#HeshbonHeshvan 5782: October 6th and 7th, 2021

Heshbon Hodesh

For this year’s #HeshbonHeshvan, we encourage you to carve out the days of October 6th & 7th (Rosh Hodesh Heshvan) as YOUR days for self-care, rejuvenation, renewal, vacation, or whatever else you need.

And while you’re doing that, please join us for one (or more!) Deep Dive(s). We are not expecting you to spend all day attached to your screen (after all, that wouldn’t feel relaxing!). We hope you’ll choose the Deep Dive that resonates with you and that it will fuel you as you practice your self-care over these days.

Each Deep Dive is designed to be an immersive, reflective space. Each one is at a different time and uses a different medium. You may register for as many sessions as you would like; please note that you must register for each session separately as each Zoom link is unique. We are able to offer these sessions free of cost due to a mental health grant. 

Once you are registered you will receive a confirmation email containing details for joining the Zoom meeting(s) on either your desktop or mobile device.

In honor of Heshbon Heshvan and Jewish Clergy Self Care care project, RUACH Emotional and Spiritual Support is also offering free 45-minute sessions for clergy with a member of their emotional and spiritual support network. Sign up here.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Ilana Garber at igarber@rabbinicalassembly.org.



Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Time

Session Topic

Presenter

10-11am ET//

7-8am PT

WRITE: Time Away

Jason Fruithandler

Description: We will use traditional and modern sources as a jumping off point to examine how we use our time away. As an individual what lifts you up, what recharges you, and how has that changed/continued to change. Beyond setting boundaries and carving out time, what do we do with that time? This session will include writing and discussion elements. 

Registration link

12-1:30pm ET// 9-10:30am PT

PROCESS: 12 Ways to Deal with Stress & Anxiety

IsraAID

Description: IsraAID's mental health experts have responded worldwide to natural disasters, refugee crises, and epidemics like ebola, supporting communities with vital psychosocial/trauma/mental health support. The session provides a toolbox of diverse stress-management techniques, from breathing/meditation to art-focussed exercises.

Registration link

2-3pm ET//

11am-12pm PT

PRAISE: Hallel

Hinda Labovitz, Neil Blumofe, et al.

Description: Hallel gives us moments of unfettered praise and time to explore our deepest fears, trusting that God will uplift us from the depths. This Hallel will be led by a series of cantors each sharing one piece of the traditional Hallel, with contemporary pieces, moments of reflection, and niggunim as well.

Registration link

3-4:30pm ET// 

12-1:30pm PT

LEARN: Mussar - Cultivating Bitachon

Amy Eilberg

Description: Bitachon can be one of the most difficult middot for us post-moderns - as clergy and as Jews. How do we cultivate bitachon when we know all too well that bad things do happen to all people? What does bitachon mean for those of us who don’t have a strong belief in a personal God? How can we practice bitachon in times as hard as the ones in which we live? Many such questions may challenge our own personal practice of bitachon, as well as our confidence in teaching it to our people.

In this session, we will explore mussar texts and practices, as well as the wisdom of our own lives, around the middah of bitachon. We will hold one another in a sacred circle of sharing, study and practice that I trust will be enriching for all of us. 

Registration link

5:30-7:00pm ET//

2:30-4:00pm PT

CREATE: Micrography

Iscah Waldman

Description: Explore the connection between text and context, heart and hand, as you express your understanding of your favorite text. We will be connecting our love of words/text/meaning to a visual that expresses that meaning.  Micrography is a centuries-old art form that has allowed us to expand ‘drash’ to the world of imagery.  Come ready to find the essence of your text and bring it to life through your art!

Registration link


 

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Time

Session Topic

Presenter

10-10:45am ET//

7-8am PT

PRAISE: Hallel

Arianne Brown & Asa Fradkin

Description: Start the day with a Hallel of joyous singing and soulful reflection!

Registration link

11am-12:30pm ET//

8-9:30am PT

WRITE: Poetry as Replenishment 

Jena Schwartz

Description: Now that the great shofar has sounded, let’s make room for the still small voice to be heard. Experience and explore what’s available to you in the quiet. We’ll use a poem of Jena’s as a prompt and have time to write and share, as well as to talk about the role poetry can play in our own replenishment.

Registration link

1-2:15pm ET//

10-11:15am PT

BREATHE & SING: Niggun & Nourishment 

Barry Dov Katz, Adam Kligfeld, Josh Warshawsky, Yosef Goldman, Ariel Root Wolpe, Hillary Chorny, Annie Lewis

Description: Niggun & Nourishment was created to provide a sacred space for clergy to breathe, sing, meditate, and be together.

Registration link

3:30-4:45pm ET//

12:30-1:45pm PT

LEARN: The Gifts of God Flow Through You - On Grace, Gratitude, and Generosity in Judaism

Shai Held

Description: According to Jewish theology, everything we are and everything we have are a gift, and the question of a spiritual life is: what flows from that? In this session, we'll explore the idea that the gift of life is grace (something we did not earn but were given anyway); that the proper response to grace is gratitude; and that genuine gratitude manifests in generosity towards others. We'll probe the ways that theology, ethics, and spirituality are intertwined.

Registration link

5-6:30pm ET//

2-3:30pm PT

CREATE: Spiritual Well-being: From Chaos to Creativity 

Adina Allen

Description: The Torah begins with God creating the entire world from chaos and void. Similarly, within each of us there exist places of chaos and void where all possibilities and all challenges exist simultaneously. Creative Process offers us the unique opportunity to partner with the Divine in transforming chaos and void into the life we are meant to lead. Through Jewish Studio Project’s unique methodology that brings together a reimagined approach to Jewish text study with expressive art making, we’ll tap into the creative depths within as a practice for personal renewal, nourishment, and spiritual well-being. You’ll leave with a deeper connection to your own intuition and an expanded capacity to navigate this time of uncertainty and to help those you serve do the same.

Registration link