Tikkun in All Four Worlds
With Ida Unger, Estelle Frankel, Rabbi Nossen Schafer and Rebbetzin Channah Schafer
August 9 - 15, 2010
Rabbi Wikipedia teaches: "The phrase ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’... has been used in various contexts, including town planning, environment and business." What would it mean to think globally and act locally in the realm of tikkun olam?
As we engage in tikkun—healing ourselves, healing our world—we need to go beyond one world into multiple worlds: body-earth, heart-water, mind-air, spirit-power/fire. This workshop offers a unique format for exploring all four of these worlds, and how they work together.
During the week, you will have opportunities for deep learning as you trace one element through all four worlds with one teacher in the mornings, and then in the afternoons experience the teachings of all four teachers as they trace the progress of tikkun across worlds and elements.
When you register, you'll be given a chance to choose one of the following morning tracks: world of body with Ida Unger, world of heart with Estelle Frankel, world of mind, or world of spirit.
Each afternoon, all four tracks will come together with one of the teachers who will explore how "their" world traces through all four worlds. On Friday afternoon, we will all arrive at Shabbat together, celebrating the Spirit which is in Spirit.
The Hebrew word for Worlds, olamot, also means concealments, hidden aspects. We live in a world where the holy source is hidden, not obvious. The Kabbalah gives us four worlds, levels, aspects of consciousness as tools for understanding the complex whole. From the world of Doing, asiyah, we command our daily life, from yetzirah the realm of Feeling, we come to know love, connection, compassion and our limits. The world of Creativity, bre’eah, involves heart and mind – each necessary for creation, for birthing of the new, for creating our unique footprint. The Highest world is the world of connection where the individual soul has a merging with the Divine creative source. In this course, we will practice a yoga sequence designed to take you deeply into each world with an emphasis on awakening each world in the body and ultimately unifying self with the Divine before Shabbat.
The world of yetzirah (formation), often associated with the emotional-expressive aspect of our being, serves as a bridge between the higher worlds and this world of manifest forms. Classically seen as the abode of the angels and divine archetypes, yetzirah is home to the ruach level of soul—that part of our being that enables us to speak, communicate and name things as they are. Yetzirah's element, water, symbolizes the fluid nature of yetziratic forms. Like water, our feelings and emotions are in constant motion. When felt and expressed accurately, our feelings flow through us like a river, nourishing and sustaining us. The ruach aspect of soul brings us into close contact with life so that we can experience the beauty and splendor of existence with immediacy and intimacy.
To successfully navigate this realm of our being, we must become masterful at observing, naming and appropriately expressing our innermost feelings. We must learn to know and trust our hearts, yet at the same time not become overly-identified with any one of our emotions. And, ultimately, our spiritual work as aspiring Jewish mystics is to elevate all emotions to their Source in holiness. Through biblical and Hasidic text study, poetry, guided meditation and experiential exercises, we will explore the personal and transpersonal dimensions of the world of yetzirah. We will also study Jewish teachings and spiritual practices that involve the use of "water" as a transformative element.
Judaism is a treasure-trove of spiritual practices that are tools for transformation. One of the most powerful and ancient of these tools is b’rakhah — the act of blessing.
Not only can our blessings effect healing (tikkun) in our world, but their power can also transform us when we become conduits for shefa: the divine creative energy that sustains the whole process of being. When we become ever more receptive to blessing in our lives we can see with eyes attuned to the miraculous. Giving and receiving and perceiving blessings in the world and in all our lives is an awesome gratitude practice! Feeling alive and fully present, we can live in a circle of blessings in radical amazement, in gadlut, in expanded, transforming consciousness.
Join us as we study blessing texts and share stories of what we can see as miracles in our lives. We'll chant, learn how to enhance our lives through the power of intention, learn blessing and healing practices, experience guided meditation and practice letting spontaneous blessings come through us. We’ll also learn how to integrate those things that may appear as obstacles into our ability to be clear channels for shefa, which can be the biggest blessing of all!
Teachers
Ida Unger, M.Ed. and certified Iyengar Yoga instructor, grew up with a strong Jewish identity and a yeshiva education. She taught yoga for over a decade at Santa Monica College as well as her own former studio, Yoga Garden Studios. After years of practice and a miraculous series of coincidences, Ida began to connect her Jewish "roots" with her "spiritual wings", yoga. She has taught her "Yoga and Judaism" course to hundreds of people, via Aleph since 1999, also at temples, rabbinical schools, museums and retreat centers. Her work is motivated by her own deep yoga practice, Torah study, and a belief that she is guided to share this work.
Estelle Frankel is a practicing psychotherapist, spiritual advisor, and seasoned teacher of Jewish mysticism who blends depth psychology with the wisdom and healing practices of Kabbalah. She has taught Jewish studies in Israel and throughout the U.S. for over 30 years and was ordained as a Rabbinic Pastor and spiritual guide (mashpiah ruchanit) by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Estelle is on the teaching faculty of Chochmat Halev Center for Jewish Spirituality in Berkeley, CA where she teaches courses on Jewish mysticism and mussar and offers group spiritual guidance. Estelle is a popular public speaker and chant master, and is the author of Sacred Therapy: Jewish Spiritual Teachings on Emotional Healing & Inner Wholeness.
Rabbi Nossen Schafer received his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in 1976. He serves as a Jewish chaplain in prisons, hospitals and nursing homes. Inspired by his rebbe, Rabbi Carlebach, he and his wife Channah lead seminars and Shabbos retreats on themes of Torah and Chassidus. They have been married for 32 years with wonderful children and delightful grandchildren.
Rebbetzin Channah Schafer is a Jewish meditator, healer and practitioner with 25 years of experience specializing in mind-body issues. She has taught Jewish meditation and healing in the U.S., Canada and Israel for many years.
Registration Information
The program fee for this retreat is $375. 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
Our goal is to help you feel at home while on retreat. We provide you with comfortable accommodations in a beautiful, natural setting and three homemade meals prepared each day with your health and well-being in mind.
Room and board rates are per person and include housing, meals and full use of our facility. To calculate the cost of your stay, add the program fee above and your room and board rate below.
We offer a variety of housing accommodations that enable individuals with a wide range of financial capabilities to participate in our programs. All rooms are air-conditioned in the summer, heated in the winter, and simply decorated in a country style without modern multimedia distractions.
Rooms are available as single or double occupancy, with private, shared, or hall bathrooms. If you are coming alone and request a shared room, you will be paired with a roommate of the same gender. Please note, however, that some cabins and shared bathrooms may be co-ed.
For children's rates as well as commuting and tenting options, please see below.
Standard Plus Rooms: Weinberg, May
Standard plus rooms have private bathrooms and are available with either two queen-sized beds or three twin-sized beds.
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Standard Plus Rooms
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Six
Nights
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Single Occupancy
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1560
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Double Occupancy
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960
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Standard Rooms: Scheuer, Pine, Cedar, Maple, Blue Heron
Standard rooms have either a private bathroom or a bathroom shared with one other room. Most standard rooms have twin-sized beds; queen-sized beds may be available on a limited basis.
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Standard Rooms
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Six
Nights
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Single Occupancy
with Private Bath
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1350
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Single Occupancy
with Shared Bath
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1080
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Double Occupancy
with Private Bath
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810
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Double Occupancy
with Shared Bath
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660
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Economy Rooms: Elm, Kaufman
Economy rooms have twin-sized beds and a shared bathroom in the hall.
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Economy Rooms
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Six
Nights
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Single Occupancy
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870
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Double Occupancy
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510
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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.
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Camping Rates
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Six
Nights
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Each Camper
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390
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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.
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Commuter Rates
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Six
Nights
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Each Commuter
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330
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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.
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Children's Rates
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Six
Nights
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Each Child
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390
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Financial Assistance
One of our core values is that our programs should be accessible to everyone. We provide limited financial aid for 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.
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.
Please support our ability to continue to provide financial aid by making a donation online or by calling 800.398.2630.
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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, non-transferable credit (less a $50 processing fee) will be held for one year from the date of issue. 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 a cancellation, you will receive 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.
