Theater of the Talmud

Encountering Essential
Dramatic Tensions In Our Lives

August 4-7, 2008

The Babylonian Talmud, known as the reservoir of Hebrew law, is an important source of dramatic stories and legends. Become acquainted with the colorful gallery of heroic figures, drama and suspense that molded the spiritual world of our Sages and gave us entry into the seldom-displayed "Theater of the Talmud."

We will focus on the suspense and drama, between:

• Torment & Love in the story of Rabbi Akiva
• Passion & Loyalty in the stories of Rav Chiya Bar Ashi and his wife and Rish Lekish
  
• Leadership & Doubt in the death of Rav Yohanan Ben Zakkai
  
• Life & Death in spiritual legacies

Suffering: A Laughing Matter?

Rabbinic literature tells many stories about the suffering of Rabbi Akiva, the great first-century sage. Rabbi Akiva had a unique approach to tragedy. He often laughed when other sages cried. What can we learn from these and other stories of suffering? How can we make sense of the rabbinic concept of yisurim shel ahavah – sufferings of love? What can this concept mean for us today? Explore these and other questions with a unique scholar of rabbinic legend.

Passion and Loyalty

With neither Dr. Ruth nor Dr. Phil to counsel them, our ancestors turned to the Talmud for marriage guidance. The legends of the Sages offer us an insight into their approach to passion, intimacy and marital relationships, and are offered a unique opportunity to compare their wisdom with contemporary attitudes toward this complex subject.

Leadership and Doubt

The Talmud explores the inner conflict between the auras of decisiveness, confidence and omnipotence attributed to and projected by an admired leader and his own feelings of uncertainty, inadequacy and doubt.

Life and Death

In most cultures, special meaning is attached to the moment of death. Deathbed stories found in the Talmud open a window for a glimpse into the important lessons learned from the Rabbis’ look at man's last breaths.

Teacher

Dr. Ruth Calderon is the founder and head of Alma College. In 1989, Ruth founded and headed the “Elul” Bet Midrash, which had the unique distinction of offering Jewish studies on the basis of equality for men and women, and religious and non-religious scholars. She is the author of The Market, the Home, the Heart, a book that offers a personal homiletic reading of Talmudic legends.

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Registration Information

The program fee for this class is $300. 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 Aid, please see below.

You will receive a confirmation email once you have registered and made a payment online or by phone. If you do not receive this email within 24 hours of registering, please call us at (800) 398-2630 ext. 4.

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	Three Nights
Triple Occupancy	230
Double Occupancy	255
Single Occupancy	430

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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	Three Nights
Triple Occupancy with Private Bath	340
Double Occupancy with Shared Bath	340
Double Occupancy with Private Bath	420
Single Occupancy with Shared Bath	575
Single Occupancy with Private Bath	695

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Standard Plus Rooms: Weinberg

Our standard plus rooms have private bathrooms and queen-sized beds.

Standard Plus Rooms	Three Nights
Double Occupancy	485
Single Occupancy	806

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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	Three Nights
Each Camper	200

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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	Three Nights
Each Commuter	170

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Children's Rates

There is no charge for infants and children ages 3 and under. Children ages 4 – 17 must share a room with at least one parent or guardian. Young adults ages 18 and above must pay the regular rates.

Children's Rates	Three Nights
Each Child	170

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Financial Assistance

We strive to make our programs affordable to everyone. We provide limited financial aid of up to 50% off Room and Board fees. 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 Financial Aid. 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.

Please note that we are not able to make any refunds in order to grant an aid request. If you choose to register prior to being awarded aid, and your remaining balance is less than the aid award, you will forfeit any award in excess of your outstanding balance.

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.