Roberta Wall leads retreats in Jewish Mindful Practices, Nonviolent Communication and Mindfulness in Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition. She was a founding member of the Elat Chayyim residential community. Roberta has led Shabbat and other Jewish practices at Buddhist centers around the world. She recently returned from teaching Nonviolent Communication in Israel and Palestine. She is a graduate of Kol Zimra: Chant Leadership Training with Rabbi Shefa Gold and ECAMP Jewish Meditation Training with Norman Fischer, Rabbi Jeff Roth and Rabbi Joanna Katz. She recently studied in Israel with Sarah Yehudit Schneider, Emuna Witt and Avivah Zornberg. Roberta’s message below is dedicated to her “Jubu” buddy, David Tapper. You can learn more about and from Roberta at the Spirituality in Action retreat to be held at Isabella Freedman August 16–22 or by visiting her website, Steps2Peace.com.

"Mindfulness is at the heart of every great religious tradition—that is what makes it a great religious tradition."

Vietnamese Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh spoke these words to a hundred or so of us as we sat under an old linden tree at Plum Village in France.

At that time, I had no sense of the spirituality of Judaism. I connected to Jews as my ethnic group and I had never looked to Judaism for spiritual connection. And so I wondered: Do Thich Nhat Hanh’s words apply to Judaism? Would I find in the religion of my ancestors the deep peace and guidance that I had found in Buddhism? His words opened a deep longing in me to connect with the way of practice of my ancestors.

I wanted a Jewish experience that touched me as deeply as the compassion and mindfulness practices of Buddhism. I was living in Thich Nhat Hanh’s center in Vermont where all aspects of daily life are organized to support contemplation and spiritual life. Reminders to look deeply were posted throughout the center—most taken from ancient Chinese Zen verses called gathas.

One afternoon, a friend at the monastery told me about a place where Jews are practicing Judaism in the way we practice Buddhism. It was called Elat Chayyim. Over the next year or so, I went to several silent retreats at the Elat Chayyim Retreat Center in Accord, NY, and less than two years later I became one of the founding members of the Jewish mindfulness-based residential community there.

Many teachers and rabbis lived at and came through Elat Chayyim and together we learned ways of practicing mindfulness that are deeply rooted in Judaism. We borrowed many practices from Plum Village, such as “Beginning Anew,” and from Nonviolent Communication, and created a monthly Yom Kippur kattan gathering where we shared with each community member our gratitudes and difficulties, creating a rich harmonious community. And of course, at Elat Chayim, we had the possibility of practicing Shabbat as a complete Day of Mindfulness—a day so rooted in the present moment that we refrain from talking about anything outside of Shabbat: no planning, no other time. During Shabbat we are in a timeless time. And in Judaism, it is the crowning of every week for us.

To support our Jewish mindfulness practice at Elat Chayyim—to look deeply into God’s presence in every moment of life—we hung verses of kavannot (intentions connected to Jewish prayer) in doorways, outside the bathrooms and at our bedsides. Entering each room—stopping, breathing, touching the mezuzah—we reconnected with our kavannah, our aspiration, to enter the room with an open and loving heart. Leaving the bathroom, we recited Rabbi Winkler’s translation of the Asher Yatzar—reflecting on the miracle of the body and its functioning. We placed cards with the blessings over the meal on each table and framed every meal with blessings for hand washing, contemplating each type of food, and, of course, the Birkat Hamazon blessing after the meal.

At bedtime as well as upon awakening, we grounded ourselves in the prayers offered at those times: forgiveness for the night and thankfulness for the day. Before meals, we silently washed our hands or each other’s hands and looked deeply at the source of our food, blessing that source.

This past winter, I lived in the Old City of Jerusalem, studying and practicing in the Orthodox community. Experiencing the flow of Jewish life day to day, week to week, the connection of the holidays, the special family and home practices for each one, was so deep and nourishing. And right now I am so grateful to be able to learn and deepen and share these same practices at Isabella Freedman, where as a woman and a mostly secular person, I can dive as deeply and fully as my heart and soul call.

At the Spirituality in Action retreat we will bring these practices “off the cushion” into every aspect of our daily life, and particularly into our inner preparation for the High Holy Days.

"How good and how lovely when one hears the song of the grass. It is therefore a precious thing to conduct oneself with piety when strolling among them."  —Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Sunset in the grass on Beebe Hill, Falls Village, CT

Isabella Freedman is an allstream Jewish organization where people connect with themselves, Judaism, the environment and each other. We offers diverse programs and retreat experiences that renew and sustain the vibrancy of contemporary Jewish practice. Located only two hours from New York City and three hours from Boston, we provide glatt kosher dining, year-round country lodging, miles of hiking trails and an organic farm.