Kohenet—The Hebrew Priestess Institute
This training program will begin Summer 2010. Click here to apply.
A New Vision of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership
Week 1: August 9 – 15, 2010
Kohenet Open Shabbat: August 6 – 8, 2010
"Studying text, integrated with women's other ways of knowing, has helped me find places in Judaism where I can fully engage as a woman.” –Kohenet participant
The Kohenet Training Intensive seeks to revitalize the connection between Judaism and the Divine Feminine by helping women reclaim the ancient role of the kohenet — the priestess or sacred servant who facilitates holy Jewish experiences. Kohenet trains women to exercise their spiritual power in a distinctly feminine way as the needs of Jews, women and the planet as a whole continue to emerge and evolve.
Kohenet supports Jewish women on their journeys as individuals and as communal leaders. Participants study traditional texts — Torah, Talmud, Kabbalah and Near Eastern myths — in ways that call forth Shechinah, the indwelling feminine Presence. Kohenet trainees also explore practices that have been passed down by generations of Israelite and Jewish women, including birthing amulets, dreamwork and the celebration of women's holidays.
Each of the four weeklong Kohenet retreats is organized around thirteen netivot — paths that correspond to archetypes such as Wise Woman, Mother, Shamaness, Priestess, Prophetess, Midwife and Matriarch. By weaving these netivot throughout prayer, sacred chant and experiential learning, participants learn to create and lead powerful rituals and to embody the many forms of the sacred feminine. Our core programs are facilitated by Kohenet founders and faculty, and we often welcome leadership by our students themselves and by select guest teachers.
- Week 1: August 9 – 15, 2010
Women of the Sacred: Space, Time, and Soul
- Week 2: Winter 2010
Women of the Life-Force: Becoming Vessels for Creativity
- Week 3: Summer 2011
Women Breaking Open: Flowering in Spirit
- Week 4: Date TBD
Women of Wisdom: Initiation
This intensive is sponsored by Kohenet: The Hebrew Priestess Institute. Learn more at www.kohenet.org.
If you have already completed Kohenet Aleph and are returning for Kohenet Bet, please download the Kohenet Bet Tuition Payment Form, for more information.
Teachers
Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD is an author, educator, midrashist, myth-weaver and ritualist. She is the co-founder of Kohenet: The Hebrew Priestess Institute, and the director of Tel Shemesh, a website and community celebrating and creating Jewish earth-based traditions. She is also the Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic Jewish seminary. Rabbi Hammer is the author of two books: Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women (Jewish Publication Society, 2001) and The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons (Jewish Publication Society, 2006). Rabbi Hammer conducts workshops around the country on ancient and contemporary midrash, bibliodrama, creative ritual and Jewish cycles of time. She was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and holds a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Connecticut.
Holly Taya Shere, co-founder of Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, is a folklorist, ritual artist and educator committed to reclaiming and innovating embodied and earth-honoring models of Jewish women’s spiritual leadership. Since 2006, Holly has held the rabbinic pulpit at Olney Kehila Jewish Congregation, where she serves as Spiritual Leader. Holly also facilitates life-cycle ritual, leads prayer services, and teaches Judaism in three other Washington, DC area Jewish communities, and is a leader of ALEPH’s biannual “Renewal in Israel” trips. She shares her tribal-style, prayer offerings celebrating the sacred feminine at gatherings around the country, as well as on her forthcoming CD, “holy, holy: the wild earth shebrew chants.” She received her M.A. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania, where her Master’s thesis was "Everything She Touches Changes: A Feminist Ethnography of Women Integrating Spirituality, Politics and Creativity." She spent several years priestessing in earth-based communities and working as a healer before becoming a teacher and facilitator in Jewish community.
Shoshana Jedwab is a prize-winning Jewish educator and the Jewish Studies Coordinator at the A.J. Heschel Middle School in New York City. She is the founding facilitator of the Makom Drum Circle at the JCC in Manhattan and is a percussionist and performance artist who has trained in bibliodrama and psychodrama. Shoshana has provided empowering drum circles to singles, student, training and bereavement groups. Shoshana has performed with Storahtelling, Chana Rothman, Debbie Friedman, Akiva Wharton, A Song of Solomon, Hebrew Mystical Chant with the Kirtan Rabbi Andrew Hahn, and Tel Shemesh seasonal events. She is Kohenet's ritual drummer and also serves on the Kohenet faculty.
Registration Information
Tuition payments and Room and Board payments are to be made separately for this Training Institute.
Tuition Payment Information
The tuition for this Training Institute is $1800, payable according to the payment schedule below. Please note that 100% of the tuition fee goes to the institute teachers. Tuition fees are per person, and do not include the cost of Room and Board (below). We strive to make our programs affordable to everyone. For information about Financial Assistance (for Room & Board only), please see below.
Our Children's Program is also available during the summer retreats of this Institute.
Once you have been accepted into the program, please download, print, complete and mail in the Tuition Payment Form with a non-refundable deposit of $300. All tuition payments are to be made by mail.
- Payment 1: $300 due upon your acceptance into the program. (Your place in the Training Institute is not guaranteed until we receive and process this non-refundable deposit.)
- Payment 2: $900 due July 1, 2010
- Payment 3: $450 due January 1, 2011
- Payment 4: $150 due July 1, 2011
If you have already completed Kohenet Aleph and are returning for Kohenet Bet, please download the Kohenet Bet Tuition Payment Form, which includes a payment schedule different from the one listed above.
Room and Board
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. Adults fees apply to ages 18 and higher. Children's rates apply to ages 4 - 17. 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.
Economy Rooms: Daisy, Elm and Kaufman
Economy rooms have twin-sized beds and a shared bathroom in the hall.
| Economy Rooms | Training Institute* |
| Triple Occupancy | 605 |
| Double Occupancy | 685 |
| Single Occupancy | 1039 |
*These rates include an Institute Administrative Fee.
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Standard Rooms: May, Scheuer, Pine, Cedar, Maple, Blue Heron
Our standard rooms have either a private bathroom or a shared bathroom with one other room. Most standard rooms have twin-sized beds; queen-sized beds may be available on a limited basis.
| Standard Rooms | Training Institute* |
| Triple Occupancy with Private Bath |
910 |
| Double Occupancy with Shared Bath |
910 |
| Double Occupancy with Private Bath |
1060 |
| Single Occupancy with Shared Bath |
1330 |
| Single Occupancy with Private Bath |
1570 |
*These rates include an Institute Administrative Fee.
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Standard Plus Rooms: Weinberg
Our standard plus rooms have private bathrooms and queen-sized beds.
| Standard Plus Rooms | Training Institute* |
| Double Occupancy | 1300 |
| Single Occupancy | 1942 |
*These rates include an Institute Administrative Fee.
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Camping
Campers supply their own tents and equipment and have access to bathrooms and showers. Camping fee includes all meals and snacks, use of the facility and its amenities, and participation in any open programming provided, such as meditation, yoga or non-holiday prayer.
| Camping Rates | Training Institute* |
| Each Camper | 565 |
*These rates include an Institute Administrative Fee.
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Commuter
The commuter fee includes all meals and snacks, use of the facility and its amenities, and participation in any open programming provided, such as such as meditation, yoga or non-holiday prayer.
| Commuter Rates | Training Institute* |
| Each Commuter | 520 |
*These rates include an Institute Administrative Fee.
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Financial Assistance
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. This financial support is only available for dormitory rooms with hall baths and economy rooms for couples and families. If you would like to request financial support, please complete the Application for Room and Board Support. In your request, 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. All 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.
