrew his training wheels. He has been biking in Ulster County for the last two years. Dove is a graduate of the Jewish Renewal Life Center and has taught yoga for nine years in Philadelphia, FL and now at Elat Chayyim. ; JULY 10-16, Biking on a Spiritual Path ; OCTOBER 13-15 , Sukkot Wandering - By Bike! ; OCTOBER 27 - 29 , Sukkot "Wandering" - By Bike!

Efraim Eisen has practiced as a licensed marriage, family, and child therapist (MFCC) for 16 years. He earned his undergraduate degree in Labor Relations from Cornell University and his graduate Counseling degree from Antioch. He is currently the Jewish Student Advisor at Vassar College. ; FEBRUARY 18-21 , BASHERTE WORKSHOP - PRESIDENT'S WEEKEND ; NOVEMBER 23-26 , BASHERTE WORKSHOP - THANKSGIVING ; SEPT 1-4, BASHERTE WORKSHOP - LABOR DAY

Sears Eldredge PhD, is Chair of the Dramatics Arts & Dance Dept. of Macalester College in St. Paul. The author of Mask Improvisation for Actor Training & Performance: The Compelling Image, he has taught mask-making and performance for 30 years. His recent play, Return to Kanburi, employs Japanese Noh style to recount the reconciliation between a former prisoner of war and his captor. ; July 24-30, The Mirror in the Face: Masks of the Ancestors

Cantor Robert Esformes is a musician, educator, meditation teacher, editor, and astrologer. He presents workshops and concerts across the country, singing the songs of the Sephardim in the Ladino language of his childhood. ; JULY 17-23, Opening the Prayerbook with Chant and Song

Rabbi Tirzah Firestone was ordained in 1992 by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and is the founding rabbi of the Jewish Renewal Congregation of Boulder, CO. A Jungian psychotherapist and author of With Roots in Heaven: One Woman\'s Passionate Journey Into the Heart of Her Faith , she now teaches nationally about the process of renewing and re-spiritualizing our ancient heritage. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Mystical Healing Practices: Medicine for the Modern Soul

David Friedman is an artist and teacher of Kabbalah, living in Zefat, Israel. Much of his art is based on Kabbalah, especially the Sefer Yetzirah, Book of Creation. He is presently writing a book on the teachings of the 18th Century kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto. ; July 31 - Aug 6, In Sight of the Divine

Debbie Friedman is an internationally recognized songwriter and singer. Her songprayers have brought healing to thousands and are prayed in more synagogues than any other living composer. Debbie\'s critically acclaimed CD\'s include Renewal of Spirit, You are the One, and Live at Carnegie Hall. ; JULY 3-9, Healing With Presence, Prayer, Meditation and Music

Rabbi Ya-acov Gabriel a student of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi\'s, teaches Torah and Jewish living through music, jokes and midrash and is the rabbi of the Jewish Renewal congregation in Fort Collins, CO. He is the music editor of Tikkun magazine, and his seventh recording, Living Tree , was recently released. ; JULY 3-9, What Me Worry?: Cultivating Jewish Joy

Rabbi Mordechai Gafni an American-born rabbi, has emerged as one of the important new voices in religion and spirituality in Israel. Defining himself as post-denominational, he teaches from the heart as well as from the mind, focusing on what unites the Jewish people rather than the barriers between us. ; JULY 10-16, Loneliness To Loving The Eros Of Tears ; JULY 17-23, Hasidic Mysticism and Psychology: A Model for Spiritual Development

Rabbi Elliot Ginsburg an Associate Professor of Jewish Thought and Mysticism at the University of Michigan, is the author of two books on the Sabbath in Jewish mysticism and is currently working on a theology of the senses and emotions in Judaism. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Melting into the Divine: Av, Elul, and the Days of Awe as Healing Modalities ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week , The Ebb and Flow of the Spiritual Journey

Roshi Bernie Glassman was the first Abbot of the Zen Community of NY. He is the co-founder of the Peacemaker Community, an international order of social activists and peacemaker villages engaged in peacemaking. He is the co-founder of the Greyston Mandala, a network of businesses and not-for-profits engaged in community development in Yonkers, NY. He is the author of Bearing Witness: A Zen Masters Lessons in Making Peace. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Jewish Koans

Rabbi Shefa Gold a teacher of spiritual leadership and Jewish meditation through the practice of chant, is a composer and performer of spiritually-oriented music. She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, an ALEPH Pathfinder, and has received smicha from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, The Art of Chant as Devotional Healing ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week, Rooting Ourselves in the Infinite: Establishing a Spiritual Practice ; NOVEMBER 10-12 , RENEWAL SHABBAT

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb is the spiritual leader of Cong. Nahalat Shalom in Albuquerque, NM, where she also co-founded the Arab Jewish Dialogue of NM. She co-leads a yearly delegation to Israel and Palestine devoted to rapproachment between our two peoples. She is author of She Who Dwells Within: A Feminist Vision of a Renewed Judaism, and numerous articles on Jewish spirituality. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week , The Heart of Peace in the Heart of Darkness

Blu Greenberg is the author of On Women and Judaism: A View From Tradition, Black Bread: Poems After the Holocaust and many other books. She is co-founder and first president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. She lectures on issues of feminism, Orthodoxy, and the Jewish family. ; NOVEMBER 10-12 , WOMEN AND SPIRITUALITY

Julie Greenberg founded and now directs the Jewish Renewal Life Center, which offers training programs in Jewish spirituality and community building. Her background in history includes ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, an MA in History from Temple University, and an undergraduate major in History and Religion at Swarthmore College. She has taught history to many cycles of Life Center students. ; JULY 3-9 , Jewish History: Continuity and Change

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg is the president of the Jewish Life Network where he works on the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education; MAKOR, a center for Jews in their 20s and 30s and Birthright Israel, a program to enable Jewish youth worldwide to study in Israel. An Orthodox rabbi, he is the author of The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays, and Living in the Image of God: Jewish Teachings to Perfect the World. He served as founding president of The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, CLAL. ; NOVEMBER 10-12 , ON BECOMING HUMAN: JUDAISM AS A HUMAN NURTURE SYSTEM

Rosalie Harris-Eisen has worked successfully in business and finance, education, and human services. She holds an advanced degree in Education and Human Development from the University of Oregon. ; FEBRUARY 18-21 , BASHERTE WORKSHOP - PRESIDENT'S WEEKEND ; NOVEMBER 23-26 , BASHERTE WORKSHOP - THANKSGIVING ; SEPT 1-4, BASHERTE WORKSHOP - LABOR DAY

Shonna Husbands-Hankin is a Judaic artist who creates ritual Judaica, including silk tallitot, wedding contracts, oil and acrylic paintings, ceramics and fiber arts. Her work appears in many collections and synagogues across the country, and is featured in a new Hyperion book, Traditions. Shonna has been teaching art at Elat Chayyim and the Aleph Kallah for several years and lives in Eugene, Oregon. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week, Awakening the Inner Artist

Naomi Mara Hyman is the editor of Biblical Women in the Midrash: A Sourcebook. With a Masters degree in Jewish Studies and Certificate in Jewish Communal Studies, she is a rabbinical student in ALEPH\'s professional development program. She has trained in Bibliodrama, dance and visual midrash through ICM, and leads workshops in many settings. ; July 24-30, Biblical Women in the Midrash: Voices Past and Present

Eve Ilsen therapist, teacher, storyteller and singer, has been a pioneer in body-mind work for 30 years and has taught and performed from Alaska to Israel. Based on her apprenticeship with Mme. Coletter Aboulker-Muscat in Jerusalem, she has learned Waking Dream and teaches a master class in Transformational Imagery. In addition, she occasionally co-leads seminars with her partner, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. ; JULY 10-16, Relationships in the Bible ; JULY 17-23, As If We Were Dreaming...

Rabbi Shaya Isenberg Ph.D, teaches Jewish Studies and Mysticism and chairs the Dept. of Religion at the Univ. of FL. An author and lecturer, he offers workshops on self-development and relationships, applied mysticism and Jewish meditation. In addition, he serves as rabbi for Pnai Or of Gainesville, FL and is senior faculty of The Spiritual Eldering Institute. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Awakening the Spirit in Relationships ; JULY 10-16, Mysticism and our Jewish Future

Rabbi Burt Jacobson was a student of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and is a founder of Jewish renewal. Burt is presently the founding rabbi of Kehilla Community Synagogue in Berkeley and has a private practice in Jewish spiritual direction. He is a well-known liturgist, co-editor of Or Chadash: New Paths for Shabbat Morning (ALEPH). He has been studying the Ba\'al Shem Tov for over twenty years, and is working on a book about him. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, In Search of the Ba'al Shem Tov

Rabbi Menachem Kallus has received ordination from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and is currently completing his Ph.D. at the Hebrew University on Contemplative Prayer in Lurianic Kabbalah. He is currently collaborating with Rabbi Miles Krassen on a complete translation of the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov to be published by the Jewish Publication Society. Menachem has also trained in various forms of Tibetan Buddhist meditation. He lives with his partner, Betsy Cohen-Kallus in Jerusalem. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Return from Exile: Transforming Negative Emotions

Cantor Jack Kessler is a traditionally trained Hazzan and an inspiring teacher of Jewish liturgy. He is the lead singer and director of the musical groups Atzilut, Klingon Klezmer, and Golden Medina, and a widely respected teacher of voice, nusach (melody of prayer), Torah leynen (reading), and the art of Jewish prayer. Jack is a guest faculty for the Davenning Leadership Training Institute (no online registration).

Carol Kestler has been a studio artist and an educator for more than 35 years, and is the founder and Program Coordinator of Arts Genesis Inc., an award winning arts education organization in Tucson, AZ. Kestler has led more than 50 Face to Face workshops for participants from 6-90 years of age in the US, Canada and Israel. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week , Panim el Panim - Face to Face: A Mask-Making Workshop

Ammi Kohn a graduate of Gratz Hebrew Teacher\'s college, specializes in yoga and Jewish meditation for children. He has studied under Marcia Albert for six years. He uses his Judaic studies, yoga, and teaching experience with adults and the directness and innocence of children to develop new ways of combining Eastern and Jewish practices. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Praying with Your Body, Breath and Heart: A Yoga Workshop

Rabbi Miles Krassen is Associate Professor of Religion and Director of Jewish Studies at Oberlin College and Executive Director of Sha\'arey Gan Eden/Gates of Eden distance learning project. His publications include Isaiah Horowitz: The Generations of Adam and Uniter of Heaven and Earth: Rabbi Meshullam Feibush Heller of Zbarazh and the Rise of Hasidism in Eastern Galicia. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Refuah Sheleymah: Jewish Sources for Holistic Healing ; OCTOBER 6-9 , YOM KIPPUR: SEALING THE BOOK OF LIFE: COMPLETING THE TESHUVAH PROCESS

Latifa Kropf has been creating and leading Jewish sacred dancing in Charlottesville, VA, and other communities for many years. She weaves sacred dance into Shabbat and holiday services, life cycle events, and religious retreats. She has published a teaching manual and audiotape of Jewish sacred dances and has led workshops at the ALEPH Kallah, Elat Chayyim, and the National Havurah Institute. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week, Jewish Sacred Dance- Becoming a Divine Dwelling Place

Arthur Kurzweil vice-president of Jason Aronson Publishers, is the coordinator of the Talmud Circle Project under the direction of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Book Club and an expert in the field of Jewish genealogy. He is a member of the Elat Chayyim board and a magician. ; JULY 3-9, I Can't Read Hebrew, I Never Went To Yeshiva, But I Want To Study Talmud ; NOVEMBER 10-12 , THE THIRTEEN PETALLED ROSE

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner will become the first Rabbi-in Residence at Hebrew Union College\'s Jewish Institute in the fall of 2000, stepping down from his pulpit of 28 years in Sudbury, MA. He is the author of many books including Invisible Lines of Connection, God Was In This Place & I, I Did Not Know, and Honey From the Rock. ; OCTOBER 13-15 , FROM TERROR TO JOY

Rabbi Stan Levy is the rabbi and spiritual leader of B\'nai Horin - Children on Freedom, a Jewish Renewal Community in LA and President of the Academy for Jewish Religion, CA. A noted lawyer, Stan is the co-founder of Bet Tzedek - House of Justice which in its 25-year history has provided free legal services to over 100,000 poor and elderly people including hundreds of holocaust survivors. ; JULY 3-9, Healing With Presence, Prayer, Meditation and Music

Rabbi Shaul Magid is Asst. Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Jewish Philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has published on Polish and Bratslav Hasidism, Lurianic Kabbala, modern Jewish thought, and contemporary Jewish spirituality. He is also the rabbi of the Fire Island Synagogue in NY. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week, Building a New Foundation: Fault Lines of Religious Renewal

Deborah Baer Mozes is the Artistic Director of Theatre Ariel, Philadelphia\'s professional Jewish theatre company. For over 25 years, she has worked as a dramaturge, producer, director, theatre arts teacher and advocate in the US and Canada. She has supported the development over 100 new plays, and is co-editor of Voices From Ariel: Ten-minute Plays Exploring the Jewish Experience. ; July 24-30, Spontaneous Engagement; For Bibliodramatists, Storytellers & Other Creative Souls

Rabbi Leah Novick is a West Coast spiritual teacher and counselor, whose work has been focussed on the the Divine Feminine for many years. Reb Leah\'s healing and ritual work is grounded in experiencing the Shekhinah, in meditative states. An Aleph Pathfinder, Leah lives on the Central Coast of CA and leads retreats and workshops in the U.S. Europe and Israel. ; JULY 3-9, Embracing the Shekhinah

Vanessa Ochs teaches Anthropology of Religion and Judaism in the Dept. of Religious Studies of the Univ. of VA and edits the Sacred Day series of CLAL, The National Center for Learning and Leadership. She is the author of Words on Fire (Westview) and Safe and Sound. ; JULY 17-23, The Holiness of Light: Finding the Sacred in the Material of Everyday

Alicia Suskin Ostriker , PhD, is an acclaimed and prize-winning feminist critic and author of many books of poetry and literary criticism, including The Nakedness of the Fathers: Biblical Visions and Revisions. Widely published, her last two books were finalists for the National Book Award for Poetry. Alicia teaches English and creative writing at Rutgers Univ. ; July 24-30, Text and Transformation: Advanced Midrashic Writing

Peter Pitzele PhD, holds degrees in literature from Harvard and Oxford. A former clinical psychodramatist, he has been developing Bibliodrama as a midrashic and reflective tool for many years. His book, Our Father\'s Wells: A Personal Encounter with the Myths of Genesis, is based on the midrash generated in those sessions. Peter will be assisted by Susan Pitzele, MS, formerly a psychotherapist and currently a ceramic artist, who has been a frequent participant and co-leader with Peter in his work. ; July 24-30, Bibliodrama and the Work of Reconciliation

Rabbi Marcia Prager teacher, artist, storyteller, and therapist, was ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She is a Pathfinder for ALEPH, is on the faculty of the Jewish Renewal Life Center, serves as Dean of the ALEPH Professional Development Program, and is rabbi of both The P\'nai Or Religious Fellowship of Philadelphia and Princeton P\'nai Or. She is the author of The Path of Blessing. ; OCTOBER 13-15 , ENTERING THE SHELTER OF FAITH

Carol Fox Prescott is an actor, director, and teacher. In addition to teaching professional acting classes, she facilitates personal development training for students in NY, LA, and other cities throughout the country. She is a regular guest teacher at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the Naropa Institute and Shantigar at the Rowe Conference Center. ; JULY 17-23, Interactive Meditation: Continuity Practice at the Speed of Life

Mindy Ribner C.S.W. has taught Jewish meditation for over 16 years. She is the Founder and director of The jewish Meditation Circle and Beit Miriam in NYC. She is the author of New Age Judaism, Everyday Kabbalah, and The Gift of A New Beginning. She is a psychotherpist and received smicha from the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach to teach meditation. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week, Be Still and Know that I am God. (Psalm # 46) An Experiential Workshop in Meditative Kabbalah ; OCTOBER 6-9 , THE INNER WORK OF YOM KIPPUR

Rabbi Jeff Roth a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, is a co-founder and executive director of Elat Chayyim. He is a regular facilitator of Shabbatonim and holiday retreats. He co-leads Jewish mindfulness retreats with Sylvia Boorstein, does meditation workshops around the country and is a trainer with David and Shoshana Cooper in the Jewish Meditation Advanced training program. ; DECEMBER 24 - JANUARY 1, 2001 , THE TURNING OF THE SECULAR YEAR: AN EIGHT-DAY MEDITATION RETREAT ; JULY 10-16, Opening the Wisdom Heart through Meditation ; JUNE 25-JULY 2, 7-DAY MEDITATION RETREAT ; MAY 21-25, ADVANCED MEDITATION RETREAT FOR RABBIS AND JEWISH PROFESSIONALS ; MAY 4-7 , CONTEMPLATIVE SHABBAT ; OCTOBER 27 - 29 , CONTEMPLATIVE SHABBAT ; OCTOBER 6-9 , THE HEART OF FORGIVENESS

Max Samson has been sadhu in the forest, president of a $100 million company, an international peace activist and founder of a puppet company working with inner city youth in his native Milwaukee, WI. He is equally at home working with Wall Street investment bankers and saintly priests caring for orphans in Nicaragua. Max is a leader and teacher in the Milwaukee Jewish Renewal community. ; JULY 3-9, The Mazel and Brucha Experience

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is the moving spirit behind ALEPH, Elat Chayyim and much of the current spiritual awakening in Judaism. He was ordained by his teachers at the Lubavitcher Yeshiva and received his doctorate from the Hebrew Union Institute. His belief in the universality of spiritual truth led him to study with Sufi Masters, Buddhist teachers, Native American elders, Catholic monks, and humanistic and transpersonal psychologists. He is also the founder of the trans-denominational Spiritual Eldering Institute, which sponsors workshops providing the psychological and spiritual tools for people of all ages to grow into elderhood. He is the holder of the Chair of World Wisdom at Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO. ; JULY 10-16, Relationships in the Bible ; JULY 17-23, The Future of Kabbalah and Midrash

Steve Schwartz was born and raised in NYC and now lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He has performed as a classical pianist, pop guitarist, orchestral percussionist, rock drummer, and a jazz singer. Steve leads prayer, acts as a cantor, and leads workshops to promote Jewish awareness and spirituality. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week , The Beat of the Heart: A Drumming Workshop

Rabbi Rami Shapiro storyteller, poet and essayist, his liturgies are used in prayer services throughout North America. He is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and from Union Graduate School. He is the senior rabbi of Temple Beth or in Miami, and directs the Simply Jewish Fellowship, the What Would a Mentsch Do Project, and the Sh\'ma Meditation Center. His most recent books are Minyan-10 Principles for Living Life with Integrity, Wisdom of the Jewish Sages, and The Way of Solomon. ; JULY 3-9, Beyond the Page: Deep Listening and the Rediscovery of Jewish Mystical Tales and Teachings

Rabbi Daniel Siegel is the first rabbi ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and is currently the Executive Director of ALEPH. Together with Eshet Hazon Hanna Tiferet, he co-founded Or Shalom in Vancouver, BC. ; JULY 17-23, Make Yourself a Heart of Many Rooms: Conflict From a Jewish Perspective

Hanna Tiferet Siegel is a singer/songwriter and a Midwife of the Soul. Her music is sung around the world and her heart-centered, creative approach to spiritual education inspires people to experience peace and healing within and with each other. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Sh'viti: I Place God Before Me Always

Arthur Strimling is a writer, performer and director, who has directed and performed in NYC at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, the 92nd Street Y, The Public Theatre, Symphony Space and the Jewish Museum, and at venues across the country. For nine years, Arthur has been Artistic Director of Roots and Branches Intergenerational Theater. ; July 24-30, The Midrashic I: First-Person Storytelling

Reverend Bahira Sugarman DCSW, LMT, was ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi in 1999 as a spiritual guide. A Traditional Reiki Master, she combines psychotherapy with transpersonal and healing work. Bahira teaches self-development, relationship skills, Jewish meditation and Tai Chi Chuan and serves as senior faculty of the Spiritual Eldering Institute. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Awakening the Spirit in Relationships

Rabbi Max Ticktin is the Associate Director of Judaic Studies and Assistant Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature at George Washington Univ. A member of the Fabrangen community in Washington, DC, Max has brought his passion for Jewish literature and his remarkable teaching to havurah settings for many years. ; July 24-30, White Fire in Their Pens: Encounters with the Modern Poetic Imagination

Rabbi Arthur Waskow is a weaver of new forms of Torah study and new midrash for our generation. He wrote Godwrestling and Godwrestling -- Round 2, as well as Seasons of Our Joy and Down-to-Earth Judaism, and is the co-author of Tales of Tikkun: New Jewish Stories to Heal the Wounded World. He is the founder and director of the Shalom Center, Torah-teacher-in-residence at Elat Chayyim, and a Pathfinder of ALEPH. In 1996, Waskow was named by the United Nations a Wisdom Keeper among forty religious and intellectual leaders who met with the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul. ; JULY 10-16, Torah for a Grown-up Human Race ; July 24-30, Midrash in Sacred Time: Weaving Torah into the Shabbat Service ; SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 1 , ROSH HASHANAH RETREAT

Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg the rabbi of the Jewish Community of Amherst, MA for 14 years, has written and published widely in the field of Jewish spirituality. She is a founder of B\'not Esh, a feminist spiritual collective. She has been a mindfulness practitioner for 10 years and leads Jewish mindfulness retreats and the Mindfulness Leadership Training. ; AUG 27-SEPT 1, Women's Meditation Retreat ; MAY 21-25, ADVANCED MEDITATION RETREAT FOR RABBIS AND JEWISH PROFESSIONALS ; May 7-10, BEGINNER'S MEDITATION RETREAT FOR RABBIS AND JEWISH PROFESSIONALS

Rabbi Gershon Winkler is a teacher and practitioner of Jewish shamanism and lives in NM where he farms, writes, husbands, hikes, meditates, and co-parents. Author of ten books on Jewish philosophy, folklore, and mysticism, Gershon facilitates workshops across the US and Israel. Originally ordained in the ultra-Orthodox tradition by the late Rabbi Eliezer Benseon in Jerusalem, Gershon now considers himself Flexidox. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week , Way of the Sacred Journey: An Introduction to the Thirty-Two Paths of Mystery Wisdom ; OCTOBER 13-15 , SEASONS OF THE SHAMAN: SUKKOT AS AN ANCIENT SHAMANIC JOURNEY

Rabbi David Zaslow is the rabbi of Havurah Shir Hadash in Ashland, OR. Ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, he combines storytelling, humor and music in his teaching style. He is the author of many books, including a prayerbook for spiritual renewal, and was the recipient of the 1987 American Book Award. He leads Shabbat weekends throughout the US and leads a weekly Torah study group for healers in his own community. ; August 7-13 - Healing Week, Healing, Holiness, and Wholeness

Rabbi David Zeller is the Executive Director of Yakar: Center for Tradition & Creativity, an Orthodox/Pluralistic Educational Institution in Jerusalem. Dovid is a pioneer in transpersonal psychology and Jewish spirituality and meditation. He works with Renewal, Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox communities, as well as Yoga, Sufi, and Christian centers in North America, Europe, and Israel. ; July 31 - Aug 6 - Teen Week, Becoming Compassionate: Self-Knowledge for Transforming Yourself and the World

Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit has over 20 years experience in spiritual leadership, human relations training, interactive arts, and teaching. He teaches at Gratz College, Institute for Contemporary Midrash, and Temple University, and is the Director of Outreach and Community Development for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. He performs concerts of original music from his CD Heart and Soul. Shawn is a teacher for the Davenning Leadership Training Institute (no online registration).