Giving into Grace:
The Gift of Jewish Mindfulness
A HaMakom Meditation Retreat
with
Rebecca Schisler* and Zac Newman
Note: we will be using a Shabbat-friendly microphone for the duration of this retreat.
Friday 1 - Sunday 3 December 2023
St Cassian's Retreat Centre
Berkshire, UK
*Unfortunately, the terrible situation in Israel and Gaza means that, with sadness, we must let you know that Rabbah Dr Mira Neshama Weil (who was due to be teaching this retreat) is unable to be with us. While holding the deep sadness of Rabbah Mira being unable to be with us on this occasion, we are also very excited to tell you that Rebecca Schisler has kindly agreed to journey from the USA to be with us and teach on this retreat alongside our own beloved teacher Zac.
**Registration for this retreat has now closed. There are a handful of spaces remaining. Please write to zac@hamakom.community if you are interested in joining.**
In such profoundly, acutely difficult times as these, we need our practice more than ever. We need the measure of steadiness and stability it can bring into our being. We need the space it offers, so that we can see clearly, discern what we do and do not know, and act effectively and supportively.
We don’t know what the conditions will be by the time of this retreat. We do know that we intend to come together, to be together, sit together, and feel what we feel together.
When we meditate, when we give ourselves unconditionally to the truth of the moment, then grace can happen. What is sacred has the space to come forth. We are given what we need.
On this retreat, join Rebecca Schisler and Zac Newman for a weekend retreat exploring the healing possibilities of Jewish mindfulness practice.
This retreat offers us the opportunity to create community in silence, with sitting meditation, walking meditation, sacred chanting, Shabbat practice, talks, Q&A and sharing experiences in small groups. Everyone is welcome, whatever experience of meditative or Jewish traditions you have, or have not had. This will be a unique weekend dedicated to the practice of Jewish mindfulness meditation, and an experience of the Jewish path to wellbeing, wisdom & awakening.
Throughout the retreat we will maintain social silence. See the “Social Silence” tab above for an explanation of this. The retreat will also offer optional periods of movement practice. There will be space and time for davening (prayer), for those that wish to. We welcome people of all ages, of all faiths or none, beginners or experienced practitioners or anyone in between.
About Rebecca Schisler
A devoted mindfulness practitioner and teacher, Rebecca is a core faculty member at the Institute for Jewish spirituality and has taught with Or HaLev, Wilderness Torah, Awakened Heart Project, Urban Adamah, and Pardes Center for Jewish Educators, where she co-authored the Mahloket Matters Schools curriculum. Rebecca was previously a lecturer at Stanford School of Medicine, and the Director of Student Health & Well-being at Stanford University’s Hillel. A student rabbi at ALEPH, Rebecca is passionate about integrating ancestral wisdom traditions with innovative approaches to personal and collective healing and liberation. She teaches Jewish spirituality as an embodied, holistic, and accessible path, with relevant and timely wisdom for all. Learn more at www.rebeccaschisler.com, and stay up to date on her teaching events at www.jewishspirituality.org.
The retreat will begin at 2.00pm on Friday 1 December and will end at 4.00pm on Sunday 3 December 2023.
Registration will be from 12.00pm to 1.30pm on Friday 1 December. Please arrive at St. Cassian’s Retreat Centre between 11.00am and 1.30pm.
There is the option to eat an informal lunch together at the retreat centre at 12.30pm on Friday 1 December. This is an opportunity for conversation in community, before we enter into the social silence of the retreat. Anyone coming to the retreat is warmly invited to join. Please bring your own vegetarian food. The first meal provided by the retreat centre will be on Friday evening.
HaMakom endeavours to keep costs as low as possible, and to be accessible to everyone, regardless of financial circumstances. The price of our retreats is set to reflect just the basic costs of arranging the retreat at the beautiful St. Cassian’s Retreat Centre (https://www.thekintburyexperience.com/), outside the village of Kintbury in Berkshire. This includes all meals and accommodation, in double rooms and with shared bathrooms.
The meals provided by the retreat centre will all be vegetarian. We are also able to offer vegan, dairy free and gluten free options. If this does not suit your kashrut practice please contact us so that we can explore what arrangements will support you. We aim to accommodate everyone’s dietary and kashrut requirements, as best we can.
We also offer the option for you to be an offsite participant and to arrange your own accommodation. If you prefer this option you will pay a reduced rate and will need to make your own accommodation arrangements. Please see details below of hotels that participants have previously stayed in. Alternatively, some participants have had success finding accommodation through www.airbnb.com.
We also offer an onsite camping option. Please be in touch if you would like to know more about this.
At the end of the retreat, you will be invited to give donations to support Rebecca’s livelihood, and to support HaMakom in its ongoing work. The registration fee you pay goes towards the basic costs of delivering the retreat and does not include any payment to Rebecca.
Retreat Rates (for onsite and offsite accommodation)
The rates for this retreat are at two levels: Standard and Scholarship.
Standard Rate: the Standard Rate is £221 and covers the basic running costs of the retreat. If you choose accommodation that is offsite, the Standard Rate is £171.
Scholarship Rate: the Scholarship Rate is £129, and is available to all who cannot afford the Standard rate.
Single Room: We have a number of rooms available for guaranteed single occupancy at a supplement of £55 to whichever rate you choose.
If you cannot afford the Scholarship rate please contact us. No one will be turned away because of their financial circumstances.
If you are in a position to do so, we invite you to make a donation in addition to the registration fee. This donation will support those with more limited finances to come on retreat with HaMakom, and enjoy the gifts of retreat. Our deep aspiration is that these gifts should be equally available to everyone who seeks them, regardless of financial or any other circumstances.
Cancellations
Cancellations up to 2 weeks in advance are fully refundable. Cancellations less than 2 weeks in advance are not refundable.
Details of offsite accommodation:
The two hotels below are approx. a 10 minute drive from the retreat centre.
Three Swans Hotel
117 High Street, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 0LZ
Tel: 01488 682721
http://www.threeswans.net/
The Bear
Charnham Street, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 0EL
Tel: 0845 6086040
https://www.greenekinginns.co.uk/hotels/bear-hotel-hungerford/
There is also a more expensive hotel in the village of Kintbury itself, a few minutes’ drive from the retreat centre:
The Dundas Arms
Tel: +44 (0) 1488 658 263
53 Station Road, Kintbury Hungerford RG17 9UT
https://www.dundasarms.co.uk/
IMPORTANT: Please make your own arrangements with the hotel if you choose to stay offsite, and let us know where you will be staying.
The Benefits of Jewish Mindfulness Meditation
(from: The Institute for Jewish Spirituality)
We are dedicated to introducing this practice into the Jewish world for several reasons:
- to enliven and enhance Jewish prayer, celebration, ritual and community;
- to be part of working for the betterment of our fragile and vulnerable planet; and
- to recognize the true and deep sources of happiness in a world filled with seductive, competing and ultimately unsatisfying short-term fixes.
How can Mindfulness Meditation Help?
Mindfulness meditation is training the mind. Just as we go to the gym to make our bodies stronger and more flexible, so mind training helps make our minds more spacious, perceptive and most of all free.
We train our capacity to pay attention by turning our attention, like a flashlight, on our own minds. This helps us see more clearly the nature of our own minds. We become aware of the patterns and habits that run our lives but have not been previously visible.
We begin to realize that these patterns and habits may serve our goals, desires, and purposes – but often they do not. We start to realize that there actually is a “pause button” built into our system. This pause button can be activated when we become triggered by an event outside ourselves and are tempted to act in reactive, patterned and unskilful ways.
The “pause button” wakes us up, creates a space in our mind where we can ask the question: ”What is the skilful, wholesome, wise, goal oriented action I need to take in this moment?” “What are my choices here?” The development of this capacity for inner freedom is why we train in mindfulness. This can be profoundly useful in our lives, especially in our relationships, and in any task we undertake to realize our dreams or express our creativity.
By cultivating attention, we are also able to feel more satisfied with each moment of our experience.
We learn to rest in this moment as it unfolds.
We learn to bring our awareness to the flow of energy in the body which is the very miracle of our aliveness. We learn to be more receptive to the fullness of each moment, rather than resisting what has already occurred or projecting what is not yet here. We learn to notice the arising and passing of all experience, recognizing how short and precious this life is.
We learn to treasure each day for the miracle it is. This is itself a source of happiness. According to modern neuroscience, the mind is a dynamic flow of experiences rather than a fixed state. When we experience this for ourselves, we feel less isolated, less caught in judgment and adversity, and more open to the mystery and majesty of this very life.
Being in Peace & Quiet / Social Silence
You are invited to experience the retreat in peace & quiet/social silence. This means that from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon, we invite you to observe silence at all times.
Spending time in silence can be a powerful way to support the deepening of meditative calm and insight. Being together in this way is an opportunity for us to explore a degree of solitude, while having the support of the group.
Being in silence can foster a sense of safety and refuge. Through letting go of the familiar world of words we can give ourselves the opportunity to find space from the complexity of personal interaction, and to see our mind and its activity more clearly.
Experiencing life directly, rather than through language and concepts, allows us to develop insight into the way things are. This direct seeing is the foundation for inner peace, wisdom and compassion.
There will be time for asking questions. Each person will also have the opportunity for small group time with one of the teachers over the weekend, where you can share what you choose to of your experience, and receive personalised feedback and guidance.
We will explain how the silence will work, what to do if you need to speak to someone and answer any questions at the start of the retreat.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Meditation retreats can be beautiful and powerful journeys of healing and transformation. However, they are not necessarily safe and appropriate for everyone at all times. We therefore ask potential participants to be aware of the following: if you have suffered an episode of mania or psychosis in the last six months, this retreat is not appropriate for you. Please join us on retreat when there has been more than six months since your last episode of mania or psychosis or other serious mental health episode. There are other mental and physical health issues which might mean that this retreat is not appropriate for you. Please do not attend this retreat against the advice of a medical professional. If you have a history of trauma or serious mental health challenges, retreat may be appropriate and beneficial for you. It is important that you are in touch with us in advance so that we can ensure this retreat will be supportive for you.
