Contemplative Shabbat Retreat
with Rabbi Jacob Staub and Dr. Zvi Bellin
Pealstone Retreat Center, Baltimore, Maryland
December 10 – 12, 2010
Have you ever wondered how you can bring more relaxation, joy, and personal fulfillment into your life? Without having to be a Buddhist or a Yogi! Meditation and awareness practices are for Jews, too, and can support an authentic Jewish practice. Rabbi Jacob and Zvi will be facilitating a full Shabbat experience at Pearlstone Retreat Center near Baltimore, MD. You will learn valuable practices for your well-being and spiritual toolbox that will allow you to decrease stress, enhance body-heart-mind flexibility, and live more authentically. There will be instruction in Jewish-inspired meditation and Yoga, contemplative prayer services and delicious Kosher Shabbat meals, individual psycho-spiritual counseling and exploration of other research- informed awareness practices. The weekend will be held in gentle silence to allow retreatants to enter into a deep inner space of personal awareness. (If you just thought, “I could never do that,” then this Shabbat is especially for you.)
Is this for me?: This retreat program is geared towards Jewish and Jewish-interested people of all ages. No prior meditation experience needed; no familiarity with traditional Jewish practice. You should come with a curiosity to learn more about yourself through Jewish practice with a contemplative emphasis.
About the Tefilah Services (Prayer): The prayer services at this retreat will follow the elemental flow of traditional services, though the liturgy will not be fully traditional nor completely read. Each service will be crafted to add to the experience of the weekend — a deepening inward for greater personal awareness. Thus, the services will include ample silence, chanting, verbal kavvanot (guided intentions), and contemplation of individual lines and verses. It will be intended that, should individuals choose to do so, they can pray the full liturgy to themselves as they sit in the room with the whole minyan. The Torah service will include three Aliyot, in which whoever would like can come up for a group blessing. If you have specific questions about the services please email: zvilove@gmail.com .
Program Cost: In order to make the retreat affordable, participants are only required to pay the fee of room and board. This cost is $159. At the completion of the retreat, participants will be asked to donate to the teachers. The cost of the retreat includes two nights lodging in hotel style rooms with private baths (three people per room), five delicious kosher meals, a complete weekend workshop series including meditation, contemplative services, and Yoga instruction, and an individual psycho-spiritual session with Rabbi Jacob Staub or Dr. Zvi Bellin.
Registration Information and Location: REGISTRATION FOR THIS RETREAT IS LIMITED TO 30 PARTICIPANTS. Please email zvilove@gmail.com to receive your registration form. Payment information will be given at this time. The retreat will be held just outside of Baltimore, MD at the Pearlstone Retreat Center (www.pearlstonecenter.org) 5425 Mount Gilead Rd, Reisterstown, MD 21136-4110, (410) 429-4400
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, Dec 10th
Arrival and Check In (Snacks available) – 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Prepare for Shabbat – 4:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Candle lighting and the Logistics of Silence – 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv – 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Shabbat Dinner – 7:15 – 8:30 p.m.
Stories, Chanting, and D’var Torah – 8:45 – 10:00 p.m. (Lailah Tov)
SATURDAY, Dec 11th
Early Morning Sit – 7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
Gentle Yoga – 8:00 – 8:45 a.m.
Contemplative Shacharit and Torah Service – 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Shabbat Lunch – 11:30 – 12:30 p.m.
Afternoon Practice – 12:45 – 3:30 p.m. (Sitting and Movement Meditation, Q and A period)
Shabbas Menuhah/Rest (Snacks available) – 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Individual Sessions)
Shabbat Mincha Practice – 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Third Meal/Dinner – 5:00 – 6:15 p.m.
Ma’ariv and Havdalah – 6:30 – 7:00pm
Evening Practice – 7:15 – 8:30 p.m. (Sitting Meditation, Dynamic Breath Meditation)
Night Program – 8:45 p.m. (Yoga practice and Special Topic Talk: “Hen, Hesed, Ve-Rahamim: Cultivating Self Compassion, Receiving Divine Compassion”)
SUNDAY, Dec 12th
Early Morning Sit – 6:00 – 7:00 a.m.
Flow Yoga – 7:00 – 8:15am
Breakfast – 8:15 – 9:00 a.m. (Individual Sessions)
Contemplative Shacharit – 9:00 – 10:30am
Transitioning back to the “Real World” – 10:30 – 11:00 a.m.
SAFE TRAVELS AND MANY BLESSINGS!
FACILITATOR BIO:
Rabbi Jacob Staub is Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he teaches Jewish Meditation and Jewish Contemplative Practice and where he directs the program in Jewish Spiritual Direction. He has studied and practiced Jewish Mindfulness with his mentor, Dr. Sylvia Boorstein, and with Rabbis Sheila Weinberg and Jeff Roth. He is the co-author of Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach and has written extensively on Jewish belief and practice.
Dr. Zvi Bellin holds a Ph.D. in Pastoral Counseling and is a licensed therapist in Maryland and DC. Zvi directs intimate retreats for the Jewish community that are both spiritually uplifting and intellectually stimulating. His teaching style follows the tradition of blending Torah study with contemplative Jewish practice. Zvi has studied extensively with teachers spanning various Jewish denominations, including, Rabbi David Zeller, Miriam Ribner, Rabbi Zvi Miller, and Rabbi Jeff Roth.
Please contact zvilove@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.
This program is endorsed by The Awakened Heart Project, Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, and the Moishe House. We thank them.
