IJS Programs
August 2024 – June 2025
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, IJS is here for you!
Join the IJS community – and plan ahead now for a year of learning, practice, and growth.
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A program for everyone!
This page features IJS’s complete offerings for the coming year.
If you’re not sure where to start, here are three suggested learning pathways:
New to IJS or Jewish mindfulness?
Start Here! The Gift of Awareness: Cultivating Mindfulness through Jewish Meditation
Free Offerings for the Month of Elul: The Shofar Project 5784: Awakening to Action for the New Year
Continue to Develop Your Practice: Awareness in Action: Cultivating Character through Mindfulness and Middot
Experienced with IJS programs or Jewish mindfulness?
October 2024 – September 2025: Text Study 5785 – Where the Light Comes Down: Weekly Study and Practice with the Maggid of Kozhnitz
November 11 – December 20: Wounds Into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma
January 13 – 31: Meeting Anti-Semitism with Mindfulness
February – May: Advanced Jewish Mindfulness Meditation
March 1 – 30: Mindfulness and Climate Change
April 21 – May 30: Immersing in the Zohar
Are you a Young Adult?
August 13 – 18: Being with What Is: A Silent Jewish Mindfulness Retreat for Young Adults
September 9 – 30: Hearing the Call of the Shofar: A Study and Practice Group for Young Adults
February 9 – March 14: Awaken: Essential Jewish Mindfulness for Young Adults
Complete Program Calendar
Scroll below for our full roster of upcoming classes, retreats and free offerings.
Preparing for the New Year
The Shofar Project 5784:
Awakening to Action for the New Year
FREE
IJS Faculty
September 4 – September 25, 2024
Join IJS Faculty for four weeks of ongoing Jewish spiritual practice to prepare our inner lives for the challenges and joys of the upcoming Jewish year, 5785.
We will explore a new theme each week in the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah. Each live session will be led by a different IJS faculty member, elaborating upon the week’s teaching, featuring meditation or other contemplative practice and small-group processing.
Answering the Call of the Shofar:
A Study and Practice Group for Young Adults
FREE
Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife and Rebecca Schisler
September 9 – September 30, 2024
This September, tap into a special High Holidays series in our vibrant weekly Shevet Jewish Mindfulness Community, to prepare for the Jewish New Year with a welcoming community of young adults in their 20s and 30s.
Together, we’ll embark on a powerful journey of reflecting on the past year and returning to our most authentic selves for the year ahead.
Free Opportunities All Year Long
Jewish tradition offers rich, accessible, and time-tested resources to cope with moments like these. The Institute for Jewish Spirituality, which has pioneered the development and teaching of Jewish mindfulness practices for over 20 years, is here for you now. We are offering the following resources FREE to our community. Click here to sign up for any of these free offerings!
SHARING OUR TORAH:
JEWS OF COLOR MINDFULNESS AFFINITY SPACE
Hosted by Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife and Guest Teachers
Wednesdays, 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
LGBTQ+ MONTHLY BEIT MIDRASH
Hosted by Rabbi Myriam Klotz
and Guest Teachers
Co-Sponsored by Keshet
Wednesdays, 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
SHEVET: A JEWISH MINDFULNESS COMMUNITY FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Hosted by Rebecca Schisler
and Guest Teachers
Mondays, 8:00 – 8:45 PM ET
BODY, SOUL, GENDER, AND GOD:
TRANS IDENTITIES AND THE ART OF BEING HUMAN
Dr. Joy Ladin
November 17, 2024 from 2:00 – 3:15 PM ET
In preparation for the Transgender Day of Remembrance, author, poet, and activist Joy Ladin will present selections from two newly published books that highlight what living between and beyond gender categories can teach us about becoming, loving, losing, mourning and otherwise being human: Once Out of Nature, a selection of writings about how gender is changing, and Family, her eleventh, most intimate collection of poetry.
Free Podcasts
JEWISH MEDITATION FOR EVERYONE:
PODCAST FEATURING TEACHERS FROM
OUR DAILY MEDITATION SERIES
Rabbi Marc Margolius
Two New Episodes Each Week
One or two meditations from each week’s Daily Sit and/or Shevet (see below) offerings are presented as episodes of our “Jewish Meditation for Everyone” podcast, available in all podcasting platforms.
SOULFUL JEWISH LIVING:
MINDFUL PRACTICES FOR EVERY DAY
Podcast presented in partnership with Unpacked, a division of OpenDor Media
New Episodes Every Tuesday
Overstressed, overworked, overstimulated? Close your eyes, take a deep breath and tune in. In each episode, IJS President & CEO Rabbi Josh Feigelson will guide with ancient wisdom and modern mindfulness practices to help center your soul and ease you into your week. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
JEWISH MEDITATION WITH RABBI ANGELA BUCHDAHL
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
IJS is proud to present a new weekly podcast starting in September, featuring a teaching and meditation led by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City and an alumna of the IJS Clergy Leadership Program.
Text Study
Open My Eyes:
A Weekly Journey of Mindfulness and Torah
All Learners
Rabba Dr. Mira Neshama Niculescu
October 2024 – September 2025
Includes Monthly Live Zoom Sessions
Rabba Dr. Mira Neshama Niculescu, a warm and gifted teacher of Jewish mindfulness and mysticism, will offer a weekly accessible Jewish mindfulness teaching and guided practice, rooted in a theme drawn from each weekly Torah portion over the year.
Each teaching will be informed by the Me’or Einayim, the Torah commentary of Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky of Chernobyl, an 18th century Hasidic teacher, and will provide guidance for weaving that week’s teaching into everyday life through mindfulness practice.
Where the Light Comes Down:
Weekly Study and Practice with the Maggid of Kozhnitz
Seasoned Learners
Rabbi Sam Feinsmith
October 2024 – September 2025
Includes Monthly Live Zoom Sessions
Rabbi Sam Feinsmith, a member of the IJS Senior Core Faculty, will provide a weekly selection on the Torah portion from the Hasidic classic Avodat Yisrael by Rabbi Yisroel Hopstein (1737-1814), the Maggid of Kozhnitz.
Each week’s teaching will be accompanied by an annotated translation, reflection questions designed to support participants in discovering authentic connections between the text and their lived experience, and instructions for mindfulness practice. Sam will offer a monthly live Zoom session for practice and Q&A.
Online Courses
The Gift of Awareness:
Cultivating Mindfulness through Jewish Meditation
Open all year at any time
Rabbi Sam Feinsmith and Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell
This 8-session course is the perfect introduction to Jewish mindfulness meditation, a practice that can help you become more present to your life and to find greater meaning.
Each of the 8 modules includes video teachings by Rabbi Bendat-Appell, text study with Rabbi Feinsmith, a guided meditation, a “mindful life” practice, reflection questions, and a supplemental handout.
Awareness in Action:
Cultivating Character through Mindfulness and Middot
Open all year at any time
Rabbi Marc Margolius and Rabbi Lisa Goldstein
Join IJS for a nine-week program of spiritual and character development, growing more conscious of habitual reactivity and learning to respond instead with wise words and actions informed by middot, innate spiritual character traits.
Running throughout the Omer (the period between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot), this program combines online learning and daily practice prompts with nine live weekly practice session co-led by Rabbi Marc Margolius and one of three guest teachers offering diverse understanding of these middot and the practice: Rabbi Tamara Cohen, Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife, and Rabbi Aaron Weininger.
Earth, Moon, Mindfulness:
Bringing greater meaning into our lives through the cycles of nature and the Jewish calendar
Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife
October 1, 2024 – August 19, 2025
Join Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife for a journey through the Jewish year rooted in earth-based practice, embodiment, and mindfulness.
This full-year course will draw upon themes from the Jewish months, phases of the moon, and seasonal cycles, inviting participants to deepen their connection with Jewish time.
Wounds Into Wisdom:
Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma
Rabbi Tirzah Firestone
November 11 – December 20, 2024
A four-week introduction to healing the wounds of intergenerational Jewish trauma, offered by Rabbi Tirzah Firestone (an alum of IJS’s Clergy Leadership Program), drawing upon neuroscience, psychology, and Jewish mystical tradition, based on her book of the same name.
Awaken:
Essential Jewish Mindfulness
Rebecca Schisler, Rabbi Marc Margolius, and Rabbi Sam Feinsmith
November 11 – December 15, 2024
Our signature five-week introduction to practicing mindfulness from a Jewish perspective, Awaken is designed to help participants reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, and remain open-hearted in challenging times.
Through online materials and weekly live seasons with IJS core faculty, be part of a safe and supportive community of practice learning habits of heart, mind, body, and spirit to foster well-being and align participants with their deepest, authentic selves. No prior experience required.
Lifting Up The Light:
Poetry and Liturgy Writing Workshop
Elana Bell and Rabbi Dan Liben
In partnership with Ritualwell
Dec 5 – 19, 2024
IJS is excited to partner with Ritualwell (an extensive online resource curating original Jewish rituals for Jews and fellow seekers) for a three-week workshop on writing poetry, prayers, and blessings inspired by the themes of Hanukkah, which this year begins at sundown on on Wednesday, December 25. An expert mindfulness teacher and poetry-writing guide will lead the sessions, which will support the creation of original liturgy to be used during the holiday. Dates and teachers will be announced at a later date.
Peaceful Parenting:
Offered in Conjuction with Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning, Chicago
Rebecca Minkus-Lieberman
January 22 – March 4, 2025
Offered in conjunction with Orot in Chicago, this sixweek online course is an immersive cohort experience to support and nourish Jewish parents during challenging times.
The program offered by IJS and led by an expert Orot educator, includes study, discussion, and guided practice opportunities.
Each session integrates Jewish text and wisdom with parenting teaching and mindfulness-based practices.
This program supports parents to rear their children in compassionate, spiritually-connected, and mindful families.
Meeting Anti-Semitism with Mindfulness
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
January 13 – 31, 2025
A three-week series led by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue in New York City.
Learn how to apply mindfulness practice to meet the challenges of external and internalized antisemitism.
Flourish
for Jewish Communal Professionals
Yael Shy and Rabbi Miriam Margles
January 8 – April 1, 2025
Rabbis, cantors, Jewish educators, and other Jewish professionals are invited to join author and master mindfulness teacher Yael Shy and Rabbi Miriam Margles of the IJS Core Faculty for a special edition of Flourish, a transformative 12-week program in Jewish mindfulness for Jewish communal leaders designed to renew and deepen participants’ meditation practice, reduce stress and suffering, deepen joy, and provide Jewish mindfulness tools for leadership, resilience, and wisdom in the participants’ workplaces and communities.
It features digestible, clear instructional videos, a rich array of Hasidic teachings and other Jewish sources, journaling prompts, guided meditations, chevruta/practice partners, and weekly live practice sessions to develop connections with other participants and support your Jewish spiritual growth and leadership. Course includes opening and closing online retreats (3 hours each) and a weekly live online session.
Advanced Jewish Mindfulness Meditation
Rabbi Sam Feinsmith
February – May 2025
A weekly online teaching and meditation session led by Sam Feinsmith, for those with more advanced practice (e.g. JMMTT, Yesod, and Nezah alumni, as well as others who come with more meditation experience), likely grounded in a teaching Sam will draw from his weekly Torah study/practice track for advanced learners.
Awaken
Essential Jewish Mindfulness for Young Adults
Rebecca Schisler and Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife
March 10 – April 7, 2025
Join Rebecca and Keshira for a dive into a five-week introductory exploration of the practice of mindfulness in a Jewish spiritual framework. Awaken: Essential Jewish Mindfulness is sourced in Kabbalistic and Hasidic wisdom taught in an accessible, non-dogmatic, practical manner.
Designed to help participants awaken to their essential divinity and recover their sense of wholeness, this course offers a holistic approach to Jewish living.
Through online materials and weekly live practice sessions, be part of a supportive community of practice learning habits of body, heart, mind, and spirit to foster personal and collective well-being and align with your deepest, most authentic self.
Mindfulness and Climate Change
Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner
March 1 – 31, 2025
A four-week series by Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner, Climate Chaplain and mindfulness teacher, to help participants (1) bring attention to how the climate crisis is impacting them and others on a physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual level; (2) utilize a Kabbalistic framework to explore and deepen their spiritual responses to climate change; and (3) mindfully discern where there is room for shifts in awareness and action around the climate crisis.
Seven Weeks to Healing and Wholeness
IJS Faculty and Guest Instructors
April 13 – June 1, 2025
This seven-week program will focus on Jewish spiritual practices of healing to bring grounding support, awareness, and generative repair to various aspects of our lives in need of healing.
An IJS faculty member will guide participants through the arc of the program, with expert teachers leading a different healing modality in each session.
Immersing in the Zohar
Melila Hellner-Eshed, Ph.D.
April 21 – May 30, 2025
Learn with renowned Israeli scholar and teacher Melila Hellner-Eshed, Ph.D. in a six-week course designed to immerse experienced students in the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah, first published in the late 13th century. This course will explore the mystical, mythical, poetic, and theological aspects that weave together the rich tapestry that is the Zohar.
NOTE: This course is designed specifically for those with significant Judaic background, including rabbis, cantors, Jewish educators, and Jewish/Religious Studies students.
Retreats
Being With What Is:
A Silent Jewish Mindfulness Retreat for Young Adults
Led by Rebecca Schisler, Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife, and Yael Shy
Wisdom House Retreat Center
Litchfield, CT
August 13 – 18, 2024
Preparing Our Broken Hearts for Yom Kippur
Rabbi Dr. James Jacobson-Maisels, Rebecca Schisler, and Zac Newman
In partnership with Or HaLev and HaMakom
October 10 – 11, 2024
Rededicating Your Light:
A Pre-Hanukkah Shabbat Retreat
Cantor Lizzie Shammash and Rabbi Claudia Kreiman
Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
November 16 – 20, 2024
Silent Meditation Retreat
IJS Faculty
Garrison Retreat Center
Garrison, NY
November 16 – 20, 2025
