Youth & Students
HaMakom recognises the challenges for the psychological and spiritual wellbeing of young people and the value of sharing strategies and teachings for wellbeing and agency with them. Young people are asked to do so much with their minds, but they are often not taught how they might take care of them. They are taught many rich aspects and practices of Judaism, but rarely its empowering and nourishing meditative traditions.
At HaMakom we support the work of a number of talented teachers who are bringing their expertise in mindfulness and meditation to young people within Jewish schools, youth groups, university Jewish societies and other organisations. They offer a variety of courses and models to suit a wide variety of needs and ethos.
Please contact us to find out more.
Our Youth Faculty
Zac H. Newman
Zac H. Newman has practised mindfulness since 2009. He has taught in a wide variety of workplaces, in primary and secondary schools and one to one. Zac has trained with the Mindfulness in Schools Project, Wake Up Schools and Bangor University’s Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice. He regularly attends retreats to deepen and refresh his practice. Before he began teaching meditation full-time in 2019, he worked as a secondary school teacher for seven years, including four years as a head of year, guiding one cohort of 200 students to their graduation.
Gidon Fineman
Gidon Fineman is an experienced Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy MBCT facilitator. He has taught mindfulness courses for Oxford University students and pioneered programmes at a number of schools and youth organisations. Gidon has also facilitated mindfulness courses and retreats for HaMakom and for groups of young people within various Jewish synagogues and organisations. He is passionate about weaving together contemporary understandings of mindfulness meditation with the ancient wisdom of Jewish spiritual practice and community.
Zac E. Newman
Zac E. Newman has been involved with HaMakom since its inception. He is a qualified teacher, mindfulness & wellbeing coach and public speaker with a background in NLP, psychotherapy and counselling. He is passionate about supporting people to improve their wellbeing. He regularly runs mental health, mindfulness and wellbeing workshops for schools, businesses and charities with Jonny Benjamin MBE, one of the UK’s leading mental health campaigners. Zac is the founder and director of Newman Tuition, an award-winning network of qualified tutors, recommended by The Good Schools Guide. He is the father of two gorgeous boys and husband to a loving wife.
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Email: marc@hamakom.community
