Ritualwell

Can We Talk? Navigating Challenging Conversations
2024-07-18 12:00 - 13:30, 2024-07-25 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Thursdays, July 11, 18, and 25, 2024
12–1:30 p.m. EDT
$118

We reside in a rapidly evolving social landscape, where our previously held beliefs may have shifted or become more pronounced. Regardless of our stances on various topics, we often encounter conflicts with those around us. Is it possible to have productive discussions about our differences? If so, how can we go about it effectively?

This mini-Immersion series invites you to delve into mastering the skill of navigating challenging conversations constructively. Explore identifying your triggers, enhancing your understanding of differing perspectives, and honing your listening skills. Based on the Jewish concepts of making debate possible and fruitful, taught by Adva Chattler (MA, Conflict Resolution and Management) of Ritualwell and a Makhloket Matters fellow, you will be able to look at moments of conflict and decide upon your approach to it – not just respond at a heat of the moment. At the end of this Immersion, you will be able to leave with practical tools to face difficult conversation, wherever they meet you.

Special guest speakers: Rosalie Gerut (MA) and Martina Emme (PhD), co-writers of the book “Journeys of Transformation: Confronting the Legacies of Conflict, War and Genocide” describing their journey as descendants of Holocaust survivors and Nazi supporters who participating in dialogue groups that encouraged healing and growth on both sides.

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Adva Chattler (she/her) is an Israeli-Mizrahi Jew, born and raised in Be’er-Sheva, Israel. Adva is passionate about bringing people together in ways that spark relationship building and connecting to others on a deeper level, both in the challenging and ever-changing world of online gatherings, and in person. She holds a MA in conflict Resolution and Management from Ben Gurion University of the Negev and BA in Public Administration and Management from Sapir College in Sderot, Israel. She is a Makhloket Matters fellow for Jewish professionals from the Pardes Institute and believes that even though we can’t avoid conflicts, we can take the steps to avoid conflict escalation through education and practice. With her experience in teaching and curriculum building, she support facilitators and presenters for Ritualwell and Reconstructing Judaism and encourages them to bring not only their best self, but best practices and tools for successful teaching online. Adva lives in Del Rio, Tx., with her husband, daughters and their dogs.

Threading Stones: An Elul Tradition
2024-07-23 14:00 - 15:30, 2024-07-30 14:00 - 15:30, 2024-08-06 14:00 - 15:30
Tuesdays, July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and August 6, 2024
2-3:30 p.m. EDT
$250

Prepare yourself for Elul and the High Holy Days by learning an ancient tradition, rarely taught by those who have practice in this tradition.

For generations, Jewish women in Eastern Europe utilized threads to measure cemeteries and graves. These threads were used to create special soul candles known as neshome likht, or sometimes as protective bands worn on wrists, ankles, or necks. Typically overseen by skilled women called feldmesterins, activities such as feldmestn (cemetery measuring) and kneytlekh leygn (laying wicks) were most prevalent during Elul to prepare soul candles for Yom Kippur.

In this Ritualwell Immersion program, you will be guided on how to carry out these rituals based on translated Yiddish ethnographic studies and memoirs. The session will include teaching Yiddish songs, reciting tkhines (Yiddish prayers), and reading poems, some of which are focused on this ritual. Delving into the history of this tradition will shed light on how cemeteries were perceived in shtetl society, serving as a means to communicate with the deceased and seek their assistance. At the end of this Immersion, you will be able to host a cemetery measuring event in Elul or any other time of the year.

This Immersion is open for all! If you are intrigued by Yiddish, Jewish, or local history; eager to explore overlooked folklore and protective practices; or seeking new avenues to connect with your ancestors; if you are a Jewish educator, spiritual leader, or community members interested in leading this program during the month of Elul at their local cemeteries: You are welcome to join us!
Want to learn more? Watch this short video!

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Annabel Cohen is a PhD Student in Modern Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, focusing on the interwar Jewish anti-fascist left. She has a Masters with distinction in History from the University of London. Alongside her PhD research, Annabel researches and translates materials relating to Jewish women’s religiosity in Eastern Europe, publishing her work on the blog www.pullingatthreads.com. Her essay on feldmesterins – cemetery measuring women – was published in the recent anthology Strange Fire: Jewish Voices from the Pandemic, published by Ben Yehuda Press in 2021. She is one of the Yiddish Book Center’s 2023-24 Translation Fellows, for which she is translating the memoirs of Communist journalist, Gina Medem. Annie teaches Yiddish with the Workers’ Circle and YIVO, and this coming academic year will be teaching Yiddish language, history and culture at the Sorbonne university, Paris. Since 2018, Annie has been studying feminine and earth-based Jewish practice with the Kohenet Hebrew institute. She will be ordained as a Kohenet on August 18.

Sarah Chandler aka Kohenet Shamirah is a Brooklyn-based Jewish educator, artist, activist, healer, and poet. She teaches, writes and consults on issues related to Judaism, earth-based spiritual practice, respectful workplaces, mindfulness, and farming. An ordained Kohenet with the Hebrew Priestess Institute and a trainer for “Taamod: Stand Up!”, she is also is an advanced student of Kabbalistic dream work at The School of Images. Previously, Sarah served as the Director of Romemu Yeshiva, Chief Compassion Officer of Jewish Initiative for Animals, and Director of Earth Based Spiritual Practices at Hazon’s Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. Currently, she is the CEO of Shamir Collective, as a coach and consultant to high profile artists and authors to launch new music and books, as well as lead trainer for Soft as a Rock: Public Speaking for Sensitive Souls.

Éléonore Weill is a French-American vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Éléonore Weill creates and performs soulful interpretations of Klezmer, Yiddish, French, Occitane music as well as original compositions, poems and improvisations. In addition to her social justice Yiddish music ensemble Tsibele, she performs and records internationally in a variety of ensembles with Frank London, Michael Winograd, Walter Thompson, Joey Weisenberg and the Hadar Ensemble, Kenny Wallesen, FADA, the Baroque Music Center of Versailles (C.M.B.V.), Orchestre National de Toulouse, Midwood, Les Saqueboutiers, Miqueu Montanaro, and many others. She also composed and played for Theater companies such as Doppelskope, Great Small Works and Bread and Puppets and performs at leading international festivals including Yiddish New York, the Ashkenaz Festival (Toronto), Kleztival (São Paulo), and KlezKanada (Quebec), Fun Dor Tsu Dor (Chateau Ligoure, France) on wooden flutes, piano, accordion, hurdy-gurdy, and as a lead singer.

Spiritual Resilience in a Time of War: Inspired by Etty Hillesum
2024-07-24 12:00 - 13:15, 2024-07-31 12:00 - 13:15, 2024-08-07 12:00 - 13:15
Wednesdays, July 10, 17, 24, 31 and August 7, 2024
12- 1:15 p.m. EDT
$225

In a time of conflict and war, we need practices that connect us to our humanity, allowing us to tap into our inner strength and source of hope and peace. The writings of Etty Hillesum are a treasure trove of the human spirit; she wrote her diaries and letters from 1941 to 1943, before her life was tragically cut short in Auschwitz. Her writings reveal an astonishing spiritual resilience and a universal love for humanity and for God, even during the darkest times. While living through the dire historical circumstances encroaching on European Jewry, she developed a deep and unflinching faith in humanity that carried her through the most difficult of times.

In this series of online gatherings, we will read and discuss Hillesum’s writings as a springboard for creating our own spiritual and writing practices. We’ll explore major themes in her work: creativity, prayer, meditation, love, suffering, acceptance, death, and freedom. We’ll engage in journaling, meditation, and prayer practices inspired by her work. With the intention of connecting to our inner voices and crafting our own paths to resilience, we’ll support each other in imagining and creating a better world.

This course is open to people of all backgrounds.

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Photo by Paul Goyette
Hila Ratzabi is the author of the award-winning poetry collection There Are Still Woods (June Road Press, 2022). Her poetry has been published widely in literary journals and in The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry and Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology. Her articles have appeared in publications including The Wisdom Daily, MyJewishLearning.com, the Jewish Daily Forward, Kveller, Alma, and Zeek. From 2015–2023, she ran Ritualwell.org, publishing innovative Jewish rituals, poetry, and liturgy and curating online learning experiences. She is currently director of communications at North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois, and lives in Oak Park outside Chicago.

Gates of Awe: Writing New High Holiday Liturgy
2024-09-03 12:00 - 13:30, 2024-09-10 12:00 - 13:30, 2024-09-17 12:00 - 13:30, 2024-09-24 12:00 - 13:30
Tuesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024
12-1:30 p.m. EDT
$180 for four sessions

During the month of Elul, unleash your creativity and get ready for the High Holidays with poet and liturgist Alden Solovy. Dive into the richness and depth of four gems from our High Holy Day Mahzor – Un’taneh Tokef (Power of the Day), Vidui (Confession), Kol Nidre (Release), and Avinu Malkeinu (Almighty and Merciful) – through reading, discussions, and writing exercises. Additionally, get a sneak peek at Alden’s upcoming book, ‘Enter These Gates: Meditations for the Days of Awe,’ and respond to these meditations with your own writing. By drawing from both ancient and modern sources, you’ll be ready to welcome the new year with your unique, original prayers.

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Alden Solovy is a modern day piytan, a traveling poet/preacher/teacher who uses Torah and verse to engage and inspire. Alden embodies the intersection of scholarship and heart and his presence is sought after in Jewish spiritual spaces around the world. Alden’s work challenges the boundaries between poetry, song, meditation, personal growth, storytelling, and prayer, appearing in both song and verse. His teaching spans from HUC-JIR and the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem to Limmud and Leo Baeck College in the UK, as well as synagogues throughout North America. Alden’s fifth volume of Torah and t’fillah inspired poetry, Enter These Gates: Meditations for the Days of Awe, is forthcoming this summer. His other CCAR Press volumes are: These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah (2023), This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day (2017), This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings (2019), and This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer (2021). Alden made Aliyah to Jerusalem in 2012, where he is Liturgist in Residence at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Find more of his work at www.tobendlight.com.

Facing Our Death to Live More Fully: A Jewish Approach
2025-01-07 12:00 - 13:30
Tuesday January 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2025
12-1:30 p.m. EST
$180

Death is the one commonality that every human being shares, yet too often, we hesitate to explore our emotions and energy related to our mortality and what it means to have finite time on earth. In this immersion, Rabbi Haviva Ner-David will provide resources and space to explore your feelings, concerns, and hopes about death and what does or doesn’t happen after. There is no set agenda: this experience offers you a path to living a fuller, more conscious life by getting more comfortable in exploring death through learning, discussion, creative writing and guided visualization.

This series will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David is the rabbinic founder of Shmaya: A Mikveh for Mind, Body, and Soul, the only mikveh in Israel open to all to immerse as they choose. Ordained as both a rabbi and an interfaith minister, certified as a spiritual companion (with a specialty in dream work), and with a doctorate on mikveh from Bar Ilan University, she offers mikveh guidance and spiritual companioning for individuals and couples, as well as mikveh workshops and classes for groups. Rabbi Haviva is the author of three spiritual journey memoirs and a novel. Her most recent memoir, Dreaming Against the Current: A Rabbi’s Soul Journey, is about her journey into interspirituality and dreamwork. Her two previous spiritual journey memoirs are titled: Chanah’s Voice: A Rabbi Wrestles with Gender, Commandment, and the Women’s Rituals of Baking, Bathing, and Brightening, and Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Towards Traditional Rabbinic Ordination, a runner up for the National Jewish Book Council Awards. Hope Valley, her debut novel, is about the friendship between a Palestinian and a Jewish woman in Galilee, where Haviva lives. She is also the mother of seven and lives with FSHD, a form of muscular dystrophy, which has been one of her greatest teachers.

A Dream of Many Colors: Blending Ancient Wisdom with Modern Writing Practices
2025-01-09 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-01-16 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-01-23 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-01-30 13:00 - 14:30
Thursdays, January 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2025
1-2:30 p.m. EST
$180 for four sessions

Rabbi Hisda famously declared that a dream that’s not interpreted is like an unopened letter from God, and Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote that “There are truths which one can see only when it’s dark.” Join writer and dream worker Tzivia Gover for this unique dream-writing Immersion using guided meditations, writing prompts, and dream incubation to tap into the midnight mind. Uncover writing techniques that unveil unexpected wisdom, significance, and fresh outlooks.

The sessions will include information and inspiration about Jewish approaches to dreams and writing, as well as time to write and share with one another. This workshop is open to everyone, whether you remember your dreams or not, and whether you are a casual writer or a published author (and everyone in between).

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Tzivia Gover is the author of ‘Dreaming on the Page: Tap into Your Midnight Mind to Supercharge Your Writing‘, and other books about dreams, writing, and everyday joy. She is the creator of ‘The Life of H: Sarah, Reimagined’ an online poetry project. The founder of 350 Dreamers, an online international community dreaming for global healing in this time of climate crisis, Tzivia is a board member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and a past Director at the Institute for Dream Studies. Tzivia is a Certified Dreamwork Professional and a Certified Proprioceptive Writing Instructor. She has her MFA in writing from Columbia University, and has taught in college and community settings domestically and abroad. Learn more at www.thirdhousemoon.com and https://tziviagover.substack.com.

Exploring the Truth of This Moment
2025-02-06 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-02-13 12:00 - 13:30
Thursdays February 6 & 13, 2025
12:00-1:30pm EST
$54

During times of global uncertainty and change, we can turn to Jewish texts to help us move through our fear and isolation towards deeper, sustaining truths. The challenges of our time may feel uniquely modern, but throughout history many of our ancestors have grappled with similar spiritual issues: How do I act from a place of hope? How do I envision beyond loss? How do I have faith in the world around me?

Join Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner, a climate change chaplain and innovative spiritual leader, to delve into the questions that are keeping you up at night. Rabbi Nitkin-Kaner will guide us in using Talmudic and aggadic midrash in translation and creative practices to help us find courage, resilience and a sense of ease in a changing world.

This session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner is a meditation teacher, climate change chaplain, and educator who leads with warmth, curiosity, gentle humor, and compassion. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in prisons, hospitals, and congregations to steady folks through hard times.
Exploring Apocalypse is an extension of her rabbinic and pastoral care work (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, 2016), and is shaped by additional professional trainings in Climate Psychology (California Institute of Integral Studies, 2022), Clinical Pastoral Education (East Jefferson General Hospital, 2017 and Bellevue Hospital, 2013), and certified yoga and meditation teacher training (Yoga Sanctuary Academy, 2011), as well as graduate work in intergenerational trauma narratives (University of Toronto, 2008).

Writing with Rebbe Nachman: Creating our own Spiritual Stories
2025-02-17 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-02-24 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-03-03 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-03-10 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-03-17 13:00 - 14:30
Mondays, February 17, 24 & March 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2025
1:00-2:30 p.m. EST
$250

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772 – 1810) is an enigmatic figure whose life and teaching still exert enormous influence across the Jewish world. The stories of Rebbe Nachman draw upon deep, archetypal themes in our consciousness. These stories often read like fantastical children’s tales, or Kafka-esque puzzles, posing us questions intended to provoke awakening. They are based upon Rebbe Nachman’s profound grasp of Torah and Kabbalah, and have also been read in the light of broader creative and intellectual movements such as Romanticism and Existentialism. Rebbe Nachman himself said that the stories were his deepest, most powerful teachings.

Join Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein to learn about and discuss some of Rebbe Nachman’s key stories, discovering the meaning that they hold for us today. Then, building on this inspiration, we will take time to create our own stories, or at least begin them. There will also be time for optional sharing and feedback, so we can benefit from one another’s wisdom and perspective on what we have created.

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Daniel Raphael Silverstein is a rabbi, educator, meditation teacher and MC/poet. He lives in Israel with his family, where he directs Applied Jewish Spirituality, an online portal which makes the transformative spiritual wisdom of our tradition accessible to all who seek it. Daniel is an accredited teacher of Jewish Mindfulness Meditation and regularly teaches classes and retreats. He was born and raised in London and received a BA from the University of Cambridge and an MA from Warwick University. After receiving semikha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, he served as Director of Jewish Life and Learning for Hillel of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Daniel has performed and facilitated all over the world as a spoken word artist, MC, and creative educator, and the Jewish Week selected him as one of their “36 Under 36” young innovators reshaping the Jewish community. Daniel is a cofounder of Lines of Faith, a Muslim-Jewish hip hop and poetry collective that uses performances and workshops to challenge prejudice and build meaningful bonds between communities.

Honoring Loved Ones in Writing & Art
2025-03-04 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-03-11 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-03-18 12:00 - 13:30
Tuesdays, March 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2025
12:00-1:30 p.m.
$180

Now more than ever, we need the guidance of our ancestors, and creative expression provides a wonderful path for connection.

In Jewish tradition, there are many ways to honor both the living and those who have departed. Delve into, celebrate, and awaken the spirits of the teachers, mentors, friends, and loved ones who have impacted your life through the written and visual arts.

Join poet and painter Cathleen Cohen along with Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer from Ritualwell, an essayist and memoirist for a series of creative exercises and prompts designed to help you express your love and gratitude for those who have profoundly shaped your journey and to summon their wisdom into your own life.

Whether you are new to creative expression or a seasoned writer or artist, this workshop offers an opportunity to discover fresh creative techniques and pathways to enhance the strongest bonds in your life.

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Cathleen Cohen was the 2019 Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, PA. A painter and teacher, she founded the We the Poets program at ArtWell, an arts education non-profit in Philadelphia. Her poems appear in journals such as Apiary, Baltimore Review, Cagibi, East Coast Ink, 6ix, North of Oxford, One Art, Passager, Philadelphia Stories, Rockvale Review and Rogue Agent. Camera Obscura (chapbook, Moonstone Press), appeared in 2017 and Etching the Ghost (Atmosphere Press) in 2021. She received the Interfaith Relations Award from the Montgomery County PA Human Rights Commission and the Public Service Award from National Association of Poetry Therapy. Her paintings are on view at Cerulean Arts Gallery (ceruleanarts.com).

Gabrielle Ariella Kaplan-Mayer is Ritualwell’s Director of Virtual Content and Programs. She is an author and educator whose work focuses on spirituality, creativity and disability. Her personal essays have been featured in Tablet, Shondaland, NBCThink, Wisdom Daily, WHYY and many other publications and she has published several nonfiction books as well as plays for children. Gabrielle is currently working on a memoir about the power of intuition and ongoing conversations with her ancestors. She writes a Substack newsletter called “Journey With The Seasons,” a weekly practice of meditative reading with creative self-expression prompts.
Gabrielle holds a BFA in theater and creative writing from Emerson College and an MA in Jewish Studies from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Humanizing Mitzvot Through Poetry
2025-03-06 12:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-13 12:00 - 14:00
Thursdays March 6, 13, 20 & 27, 12-1:30 PM ET
12-2 p.m. EST
$180

Join poet Rachel Neve-Midbar to explore three mitzvot–candlelighting, challah and mikveh–through the poetry of the body and everyday life.
In this this generative poetry workshop, we’ll deepen our understanding and emotional connections to traditional forms, freshened through a contemporary lens. We will address questions surrounding these mitzvot (traditionally considered “women’s” mitzvot), such as: Were they genuinely meant to be exclusive to women? How can we interpret them in the context of contemporary gender fluidity and feminist viewpoints?
Discover poetry to expand your understanding of these mitzvot and and craft your own poems inspired by newfound insights and interpretations of these rituals. All are welcome, no previous experience with these mitzvot or poetry writing is needed.

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Poet, essayist, translator and Fulbright Scholar, Rachel Neve-Midbar’s collection Salaam of Birds was chosen by Dorothy Barresi for the Patricia Bibby First Book Prize and was published by Tebot Bach in January 2020. She is also the author of the chapbook, What the Light Reveals (Tebot Bach, 2014, winner of The Clockwork Prize). Rachel’s work has appeared widely in various publications and anthologies. Her awards include the Crab Orchard Review Richard Peterson Prize, The Passager Prize, and nominations for The Pushcart Prize. Rachel is a newly-minted PhD from The University of Southern California, where her research concerned menstruation in contemporary poetry. She is currently a Fulbright Post Doc in Israel translating the poems of Holocaust poet Abba Kovner. Rachel is also the co-editor of Stained: an anthology of creative writing about menstruation (Querencia Press, July 2023) and her scholarly work Thought and New Language in the Menstrual Poem is due out from Palgrave MacMillan in 2026.

Bringing Your Purim Story To Life
2025-03-12 12:00 - 13:30
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
12-1:30 p.m. EDT
$18

Purim is a tale of resilience, standing up and speaking out. Now more than ever, we need YOUR story!

Join Cantor and performing artist Karen Webber for a creative journey drawing inspiration from fairy tales, folk tales and the Purim story to craft your own narrative about finding courage, speaking your truth and fighting for justice. Whether you share your story for the holiday or another occasion, Purim is the perfect opportunity to embrace your role as a storyteller.

This session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Karen Webber is a performance, teaching and liturgical artist who crafts music/theatre pieces for use in Zoom rooms, senior centers and on the bimah. Ordained as a cantor by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1990. Karen has served congregations large and small in all four corners of the U.S. and Canada. The Maryland State Arts Council awarded her a Creativity grant based on an original short film in 2022, and a Master/Apprentice grant in Yiddish folksong in 2023. In 2024, Karen was invited by the Maryland State Arts Council to join the Folk Arts panel to award grants, to be a regional judge for ‘Poetry Out Loud’ Her poems appear online and in print at Ritualwell, Poetica, Unlikely Places, Abandon Journal and The Torrid Literature Journal. Her Havdalah ritual was published in Lilith Magazine (2009) poems in Am Yisrael Chai (2023) and essays in Prophetic Voices: a Haftarah commentary published by CCAR Press (2023)
