Exploring Devekut

A Seven-Day Jewish Meditation Retreat

December 2-9, 2007

with Rabbis Diane Elliot, Burt Jacobson, and Jeff Roth

at the Ralston L White Retreat in Mill Valley, Marin County, California

Sponsored by The Awakened Heart Project and Ruach Haaretz

As you move into winter's darkness and quiet, align your spiritual practice with the season by diving deeply inward during this seven-day meditation retreat.

Using the vehicle of silence and a variety of Jewish meditation approaches, this retreat will invite you to look deeply into your own life as you cultivate greater wisdom, joy and compassion. The deep work allows each of us to see more clearly how we become overwhelmed and shut down, hurting ourselves and those around us in the process.

The clarity possible through these practices allows us to experience the movement from "small mind," the narrow place of "mochin de’katnut," into an expanded perception of the Divine presence that pervades all of life--what the Ba'al Shem Tov calls "devekut." To support our meditative practice, we will explore the Ba'al Shem's teaching on Presence and devekut which flow from his four core truths.

Structure of the Retreats

The retreat includes daily periods of prayer, chant and meditative movement.

Daily instruction in meditation will help guide both beginning and advanced practitioners into the sacred space of the retreat process.

Throughout the retreat we will maintain social silence. There will be times for questions and answers as well as small group and private interviews with the instructors.

The week will culminate in a deep celebration of Shabbat followed by the chance to hear of each other’s learning as the retreat comes to a close.

Registration Information

The costs of the retreat include room and board and and administrative fee to cover the associated retreat costs.