|
TEACHERS AND STAFF
|
Seth Castleman
Seth Castleman is a co-founder and guiding teacher of Nishmat Hayyim. He is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ahavat Shalom in Traverse City, MI, a prison chaplain, and facilitates meditation sessions across the United States. Seth’s professional background includes working as a Jewish storyteller and in pastoral care in which he worked with families and first-responders at The World Trade Centers and with the urban and rural communities destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Seth has trained with many of the leading meditation masters in the US, Far East and Israel, including Dr. Jack Kornfield who gave him “authorization.” He is in his final year of rabbinical studies. Seth has published dozens of articles in anthologies, magazines and newspapers. He is currently working on a literary memoir on the spiritual path of brokenness. Seth’s teachings and spiritual counseling is deeply rooted in Jewish texts, ritual and values. |
|
Roberta Isberg
Roberta Isberg practices psychiatry and has a longstanding interest in the use of meditation in medicine and psychotherapy. She received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1978 and completed her training in adult and child psychiatry at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, in 1984. She completed psychoanalytic training at the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute in 1993 and has a private practice in adult and child psychiatry in Brookline. She serves on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, teaching Child Psychiatry Fellows at Children's Hospital. Dr. Isberg has had a personal meditation practice for over thirty years. She has learned and practiced at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society, as well as in the Jewish settings of the Awakened Heart Project, Temple Beth Zion, and Hebrew College. She acquired most of her Jewish education as an adult, learning with her children as they attended Jewish Day School. At Nishmat Hayyim she is able to bring the awareness developed through meditation into Jewish practice.
|
|
Sheila Katz (Yocheved)
Yocheved trained with Rabbi Shefa Gold to be a chant leader as part of a life-long delight in waking up. She first studied meditation and yoga decades ago as an undergrad at Brandeis University. At graduation, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner hired her as the first song-leader of Congregation Beth-El in Sudbury. Yocheved lived in Jerusalem for 5 years, and founded Re-evaluation Counseling as one of the first frameworks for bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in dialogue. During that time, she led workshops on this approach in Northern Ireland, Ireland, England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Greece. Part of her process of waking up was receiving a doctorate at Harvard University while raising three children.
Dr. Katz, Ph.D. is professor of Middle East History and Gender Studies at the Berklee College of Music, where she integrates meditation in courses on Music and Peace and on Contemplative and Mystical Traditions in World Civilizations. Her book, Women and Gender in Early Jewish and Palestinian Nationalism (University Press of Florida, 2003) is an alternative approach to the conflict. Yocheved's Jewish meditation practice currently combines concentration, mindfulness and chant anchored by week-long silent retreats currently in the two-year Elat Chayyim Advanced Meditation Program.
|
|
Natan Margalit
Natan Margalit has written and taught on innovative approaches to Jewish texts, Jewish spirituality, gender and Judaism and the environment. In 2003 he conceived and directed a Conference on Neo Hasidism. He has been affiliated with Jewish Renewal since 1999 and has taught at Elat Chayyim, the Aleph Kallah, Ohalah as well as in many synagogues across the county. He studied for many years in Israel and received rabbinic ordination at The Jerusalem Seminary in 1990. He earned a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley in 2001 in Near Eastern Studies. He has taught at Pardes Institute, the Yakar Learning Center, Bard College, the Reconstuctionist Rabbinical College and currently teaches at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Boston.
|
|
Reb Moshe Waldoks
Along with an infectious laugh, Reb Moshe brings to the rabbinate many years of experience as a teacher and academic. Co-editor of The Big Book of Jewish Humor, he has lectured widely on Jewish cultural renewal and the Jewish spirit. With his wife Anne, and their three daughters, Reb Moshe infuses our community with love, laughter, and joy. Reb Moshe completed his Doctorate in Eastern European Jewish Intellectual History at Brandeis University in 1984, and was ordained as a post-denominational Rabbi in the fall of 1996 by Rabbis Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Arthur Green and Everett Gendler. Dedicated to building bridges, Reb Moshe went to Dharamsala, India in October 1990 to participate in the first Jewish-Tibetan Buddhist encounter with the Dalai Lama. He is active in Jewish-Christian Dialogue, and in 1999 co-led a Jewish-Catholic Pilgrimage to Israel and Rome. He sits on the Executive Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Reb Moshe has been the Rabbi at Temple Beth Zion since January 1998. He also completed a two-year meditation course for Rabbis conducted by Sylvia Boorstein.
|
|
Seth Wax
Seth Wax recently graduated from Harvard Divinity School, where he studied Buddhist philosophy, meditation theory, and underwent training in meditation instruction. He also teaches Judaic studies to teenagers and has published articles on spirituality and work. Seth is currently a rabbinical student at Hebrew College.
|
|
Carl Woolf
Carl Woolf has studied Jewish Devotional Chanting with Rabbi Shefa Gold. His spiritual studies and practices include music-making, davening, meditation and movement.
He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and a M.Sc. in Computer Science. His 'day-jobs' have included teaching philosophy, developing software, and busking in Harvard Square.
|
GUEST FACULTY
|
Rabbi Ozer Bergman
Add Rabbi Ozer Bergman is an editor for the Breslov Research Institute, a spiritual coach, and author of Where Earth and Heaven Kiss: A Practical Guide to Rebbe Nachman's Path of Meditation.
|
|
Sylvia Boorstein
Sylvia Boorstein is a beloved meditation teacher and bestselling author who has been teaching Mindfulness in Jewish venues since 1993 and has maintained a private psychotherapy practice since 1984. She is a member of Founding Faculty of Institute for Jewish Spirituality, where she advises and trains Faculty. She established Mindfulness Leadership Training courses at Elat Chayyim, The Jewish Community Center of the Upper West Side in NYC and has taught at the Rabbi in Training program of the Jewish Theological Seminary. The Author of over 10 books on meditation including: That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist and her most recent book, Happiness Is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life (Ballantine Books).
Sylvia was a contributor to Beside Still Waters, an anthology of essays about meditation by Jews and Christians. Syliva authored the article, "Spiritual Journey, Teshuvah and Metta," in Worlds of Jewish Spirituality, Aronson, 1998. Sylvia shares her humor and joy at numerous conferences and as Scholar-in-residence at synagogues across the country. This June, Sylvia will be the recipient of a Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Philadelphia, PA.
Read an Interview with Sylvia Boorstein
Read Pay Attention for Goodness Sake, "Cultivating a Loving Heart" pg. 243
|
|
Minna Bromberg
Minna is in Israel this year and we look forward to having her as a guest teacher when she returns.
Minna Bromberg, PhD teaches Jewish meditation in synagogues and other Jewish communities throughout the US. In 2004, she completed a three-year Jewish Meditation Teachers Certification Program through Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley, California under the directorship of Dr. Avram Davis. In addition to teaching meditation, Minna is a rabbinical student at Hebrew College as well as a singer-songwriter, cantorial soloist, and voice teacher. In her work as a voice teacher, Minna works with individuals who wish to find their most authentic voice.
|
|
Norman Fischer
Norman is co-founder with his friend Rabbi Alan Lew, of Makor Or Jewish Meditation Center in San Francisco (www.makoror.org/). He teaches meditation there and at the Elat Chayyim Jewish Spiritual Retreat Center. He uses contemplative practice to teach deepening access to Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Hasidim (study, prayer, and compassionate action). He is author of "Zen-Inspired" Translations of the Psalms (Viking Penguin, 2002) as well as many other books of poetry and prose.
Norman Fischer is a poet and Senior Teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center. He is the founder and spiritual director of the Everyday Zen Foundation as well as teacher and chair of the board of the Zen Hospice Project.
Norman is particularly interested in the application of contemplative practice to issues of Western culture and everyday life in the world and writes essays on topics ranging from racism to monasticism to romance. Norman believes in the possibility of living a fully committed religious life that includes family, work, and a passionate engagement in the world. He is active in interreligious dialog joining His Holiness Dalai Lama at many national and international conferences that address the challenges of our times.
|
|
Rabbi Shefa Gold
Rabbi Shefa Gold is a leader in Aleph: the Alliance for Jewish Renewal and received her ordination both from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Shefa composes and performs spiritual music, has produced ten albums, and is the author of Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land, and her soon to be released In the Fear of Love: An Illumination of the Song of Songs. Her theory of chanting and the Practice of Silence are grounded in the Jewish tradition, but her background in the spiritual traditions of Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and Native Americans uniquely qualifies her as a spiritual bridge to celebrate the shared path of devotion through song and praise.
|
|
Jay Michaelson
Jay Michaelson is a writer, scholar, and activist whose work addresses the intersections of Judaism, sexuality, spirituality, and law.
As a writer, Jay is is the author of three books and over 200 articles, essays, and works of fiction. He is a columnist for the Forward, the Huffington Post, Tikkun, and Reality Sandwich magazine, and the author of Everything is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism (2009), God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness, and Embodied Spiritual Practice (2006), and Another Word for Sky: Poems (2008). He is also the founding editor of Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture, and a contributor to Slate, The Jerusalem Post, and other publications.
As an activist, Jay is the executive director of Nehirim, a nonprofit organization which builds community for GLBT Jews, partners, and allies. His work has been featured in the New York Times and NPR.
As a scholar, Jay is completing his Ph.D in Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and B.A. magna cum laude from Columbia, and has held teaching positions at Boston University Law School, City College of New York, and Yale University. Jay has also been a scholar-in-residence at dozens of synagogues, Hillels, and other institutions.
In February, 2009, Jay returned from five months of silent meditation retreat in Massachusetts and Nepal. He presently lives in upstate New York.
|
|
Rabbi Jeff Roth
Rabbi Jeff Roth is the director of The Awakened Heart Project for contemplative Judaism. He is the co-founder of Elat Chayyim, a Jewish renewal retreat center located in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where he served as Executive Director and Spiritual Director for 13 years. An experienced meditation teacher, he has led over 80 Jewish meditation retreats.
|
|
Rabbi Meir Sendor
Rabbi Meir Sendor received his Ph.D from Harvard University where he studied medieval Jewish history, specifically the history of Jewish mysticism. Rabbi Sendor received his ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. He is a faculty member of Me'ah and the Me'ah Graduate Institute. As well, he is the rabbi of Young Israel in Sharon, MA, where he has been the spiritual leader for more than twenty years.
|
|
Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg
Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg is a senior teacher at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and serves as a spiritual director to rabbis, cantors and educators. She has served as a Hillel director, day school teacher, and congregational rabbi, including 13 years as the rabbi at the Jewish Community of Amherst. She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, a major contributor to the Kol Haneshamah prayerbook series, and is the author of Surprisingly Happy: An Atypical Religious Memoir. |
In Memoriam
|
Rabbi Alan Lew
In Memoriam of our dear friend and teacher
Rabbi Alan Lew
(1944 - 2009)
He was a light of Torah and a meditation guide for so many. May his name forever be a blessing.
|
|
