International Symposium
on Jewish Meditation
Sunday 9 November 2025
Online via Zoom
- Start:
- 06:30 Pacific
- 09:30 Eastern
- 14:30 UK
- 16:30 Israel
- End:
- 15:00 Pacific
- 18:00 Eastern
- 23:00 UK
- 01:00 Israel
Following the huge success of the Symposium over previous years, we are delighted again to host another incredible online conference about Jewish contemplative spirituality.
Teachers and academics from around the world, with a variety of different outlooks on Judaism, will come together online to discuss their shared interest in and love of Jewish meditation.
There will be news, views, texts, dialogue and more, with opportunities for practice and reflection.
Scroll down for further information on the programme, presenters and how to register. You are warmly invited, regardless of your previous experiences of Judaism and meditation.
The event is free of charge to attend so that the Symposium can remain independent and open to the entire world community. Please donate generously to ensure that our presenters are shown due appreciation for providing their insights to the Symposium and are supported in their wider work.
Registration
Our Presenters
Roland BRANDMAN
Tzvi BROKER
Rabbi Tzvi Broker is a career consultant with over 10 years of experience assisting Jews to maximize their professional potential through talent assessment, career guidance, resume writing & job search coaching. His expertise in career development has been utilized by major Jewish organizations and he is a frequent presenter within communities, schools, and conferences.
Alison COHEN
Dov COWAN
As a teacher, Rabbi, spiritual guide, meditation instructor, therapist and counsellor, Dov Cowan has for over a decade been helping people discover the innate wellbeing, joy, and serenity that lies within. He specialises in outdoor therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and logotherapy, and offers guidance on various aspects of Jewish spirituality and practice. An acclaimed Jewish educator with experience in schools, businesses and synagogue communites, he has also worked with hundreds of students and young professionals. He also has drawn on his life experiences in travelling the world including time in Israel, teaching English and trekking in the Himalayas, spending two weeks dressed as an Egyptian peasant recently climbing Italy’s highest mountain.
Keshira haLev FIFE
Keshira haLev Fife (she/they) is a bi-racial, queer Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess) who delights in serving as a facilitator, teacher, consultant, lifespiral ceremony/ritual creatrix, davennatrix (shlichat tzibbur), liturgist and songstress. She serves as Founding Kohenet of Kesher Pittsburgh and Core Faculty Member with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and also enjoys working with Beloved, Jewish Studio Project, Kirva, and the Jewish Learning Collaborative, among other Jewish organisations. Though both the lands of the Osage & Haudenosaunee people (Pittsburgh, PA) and the Gadigal people (Sydney, AUS) feel like home, Keshira and her beloved have been traveling since January 2023.
Marc FRANK
Marc Frank is the Community Manager of HaMakom, an experienced meditator of over 25 years and a qualified instructor of Jewish Mindfulness Meditation. Marc lives in Totnes, Devon, where he volunteers as Community Facilitator for the local Jewish Community, works as a Mental Health Support Worker, and is in private practice as an Integrative Gestalt Therapist. He currently sits as Chair of the Devon Faith and Belief Forum and is passionate about bridge-building through mindful interfaith relations and conscious community connection.
Yehoshua GERZI
Rabbi Yehoshua Gerzi – London-born, now rooted in Israel — embodies a life of courageous kindness animated by radical responsibility. A direct descendant of ḥasidic rebbes and kabbalistic masters, he fuses his ancestral legacy with contemplative methods gleaned from contemporary teachers. As a community rabbi and founder of an educational non-profit, Rabbi Gerzi guides individuals and workplaces in translating timeless Torah wisdom into everyday practice—elevating financial health, personal well-being, and organizational ethics.
Dan GIGI
Rav Daniel Gigi is a mindfulness coach and author on Jewish meditation. For over 20 years he has studied meditation and mindfulness with teachers from a variety of traditions. He is a certified mindfulness teacher and has expertise in Kabbalistic letter-permutation techniques and other practices specific to the Jewish tradition. He is that author of 28 Jewelled Crown: A Comprehensive System of Jewish Meditation and Mysticism and is currently writing a guide to the early mystical book Sefer Yetzirah.
Melila HELLNER-ESHED
Melila Hellner-Eshed is a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. She has taught for the past 25 years Jewish mysticism and Zohar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and serves on the faculty of the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. She has been teaching and working with Jewish communities around the world. Her publications include A River Flows from Eden: The Language of Mystical Experience in the Zohar (Stanford University Press, 2009) ; “Seekers of the Face – The Secrets of the Idra Rabba in the Zohar (Stanford 2022). Her new book co-written with Omri Shasha, On the Path of the Tree of Life – An Introduction to the Zohar (Brandeis forthcoming). Melila is active in the ‘Sulha’ – a reconciliation project that brings together Israelis and Palestinians.
James JACOBSON MAISELS
Rav James directs the vision of Or HaLev & is a devotee of mindfulness practice. Ordained by Rav Daniel Landes, with a doctorate in Jewish Studies from the University of Chicago, Rav James lectures internationally on Jewish Spiritual practices. He also teaches at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, Haifa University & Yeshivat Hadar. He strives to integrate his study with his practice, & to help teach & live Judaism as a spiritual discipline.
Rodger KAMENETZ
Rodger Kamenetz is an award-winning poet, author and teacher, best known for The Jew in the Lotus, an international bestselling account of Jewish-Buddhist dialogue that became a PBS documentary and a book acknowledged by the New York Times as a “revered classic.” Among his fifteen other books Stalking Elijah won the National Jewish Book Award and The History of Last Night’s Dream was featured on Oprah Winfrey’s “soul series.” Professor Emeritus of English and Religious Studies at Louisiana State University, he founded Natural Dreamwork and leads an international group of practitioners who use dreams for spiritual growth. His latest book, Seeing Into the Life of Things: Imagination and the Sacred Encounter explores the power of relishing images in perception, memory and dream as a spiritual practice, tied into the traditional Jewish morning blessing.
www.kamenetz.com howimagesheal.com https://amzn.to/3RkGf6g–>to purchase Seeing Into the Life of Things.
Saul KAYE
Saul Kaye has been meditating daily for the past 26 years. He is a Rabbinical Student at The Academy for Jewish Religion in New York and has been leading services and doing concerts in the Jewish world for 20 years. He recently completed and became certified as a Jewish Meditation Teacher through the Institute of Jewish Spirituality (IJS). He has been leading meditation groups for the last few years and is passionate about bringing this wellspring of spiritual practice to our community.
Judith LINZER
Judith Linzer Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in California. Her book Torah & Dharma: Jewish Seekers in Eastern Religions, based on her dissertation, was published in 1996. She is a long-time Soto Zen practitioner. Her focus these days is writing and performing “solo performance” (one-woman autobiographical shows), being a political activist on the “Jewish left” working for peace and justice for the Palestinians, studying Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic. She recently spent four months in Jerusalem and in the West Bank. She found an Israeli Zen group to sit with while she was in Jerusalem.
Daniel MATT
Daniel Matt is a scholar of Kabbalah and the Zohar. Among his books are: The Essential Kabbalah (translated into seven languages), God and the Big Bang, and his 9-volume, annotated translation of the Zohar (The Zohar: Pritzker Edition), which has been hailed as “a monumental contribution to the history of Jewish thought.” In 2022, Daniel’s biography of Elijah the Prophet was published in Yale’s series Jewish Lives: Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation. This book was awarded the inaugural Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Book Prize, established by Yeshiva University. Daniel lives in Berkeley and currently teaches Zohar online.
Danny NEWMAN
Rabbi Danny Newman is the Founder of HaMakom. He has been studying and teaching meditation, Jewish spirituality, Jewish thought and mysticism for over twenty years and is currently the Rabbi of two Progressive Jewish communities in London. Danny also works as a Life Coach and Facilitator of Men’s Groups and Men’s Retreats. He read Jewish Studies at Oxford University, studied at several Yeshivot in Israel and trained in psychotherapy. Previously he worked for many years in Corporate Law, Finance and Venture Capital in the City of London. He is married and has two young sons.
Dorothy RICHMAN
Rabba Dorothy Richman serves as Rabbi of Makor Or: Jewish Meditation Center and Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco. She teaches on the faculty of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leadership Program and for Or HaLev. Dorothy’s work centers on the spiritual practices of Torah study, meditation, prayer, and justice. She is a soulful leader of traditional and creative ritual, and released an album of original music called Something of Mine, available on Bandcamp.
Yosef SCHACHTER-BROOKS
Rabbi Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks is a Jewish spiritual teacher and musician. He has been teaching children and adults since 2000, and founded the online Jewish Meditation community, Torah of Awakening, in 2016. He is the author of Kabbalah for Beginners, published by Rockridge Press. Brian Yosef received rabbinic s’miha (ordination) in the Renewal tradition and lineage of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l through Rabbi David Zaslow and a haimish group of rabbis at Havurah Shir Hadash in Ashland, Oregon in 2023. Prior to that, he received ordinations as Minister of Sacred Music from Reb Zalman z”l (2012), Spiritual Teacher from Shaykh Ibrahim Baba Farajaje (may his secret be sanctified) and Rabbi SaraLeya Schley (2012), certification as Teacher of Jewish Meditation from Dr. Rabbi Avram Davis (2004), and holds a Bachelor’s in Music from the Eastman School of Music (1991).
Rebecca SCHISLER
Rebecca is a meditation teacher, artist, and Jewish educator. A devoted contemplative practitioner, she is a full-time core faculty member at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, where she directs young adult programming for the Shevet Jewish Mindfulness Community. In addition, she currently teaches mindfulness at Stanford School of Medicine and with Or HaLev. Rebecca has taught with Wilderness Torah, Urban Adamah, HaMakom, Awakened Heart Project and the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators, where she co-authored the Mahloket Matters Schools Curriculum. A rabbinical student at ALEPH, Rebecca is passionate about integrating ancestral wisdom traditions with innovative approaches to personal and collective healing and liberation, and teaches Jewish spirituality as an embodied, transformational, and accessible path, with relevant and timely wisdom for all.
www.rebeccaschisler.com
Brenda SHOSHANNA
Brenda Shoshanna, Ph.D., award-winning author, speaker, playwright, psychologist, long term practitioner of Judaism and Zen. Brenda integrates Eastern and Western principles and offers ways of making them real in our everyday lives. The author of Jewish Dharma (A Guide To The Practice of Judaism and Zen). Her recent Memoir – The Diary of A Zen Mama (Who Turns Into A Jewish Mama) received honors in Book Excellence International Award and Reader’s Favorite Award. Presently, she is preparing an online program on practicing Judaism and Zen. Weekly article, zenbybrenda at brendashoshanna.substack.com. Contact her at topspeaker@yahoo.com.
www.jewishzenmamma.com www.theonetent.com www.zenplaynow.com www.brendashoshannaauthor.com https://www.jewishdharmanow.com
Ami SILVER
The Programme
Our 2025 Symposium comperes: Rebecca Schisler, Marc Frank and Roland Brandman
To view the programme for the symposium, select a time zone:
| PRESENTER | TITLE | DESCRIPTION | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| WELCOME AND SETTLING | A brief welcome to the third International Symposium on Jewish Meditation and a brief opportunity to ground ourselves before the first session. | 14:30 | |
| Dov Cowan Dan Gigi | Out of the Silliness: The Place of Meditation in Jewish Practice | Join two Orthodox rabbis as they share their personal and scholarly journeys into Jewish meditation. What defines meditation in a Jewish context—and why might a Jew engage in it today? This session explores the place of meditative practice within halachic and spiritual life, drawing from classical sources and contemporary experience. Together, we’ll consider how Jewish meditation compares with other traditions, and what unique insights it offers for cultivating inner stillness and connection to the Divine. | 14:45 |
| Keshira haLev Fife Alison Cohen | Be, Bless, Build: grounding in prayerful presence, building towards Olam Habah | In a world that pulls us toward urgency and overwhelm, how do we stay rooted in our deepest values while working to create Olam haBah (a world where we can all belong)? This conversation will explore the meeting point of activism and mindfulness — finding ways to act with clarity, compassion, and courage without losing our center. | 15:30 |
| Dorothy Richman James Jacobson-Maisels | Teaching the Meditation Teachers of Tomorrow | What is special about teaching Jewish Meditation? How is teaching Jewish meditation different from teaching meditation in a secular context? Or Torah without mindfulness? What have been the takeaways from the Yesod and Tiferet and Keter cohorts? Join Rav James and Rabba Dorothy for a conversation about pedagogy and practice. | 16:15 |
| Rodger Kamenetz Judith Linzer Brenda Shoshanna | Jews and Buddhist practice: A Retrospective of Then and Now | Three eminent authors who have written about the interactions of Jews with Buddhist thought and practice come together for a panel discussion and Q&A about the phenomenon over the last decades, current manifestations, and how their lives and practice have developed in that context. | 17:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 17:45 | |
| Melila Hellner-Eshed Daniel Matt | Zoharic Meditation | The Zohar rarely discusses meditation explicitly. Yet it is clear that its authors reached their profound insights through meditating. We will explore a simple meditative technique alluded to by the main composer of the Zohar, Moses de Leon, in some of his Hebrew writings. This technique involves water and light. | 18:30 |
| Ami Silver | Mibsari Echezeh Eloha ~ Embodied Spiritual Practice | What is the place of the body in Jewish spiritual practice? How does the mystical tradition relate to embodied experience in our search for Divine connection? This session will explore teachings and approaches that relate to the body as a focal point of spiritual practice and a primary pathway for experiencing connection with the Divine Presence within and beyond. | 19:15 |
| Roland Brandman Danny Newman | Sapphire Light | A wide-ranging discussion touching on some of the themes in the new anthology of Jewish-contemplative ideas and sources: Sapphire Light: Select Gems of Spiritual Wisdom. Topics to include non-duality, panpsychism, the philosophy of Mitzvot, wandering thoughts during meditation, traditional Jewish sources on mentally transforming suffering, and more. Danny and Roland will also briefly reflect the state of play with Jewish meditation in the UK. | 20:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 20:45 | |
| Yehoshua Gerzi Tzvi Broker | Work Inspired | As global business leaders and governments desperately try to solve the disengaged employee crisis, Jewish wisdom has untapped strategies that naturally boost employee engagement, work satisfaction & productivity. In this session, you’ll explore the spiritual underpinnings of work and Judaism’s vision for every professional to experience fulfilment and purpose through their jobs. You will learn: • Surprising Jewish texts about why humankind does work. • The Hassidic perspective about spiritual rectification done through any job at work. • Jewish meditative practices for accessing more energy, meaning, and purpose throughout your workday. | 21:30 |
| Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks Saul Kaye | Meditation & Music: Discovering Torah Beyond Words | In this dialogue, Rabbi Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks and Saul Kaye discuss the deeper Reality behind sacred text. Can we go beyond words and access the essence of Judaism through silence and sound? | 22:15 |
| END OF SYMPOSIUM | 23:00 |
| PRESENTER | TITLE | DESCRIPTION | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| WELCOME AND SETTLING | A brief welcome to the third International Symposium on Jewish Meditation and a brief opportunity to ground ourselves before the first session. | 16:30 | |
| Dov Cowan Dan Gigi | Out of the Silliness: The Place of Meditation in Jewish Practice | Join two Orthodox rabbis as they share their personal and scholarly journeys into Jewish meditation. What defines meditation in a Jewish context—and why might a Jew engage in it today? This session explores the place of meditative practice within halachic and spiritual life, drawing from classical sources and contemporary experience. Together, we’ll consider how Jewish meditation compares with other traditions, and what unique insights it offers for cultivating inner stillness and connection to the Divine. | 16:45 |
| Keshira haLev Fife Alison Cohen | Be, Bless, Build: grounding in prayerful presence, building towards Olam Habah | In a world that pulls us toward urgency and overwhelm, how do we stay rooted in our deepest values while working to create Olam haBah (a world where we can all belong)? This conversation will explore the meeting point of activism and mindfulness — finding ways to act with clarity, compassion, and courage without losing our center. | 17:30 |
| Dorothy Richman James Jacobson-Maisels | Teaching the Meditation Teachers of Tomorrow | What is special about teaching Jewish Meditation? How is teaching Jewish meditation different from teaching meditation in a secular context? Or Torah without mindfulness? What have been the takeaways from the Yesod and Tiferet and Keter cohorts? Join Rav James and Rabba Dorothy for a conversation about pedagogy and practice. | 18:15 |
| Rodger Kamenetz Judith Linzer Brenda Shoshanna | Jews and Buddhist practice: A Retrospective of Then and Now | Three eminent authors who have written about the interactions of Jews with Buddhist thought and practice come together for a panel discussion and Q&A about the phenomenon over the last decades, current manifestations, and how their lives and practice have developed in that context. | 19:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 19:45 | |
| Melila Hellner-Eshed Daniel Matt | Zoharic Meditation | The Zohar rarely discusses meditation explicitly. Yet it is clear that its authors reached their profound insights through meditating. We will explore a simple meditative technique alluded to by the main composer of the Zohar, Moses de Leon, in some of his Hebrew writings. This technique involves water and light. | 20:30 |
| Ami Silver | Mibsari Echezeh Eloha ~ Embodied Spiritual Practice | What is the place of the body in Jewish spiritual practice? How does the mystical tradition relate to embodied experience in our search for Divine connection? This session will explore teachings and approaches that relate to the body as a focal point of spiritual practice and a primary pathway for experiencing connection with the Divine Presence within and beyond. | 21:15 |
| Roland Brandman Danny Newman | Sapphire Light | A wide-ranging discussion touching on some of the themes in the new anthology of Jewish-contemplative ideas and sources: Sapphire Light: Select Gems of Spiritual Wisdom. Topics to include non-duality, panpsychism, the philosophy of Mitzvot, wandering thoughts during meditation, traditional Jewish sources on mentally transforming suffering, and more. Danny and Roland will also briefly reflect the state of play with Jewish meditation in the UK. | 22:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 22:45 | |
| Yehoshua Gerzi Tzvi Broker | Work Inspired | As global business leaders and governments desperately try to solve the disengaged employee crisis, Jewish wisdom has untapped strategies that naturally boost employee engagement, work satisfaction & productivity. In this session, you’ll explore the spiritual underpinnings of work and Judaism’s vision for every professional to experience fulfilment and purpose through their jobs. You will learn: • Surprising Jewish texts about why humankind does work. • The Hassidic perspective about spiritual rectification done through any job at work. • Jewish meditative practices for accessing more energy, meaning, and purpose throughout your workday. | 23:30 |
| Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks Saul Kaye | Meditation & Music: Discovering Torah Beyond Words | In this dialogue, Rabbi Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks and Saul Kaye discuss the deeper Reality behind sacred text. Can we go beyond words and access the essence of Judaism through silence and sound? | 00:15 |
| END OF SYMPOSIUM | 01:00 |
| PRESENTER | TITLE | DESCRIPTION | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| WELCOME AND SETTLING | A brief welcome to the third International Symposium on Jewish Meditation and a brief opportunity to ground ourselves before the first session. | 09:30 | |
| Dov Cowan Dan Gigi | Out of the Silliness: The Place of Meditation in Jewish Practice | Join two Orthodox rabbis as they share their personal and scholarly journeys into Jewish meditation. What defines meditation in a Jewish context—and why might a Jew engage in it today? This session explores the place of meditative practice within halachic and spiritual life, drawing from classical sources and contemporary experience. Together, we’ll consider how Jewish meditation compares with other traditions, and what unique insights it offers for cultivating inner stillness and connection to the Divine. | 09:45 |
| Keshira haLev Fife Alison Cohen | Be, Bless, Build: grounding in prayerful presence, building towards Olam Habah | In a world that pulls us toward urgency and overwhelm, how do we stay rooted in our deepest values while working to create Olam haBah (a world where we can all belong)? This conversation will explore the meeting point of activism and mindfulness — finding ways to act with clarity, compassion, and courage without losing our center. | 10:30 |
| Dorothy Richman James Jacobson-Maisels | Teaching the Meditation Teachers of Tomorrow | What is special about teaching Jewish Meditation? How is teaching Jewish meditation different from teaching meditation in a secular context? Or Torah without mindfulness? What have been the takeaways from the Yesod and Tiferet and Keter cohorts? Join Rav James and Rabba Dorothy for a conversation about pedagogy and practice. | 11:15 |
| Rodger Kamenetz Judith Linzer Brenda Shoshanna | Jews and Buddhist practice: A Retrospective of Then and Now | Three eminent authors who have written about the interactions of Jews with Buddhist thought and practice come together for a panel discussion and Q&A about the phenomenon over the last decades, current manifestations, and how their lives and practice have developed in that context. | 12:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 12:45 | |
| Melila Hellner-Eshed Daniel Matt | Zoharic Meditation | The Zohar rarely discusses meditation explicitly. Yet it is clear that its authors reached their profound insights through meditating. We will explore a simple meditative technique alluded to by the main composer of the Zohar, Moses de Leon, in some of his Hebrew writings. This technique involves water and light. | 13:30 |
| Ami Silver | Mibsari Echezeh Eloha ~ Embodied Spiritual Practice | What is the place of the body in Jewish spiritual practice? How does the mystical tradition relate to embodied experience in our search for Divine connection? This session will explore teachings and approaches that relate to the body as a focal point of spiritual practice and a primary pathway for experiencing connection with the Divine Presence within and beyond. | 14:15 |
| Roland Brandman Danny Newman | Sapphire Light | A wide-ranging discussion touching on some of the themes in the new anthology of Jewish-contemplative ideas and sources: Sapphire Light: Select Gems of Spiritual Wisdom. Topics to include non-duality, panpsychism, the philosophy of Mitzvot, wandering thoughts during meditation, traditional Jewish sources on mentally transforming suffering, and more. Danny and Roland will also briefly reflect the state of play with Jewish meditation in the UK. | 15:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 15:45 | |
| Yehoshua Gerzi Tzvi Broker | Work Inspired | As global business leaders and governments desperately try to solve the disengaged employee crisis, Jewish wisdom has untapped strategies that naturally boost employee engagement, work satisfaction & productivity. In this session, you’ll explore the spiritual underpinnings of work and Judaism’s vision for every professional to experience fulfilment and purpose through their jobs. You will learn: • Surprising Jewish texts about why humankind does work. • The Hassidic perspective about spiritual rectification done through any job at work. • Jewish meditative practices for accessing more energy, meaning, and purpose throughout your workday. | 16:30 |
| Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks Saul Kaye | Meditation & Music: Discovering Torah Beyond Words | In this dialogue, Rabbi Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks and Saul Kaye discuss the deeper Reality behind sacred text. Can we go beyond words and access the essence of Judaism through silence and sound? | 17:15 |
| END OF SYMPOSIUM | 18:00 |
| PRESENTER | TITLE | DESCRIPTION | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| WELCOME AND SETTLING | A brief welcome to the third International Symposium on Jewish Meditation and a brief opportunity to ground ourselves before the first session. | 06:30 | |
| Dov Cowan Dan Gigi | Out of the Silliness: The Place of Meditation in Jewish Practice | Join two Orthodox rabbis as they share their personal and scholarly journeys into Jewish meditation. What defines meditation in a Jewish context—and why might a Jew engage in it today? This session explores the place of meditative practice within halachic and spiritual life, drawing from classical sources and contemporary experience. Together, we’ll consider how Jewish meditation compares with other traditions, and what unique insights it offers for cultivating inner stillness and connection to the Divine. | 06:45 |
| Keshira haLev Fife Alison Cohen | Be, Bless, Build: grounding in prayerful presence, building towards Olam Habah | In a world that pulls us toward urgency and overwhelm, how do we stay rooted in our deepest values while working to create Olam haBah (a world where we can all belong)? This conversation will explore the meeting point of activism and mindfulness — finding ways to act with clarity, compassion, and courage without losing our center. | 07:30 |
| Dorothy Richman James Jacobson-Maisels | Teaching the Meditation Teachers of Tomorrow | What is special about teaching Jewish Meditation? How is teaching Jewish meditation different from teaching meditation in a secular context? Or Torah without mindfulness? What have been the takeaways from the Yesod and Tiferet and Keter cohorts? Join Rav James and Rabba Dorothy for a conversation about pedagogy and practice. | 08:15 |
| Rodger Kamenetz Judith Linzer Brenda Shoshanna | Jews and Buddhist practice: A Retrospective of Then and Now | Three eminent authors who have written about the interactions of Jews with Buddhist thought and practice come together for a panel discussion and Q&A about the phenomenon over the last decades, current manifestations, and how their lives and practice have developed in that context. | 09:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 09:45 | |
| Melila Hellner-Eshed Daniel Matt | Zoharic Meditation | The Zohar rarely discusses meditation explicitly. Yet it is clear that its authors reached their profound insights through meditating. We will explore a simple meditative technique alluded to by the main composer of the Zohar, Moses de Leon, in some of his Hebrew writings. This technique involves water and light. | 10:30 |
| Ami Silver | Mibsari Echezeh Eloha ~ Embodied Spiritual Practice | BREAKWhat is the place of the body in Jewish spiritual practice? How does the mystical tradition relate to embodied experience in our search for Divine connection? This session will explore teachings and approaches that relate to the body as a focal point of spiritual practice and a primary pathway for experiencing connection with the Divine Presence within and beyond. | 11:15 |
| Roland Brandman Danny Newman | Sapphire Light | A wide-ranging discussion touching on some of the themes in the new anthology of Jewish-contemplative ideas and sources: Sapphire Light: Select Gems of Spiritual Wisdom. Topics to include non-duality, panpsychism, the philosophy of Mitzvot, wandering thoughts during meditation, traditional Jewish sources on mentally transforming suffering, and more. Danny and Roland will also briefly reflect the state of play with Jewish meditation in the UK. | 12:00 |
| BREAK / MEDITATION PRACTICE | A brief guided meditation will be offered at the start which you can run with for the rest of the time slot, or you can do your own practice or just enjoy a break. | 12:45 | |
| Yehoshua Gerzi Tzvi Broker | Work Inspired | As global business leaders and governments desperately try to solve the disengaged employee crisis, Jewish wisdom has untapped strategies that naturally boost employee engagement, work satisfaction & productivity. In this session, you’ll explore the spiritual underpinnings of work and Judaism’s vision for every professional to experience fulfilment and purpose through their jobs. You will learn: • Surprising Jewish texts about why humankind does work. • The Hassidic perspective about spiritual rectification done through any job at work. • Jewish meditative practices for accessing more energy, meaning, and purpose throughout your workday. | 13:30 |
| Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks Saul Kaye | Meditation & Music: Discovering Torah Beyond Words | In this dialogue, Rabbi Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks and Saul Kaye discuss the deeper Reality behind sacred text. Can we go beyond words and access the essence of Judaism through silence and sound? | 14:15 |
| END OF SYMPOSIUM | 15:00 |
