HaMakom Summer Retreat 2025
A HaMakom and Or HaLev Retreat
with
Rabbi Dr James Jacobson-Maisels, Zac Newman, Miri Cohen and Rabbi Danny Newman
Subtle Yoga with Mika Hadar
Tuesday 5 August - Sunday 10 August 2025
Nanpantan Hall
Leicestershire, UK
This retreat takes place 2 weeks after Pesach. Our ancestors emerged from the constriction of Egyptian enslavement into the space of the desert, the midbar. Their responses to the wilderness vary. At times they experience fear and confusion. At other times they recognise that their path, with its many challenges, is a sacred one.
Jewish mindfulness and wisdom offers timeless tools which support us to notice the space that is available within: to find it, appreciate it and rest in it. We learn to connect with what is anchoring and grounding. This makes it possible to be both steady and open, and to give our hearts the liberation and connection for which they yearn.
Amid the great pain, loss and division of these times, please know that you are welcome on this retreat, whoever you are, and whatever you are feeling.
Please join us as together we create community in silence, presence, singing and celebrating Shabbat. The retreat will include sitting meditation, walking meditation, sacred chanting, Shabbat practice, talks, Q&A and the opportunity to share your experiences in the safety of small facilitated groups. 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 led by Mika Hadar. 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.
On a longer retreat, the possibilities for deepening both individually and collectively are profound. This 5 day retreat offers us plenty of space and time to ease in, to settle, to open and perhaps to heal. We would love to share this precious time with you.
We are so excited to have Nanpantan Hall as the venue for this retreat. It is a breathtaking 30-acre venue, sitting on the side of a beautiful valley within the Charnwood Forest, site of the discovery of the oldest known complex life form in the world.
About Zac Newman
Zac is HaMakom’s Community Director. As well as leading our organisation, Zac teaches Jewish meditation widely, including for Or HaLev and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Zac is a long-time teacher of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme. He trained to teach mindfulness through the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University. Prior to this he studied Theology at the University of Cambridge, and then spent a fellowship in the graduate school at Yale University. Zac is continually interested in how we can wake up to the wisdom of our tradition and the goodness of our lives.
About Miri Cohen
Miri has been practising meditation for over 25 years, mainly in the Insight tradition. She is an NHS-trained Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy/Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher and a graduate of Yesod, the Jewish meditation programme from Or HaLev and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Miri facilitates meditation groups in person and online for HaMakom and secular organisations and gives one to one sessions. She is a member of the Community Dharma Leader system at Gaia House, Devon, UK. Miri is a student of the late Rob Burbea and his teaching influences her approach. Miri is also a long-term practitioner of interfaith dialogue.
About Rabbi Danny Newman
Danny is the Founder and former CEO of HaMakom. He is currently the Rabbi of two Progressive Jewish communities in London and also works as a Life Coach and Facilitator of Men’s Groups and Men’s Retreats. Previously he read Jewish Studies at Oxford University, studied at several Yeshivot in Israel, trained in psychotherapy and worked for many years in Corporate Law, Finance and Private Equity in the City of London.
About Mika Hadar
Mika comes from a long line of Hasidic healers. Being trained in a variety of mind-body systems including the Alexander Technique, Hatha Yoga and Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Mika has developed the unique practice of Subtle Yoga. Her work explores the subconscious self-alignment and self-healing capacity of the body alongside re-education. At the heart of her work is an emphasis on psycho-physical integration. Mika is based in London and teaches internationally.
If you have a question or would like to discuss this retreat please contact Marc at: marc@hamakom.community.
The retreat will begin at 4.00pm on Tuesday 5 August and will end at 12.00pm on Sunday 10 August.
Registration will be from 12.00pm to 1.30pm on Friday 2 May. Please arrive at St. Cassian’s Retreat Centre between 12.00pm and 1.30pm.
The meals provided by our chefs will all be vegetarian. We are also able to offer vegan, dairy free and gluten free options. If this does not suit your kashrut (Jewish dietary) 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. Please be sure to give us full details in your registration form.
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. Camping may also be possible. Please be in touch with Zac (zac@hamakom.community) if you would like to book either of these options.
At the end of the retreat, you will be invited to give a donation to support HaMakom in its ongoing work. If you have been on retreat with us before you will know that our usual practice is to ask for donations for both the visiting teacher and for HaMakom. On this retreat there will only be the one donation request to support HaMakom. We hope this will offer more financial flexibility for those that need it.
Retreat Rates
Standard Rate: the Standard Rate is £750 and covers the basic running costs of the retreat.
Supporter Rate: it is a very special thing to have the opportunity to spend 5 nights in the environment of safety, support, stillness and beauty which retreat offers. Our deep wish is that these opportunities are available as widely as possible, and not limited by financial means. If you are able to, please consider making an additional donation. We will use this entirely towards subsidising places for others to attend. In this way, you are a vessel for transformation and healing. Our suggested supporter donations are £100, £150 or £250. We will gratefully receive any supplementary amount you are able to offer.
Scholarship Rate: we really want you to join us no matter what your financial circumstance. If you need a reduced rate, whatever that might be, please complete the registration form and enter “scholarship” when prompted to type an invite code. We will then contact you. We really hope to be able to offer a subsidised place to all who need it.
Rooms
The bedrooms at Nanpantan Hall are of two different sorts:
- Most of the rooms are medium-sized ensuite single or twin bedrooms on the top (second) floor of the building, most with sloping (attic) ceilings. There is a lift (it will not be a Shabbat lift).
- On the first floor there are 7 much larger rooms, however these are not ensuite. The shared bathrooms and toilets are close by.
- At the bottom of this page you can see an example photo of the each of the two sorts of room.
The booking form gives you the opportunity to choose which style of room you would prefer. All rooms will be booked on a first come first served basis. If your choice of room is not available we will let you know and you will have the opportunity to withdraw your booking and receive a full refund.
All rooms will be single occupancy unless you specify that there is someone you wish to share with.
Cancellations
Cancellations before Friday 24 May are fully refundable less a £20 fee for administration and payment processing. We will not be able to refund cancellations notified to us after Friday 24 May.
Example of an ensuite room
Example of a non-ensuite room
The Benefits of Jewish Mindfulness Meditation
(adapted from the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, with thanks)
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 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 Monday lunchtime, 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 the teachers over the weekend, where you can share what you choose to of your experience, and receive personalised feedback and guidance.
At the start of the retreat we will explain how the silence will work, what to do if you need to speak to someone, and answer any questions you may have. You are very welcome to contact us beforehand and ask anything too.
