Exploring Devekut
A Six-Night Silent Jewish Meditation Retreat
February 1 – 7, 2010
Align your spiritual practice with the season by diving deeply inward during the darkness and quiet of winter. Using the vehicle of silence and a variety of Jewish meditation approaches, this retreat will allow each of us to experience the movement from "small mind”—the narrow place of mochin de’katnut—into what the Ba'al Shem Tov calls devekut: an expanded perception of the Divine presence that pervades all of life. To support our meditative practice, we will explore the Ba'al Shem's teaching on Presence and Devekut.
The retreat includes daily periods of prayer, niggunei devekut (Hasidic chant), and meditative movement. Daily instruction in meditation will help guide both beginning and advanced practitioners into the sacred space of the retreat process.
Throughout the retreat we will maintain social silence. There will also be times for questions and answers as well as small group and private interviews with the instructors. The week will culminate in a deep celebration of Shabbat followed by the chance to hear of each other’s learning as the retreat comes to a close.
Limited availability: Save $85 on an Economy Single-Occupancy room if one is still available when you register.
Teachers
Rabbi Diane Elliot has an extensive background in dance, movement, and the somatic healing arts. A practitioner and teacher of meditation for over 20 years, she was ordained in 2006 at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California. She is a co-founder of Merkavat HaMakhol Institute for Embodied Spirituality and serves the Aquarian Minyan in Berkeley.
Rabbi Burt Jacobson is the Founding Rabbi of Kehilla Community Synagogue in the East Bay. He has been involved in the discipline of spiritual direction for over twenty years, and has been meditating for 15 years. He is currently writing a book about the life, personality, teachings and spiritual philosophy of the Ba’al Shem Tov.
Rabbi Jeff Roth is the founder and director of The Awakened Heart Project and author of Jewish Meditation Practices for Everyday Life (Jewish Lights, 2009). He was the co-founder of Elat Chayyim where he served as Executive Director and Spiritual Director for 13 years. He is an experienced meditation teacher and the facilitator of over 80 Jewish meditation retreats.
Registration Information
Program Fee: By Donation
Room and Board for Six Nights
Our 2009 Room and Board Rates are still in effect for this retreat. Room and board includes housing, meals, evening activities, yoga, meditation and full use of our facility. All rooms are air-conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter. Rates are per person, and include all meals. For double or triple occupancy, you may either request a roommate, or be matched with one by our staff.
Deluxe Rooms have private bathrooms and entrances. Single and double occupancy are provided with queen-sized beds, triple occupancy has twin beds.
Triple Occupancy: $570
Double Occupancy: $810
Single Occupancy: $1500
Plus Rooms have private bathrooms.
Triple Occupancy: $510
Double Occupancy: $750
Single Occupancy: $1230
Standard Rooms share a bathroom with one other room.
Double Occupancy: $630
Single Occupancy: $1020
Economy rooms have twin beds and a shared bathroom in the hall.
Double Occupancy: $480
Single Occupancy: $780
Dormitory Rooms with bunk beds are either triple or quadruple occupancy with shared bathrooms in the hall: $420
Campers supply their own tents and equipment: $360
Commuter Rates include all meals and snacks, use of the facility and its amenities, and participation in anu open programming provided, such as prayer, meditation or yoga: $270
Financial Assistance
Financial Aid for Room and Board
We strive to make our programs affordable to everyone. We provide limited scholarship funding of up to 30% of room and board fees for those in extreme financial need. Financial aid is only available for dormitory rooms with hall baths and economy rooms for couples and families. If you would like to request financial aid, please complete the financial aid form. In requesting aid, please consider that we have a limited pool of resources. We are committed to helping you in any we can, and we ask you to help us help others by limiting your request to your genuine need. Financial aid requests must be received at least three weeks prior to the retreat.
Cancellation Policy
Payments made will be refunded in full (less a $50 processing fee) if you cancel more than 14 days prior to your arrival. If you cancel between 13 days and 72 hours prior to a retreat for which you have registered, a non-refundable credit (less a $50 processing fee) will be held for one year from the date of issue. This credit is non-transferable. No credit or refund is available if you cancel within 72 hours of a retreat or on the retreat arrival day, if you do not show up, or if you leave a retreat early for any reason.
Isabella Freedman reserves the right to cancel any program at any time. In the event of such cancellation, you will be given a complete refund.
Inclement Weather: Isabella Freedman reserves the right to cancel a retreat due to inclement weather if, in its judgment, it will be unable to operate safely. In the event of such a cancellation, a full refund will be made to all registrants. In the event that the retreat proceeds as scheduled, no refund or credit will be available.
Shuttle and Transportation Fees: A full transportation refund is available if you cancel a transportation reservation at least 3 days (72 hours) in advance. No refund is available if less than 3 days notice is given.
Training Institutes: If you are participating in a two-year training institute and you miss or cancel one of the weeklong retreat sessions, your room and board fee will be refunded according to the policy above, but the program fee for a missed or cancelled retreat session is still due. Withdrawal is permitted only after the first retreat session. If you withdraw from a training institute after the first retreat session, or if you are asked by faculty to leave the institute, you will receive a full refund on your program fee for any remaining pre-paid retreats.
Travel Insurance: We recommend you contact your travel agent to purchase travel insurance in the event that you need to cancel or change your travel plans.
Exceptions: Exceptions to these policies may be available in the event of severe weather emergencies or the death of a close family member. To request a non-transferable credit for one of these reasons, please submit a written request to registrar@isabellafreedman.org no more than three days after the start of the event.
