High Holiday Preparation
Living Judaism with Brian Schachter-Brooks
Names of God with Rabbi Steven Fisdel
Dance Midrash with Miriam Peretz
Sefer Yetzirah with Rabbi Gershon Winkler

Ongoing meditation classes with Brian and Jeffrey

The Tools of Teshuvah: Preparing for the High Holidays A series with Estelle Frankel, Jeffrey Kessler, and Brian Schachter-Brooks

The month of Elul is a time of spiritual preparation for the New Year.  It is a time for Teshuvah—realigning our lives with our highest ideals.  It is also a time to reflect on the changes we must make to find inner peace and connect with the Divine in our daily lives.  These courses will offer participants a safe space to prepare for the High Holidays by acquiring the necessary spiritual tools for Teshuvah within a community setting.

3 Sessions: Sundays 7:00- 8:30
Tuition:
Nonmembers: $60 series / $25 drop in rate
Members: $50 series / $20 drop in rate

Sunday, 7th of September / Elul: Preparing our Hearts for the New Year
Estelle Frankel
In this workshop we will explore the Kabbalah’s understanding of teshuvah (turning/repentance). Through contemplative study, guided meditation, music and discussion we will reflect on what truly gives us life, and how to re-align our lives with our highest values.
Sunday, 14th of September / Elul: Conscientious Communication and Teshuvah
Jeffrey Kessler
This workshop uses meditation, text,  and journal writing in order to explore the role of conscientious communication with oneself as well as with others in the process of Teshuvah. 
Sunday, 21st of September / Elul: Torah of Awakening: "Return to Reality"
Brian Schachter-Brooks
"T'shuvah" means "Return." Return to what? This workshop explores how everything that appears problematic or incomplete in our lives does not come from something external to us. The opportunity of this sacred time is a deep return to a harmonious relationship with Reality Itself, in which true peace and wholeness is realized as the truth of what you are. If you are interested in waking up, please join us for this transformative session.

 

Torah of Awakening: Living Judaism with Brian Schachter-Brooks

In the art of music, practiced technique and spontaneous musicality are brought together. In poetry, creativity is expressed through a command of language. Similarly, Judaism is a spiritual art in which the practice of forms is aimed at awakening the fire of the soul. The Jewish spiritual journey is the process by which one comes to know for oneself what this actually means and to transform  into an eved HaShem – a servant of the Divine.

Whether you are new to Judaism or returning, this six week program will give you boots in which to walk the path of the Covenant. Each three hour workshop will focus on a putting a particular aspect of Jewish spiritual practice into action.

This program is also recommended for those seeking preparation for an adult bat or bar mitzvah and those considering conversion

Time : 6 Sundays 6:30- 9 pm
October 19th, November 2nd, November  9th November 16th, December 7th, December 14th
Price: $195 nonmember/ $150 member

Experiencing The Names of God with Kabbalah teacher Rabbi Steven Fisdel

Have you struggled with archaic translations of biblical material and traditional prayers? The Kabbalah offers a solution. In this class Rabbi Steven Fisdel (www.classicalkabbalist.org)  
will provide you with tools and information to engage with the Holy Name: to know the traditional names for God, what they actually represent and how to engage with them is to free ourselves to choose a workable definition and to establish a relevant relationship with the Divine.

Rabbi Fisdel is one of the leading experts in the field of Kabbalah and is author of two books, The Practice of Kabbalah and The Dead Sea Scrolls:Understanding Their Spiritual Message. His objective in teaching, writing and counseling is to help people in today's world to understand clearly and experience directly the positive impact that the Kabbalah has on spiritual development by deepening connection to self and to the Divine.  /

Time: Tuesdays 7-9 pm October 28th, November 4, 11, 18th
Cost: $90 members/ $115 non members

Connect, Dance, Pray: Exploring Jewish Sacred Dance with Miriam Peretz

Sacred dance was an integral part of Temple worship in ancient Israel, and has always been an important part of Jewish life.  Through Israel’s extended exile many of these ancient and sacred dance traditions have been lost and forgotten.  In dance midrash we will search to rediscover and recreate sacred Jewish dance traditions, bringing dance back into religious worship.  We will also find ways to deepen our understanding of biblical stories, Jewish rituals, prayers, and holidays through movement in solo and in connection with others.  The class will also introduce students to movement vocabulary borrowed from numerous ethnic dance traditions from the Middle-East, the Silk Road, Yemen and beyond.

6 sessions:   Thursdays 7:30 – 9 pm October, 23,30 November 6,13,20 and December 4
Location: Chochmat HaLev 2215 Prince Street, Berkeley,  Berkeley

Tuition:
Series: $105 nonmembers, or $90 members
Per class: $20 nonmembers, or $15 members 

Preregistration encouraged by October 17th : Minimum 10 people required

Sefer Yetzirah  (The Book of Creation):  A Bold Venture into Ancient Jewish Mystery with Rabbi Gershon Winkler

Laugh and wonder : Studying has never been this fun! Using a unique blend of humor, story, chant and text, Rabbi Gershon Winkler will lead participants through the rich, long-lost dimension of aboriginal Judaism. The Sefer Yetzirah is an esoteric book read by Kabbalists that includes speculations concerning the creation of the world and angels. In expounding the Sefer Yetzirah, Rabbi Winkler offers us a rare and generous encounter with a rich body of ancient wisdom that has been long neglected and even longer misunderstood, a tradition that defies linear thinking and challenges ordinary givens and definitions.

Rabbi Gershon Winkler is a widely recognized scholar in the fields of Jewish law, lore, theology, and mysticism. A descendant of a scion of rabbis originating in Judea, Rabbi Winkler has devoted much of the past two decades to writing and teaching about the lesser-promulgated wisdoms of Judaism and to Hebraic scriptural interpretation. He has published fourteen books since 1980, four of which have seen several printings. His most recent works include: The Judeo-Christian Fiction, Kabbalah 365: Daily Fruit from the Tree of Life, and Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism. Rabbi Winkler is also the founder and Executive Director of Walking Stick Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to the recovery of aboriginal Judaism.

Workshop Series Schedule
Sundays 10:30- 5:30. October 25, November 22, January 17th,
February 22, March 22, April 19, May 24th

Tuition:
Drop ins per day  $75/ $100
Full class tuition: $395/$485 nonmembers
REGISTRATION ENDS OCTOBER 19th !

PRE-REGISTRATION SPECIAL! Those pre-registering for this special
workshop series by October 19th will receive FREE admission to all of Rabbi
Gershon’s Saturday evening talks occurring on most Saturdays prior to his classes.

Introduction to Jewish Meditation
with Brian Schachter-Brooks
4th Monday of each month, 7pm
Free (Donations welcomed.)

The Jewish tradition is rich with images of communion with the Divine. These images to point to a deeper Reality--not to events that happened a long time ago or those we hope will happen in the future—but to the oneness of Being in the here and now. The key to this communion is meditation, or hitbodedut.

Join Brian Schachter-Brooks and the Chochmat HaLev musicians for an informative and experiential introduction to Jewish Meditation. This seminar will provide an overview of hitbodedut, chanting, silent meditation, and a question & answer session. Perect for those new to or curious about Jewish meditation.

Tai-Chi Meditation and Chi-Gung
with Jeffrey Kessler
Thursdays, on-going, at 5 pm
Fee per month: $50 members, $70 non-members

Develop inner strength, balance, and better health with Jeffrey Kessler, a seasoned practioner of chi arts. Jeffrey Kessler holds degrees in philosophy, mathematics and spiritual psychology. He is a long-time practitioner and teacher of Tai-Chi Chuan. A graduate of Chochmat HaLev's Jewish Meditation Instructor's Training program and a student of various traditions and psycho-physical systems, he is dedicated to the deepening of Jewish Spiritual practice.

For information about class series lasting more than 4 weeks, please visit the Intensive and Certificate Programs page.