Powered by
SPIRITUAL MASTERS
These are our most popular courses in this area:
RAV KOOK ON PASSOVER: SPRINGTIME
OF THE WORLD
Yiscah Smith
Eight-class course
Ongoing registration
​
Click here for details
R' Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, sometimes referred to as the Rav, was the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel. He is revered as a scholar, thinker, legal authority, kabbalist, poet, and a modern day prophet.
He writes, "On the holy night of the festival, we are full of redemption, full of a higher freedom. Our freedom liberates our spirit...Our redemption is universal - the redemption of all worlds."
In this online course with Yiscah Smith, we will explore, through Rav Kook’s commentaries on the Passover Haggadah, the spiritual practice of cultivating mindfulness to our innermost selves, which will then birth the consciousness of remaining faithful to that sense of deeper being.
Six-class course
Ongoing registration
​
Click here for details
The teachings of R' Kalonymous Kalman Shapira (1889-1943), also known as the Piaseczna Rebbe, and the Aish Kodesh (Holy Fire), have brought much needed soul nourishment to Jews around the world for decades, and are currently becoming increasingly popular.
As we encounter heightened uncertainty and insecurity, his voice resonates ever more deeply with us.
In his work Aish Kodesh, the Piaseczna addresses the situation of his fellow Jews with humility, authenticity and faith. Unafraid to encounter human suffering in all of its rawness, the Rebbe offers profound teachings and meditations on spiritually moving through times of profound despair and uncertainty. His teachings hold enduring relevance for us today.
Eight-class course
Ongoing registration
​
Click here for details
The Tanya is the magnum opus of the great mystic Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, affectionately referred to as the Alter Rebbe, who founded the Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidic movement.
Tanya is based on Kabbalah, and it guides us to achieve harmony of body and soul, of earthliness and spirituality.
The Ba'al HaTanya (as the author is sometimes referred to) offers a series of practical suggestions for attaining inner harmony, always with the emphasis on joy.
In each of our eight sessions, we will learn about, and then practice together, a specific approach to opening our heart and experiencing an elevated consciousness, which through continued practice we can then integrate into every aspect of our daily lives.
Four-class course
Ongoing registration
Click here for details
Why are stories and storytelling so important? How can stories, especially those that transcend time and space, work on us, change us, deepen or even heal us? What do Midrashic and Hasidic sources say about the power of stories? And how, in a time of crisis, might we use stories to heal our world?
In this online course with Rabbi Ariel Burger, we will together explore tales from the biblical, rabbinic, and Hasidic periods, including some lesser-known stories that challenge and complicate simplistic notions about God, what it means to be human, ethics, and meaning. Among them we will find tales of conflict, of miracles, of hope in the face of despair, and of redemption.
Each class will include careful text study, time for reflection and discussion, and take-home exercises.
Eight-class course
Ongoing registration
Click here for details
​In the month of Elul, leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKippur, a still small voice gently calls out to us through the Shofar, inviting us into intimacy with the Divine within ourselves.
In this interactive online course, we will explore teachings from the Piaseczner Rebbe, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira, also known as the Aish Kodesh (1889-1943).
Through textual learning and experiential practice, in this course we will explore how to train ourselves to become more sensitive and open to intimacy. Together, we will learn and experience why passion and feeling are so important to this process, what it means to truly be a feeling person.
​Our online community will prepare for, and then experience Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, as openings for growth in this most sacred work.
SPIRITUAL
PRACTICES
OF THE BESHT
Rabbi Ruth Gan Kagan
Ten-class course
Ongoing registration
​
Click here for details
The Ba'al Shem Tov (also known as the Besht) founded the spiritual revolution that became the Chasidic movement, in the mid-1700s.
The oral teachings of this Jewish shaman/medicine man (this is what it means to be a "ba'al shem"), are gems of transformative wisdom, and are often full of surprises.
Of the many ideas which the Besht originated, Rabbi Ruth has chosen some of her most beloved teachings which are linked to spiritual practices. You are invited to practice them between classes or keep the teachings in your hearts to use when the right time arrives...
​Classes will incorporate the four worlds (levels of consciousness) of the holistic Chasidic system: Stories, Niggun, Torah and Prayer/Silence.
Eight-class course
Ongoing registration
​
Click here for details
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, was the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel, and a towering scholar, thinker, Kabbalist and poet.
Many today see him as a modern day prophet, a visionary whose spiritual and redemptive teachings speak to the individual, the people of Israel and all of humanity.
In this course, we will explore eight "sparks" - aspects of our search for spiritual authenticity and freedom. Each class will consist of studying about a "spark," and then experiencing our relationship with it through a guided meditative practice.
Step by step, we will uncover more and more of our true essence – the image of the Divine in Whom we have been created and Who continues to dwell within us.
REVOLUTIONARY CHASIDIC IDEAS AND PRACTICES
Rabbi Daniel Silverstein
Twelve-class course
Ongoing registration
Available whole or in 2 parts
Click here for details
How can the early Chasidic Masters help us to understand and harness the power of Kabbalah in our daily lives?
What are the transformative ideas and practices with which they created a mass-movement, and changed the lives of millions of people?
Join us as we explore the revolutionary lives and teachings of these Masters, and support each other in bringing their radical spiritual and psychological insights into every aspect of our lives. Our learning and practice will be guided by tradition, scholarship and the relevant insights of the contemporary mindfulness world.