Events
Music
Expressive Arts
Kabbalah and Mysticism
Kids
Torah and Meditation
Tikkun Olam Chorus
Join the Tikkun Olam Choir for our next eight-week session!
Veteran Chochmat singer Bon Singer combines
vocal technique with a joyful approach to accessing
our connection to the Divine through song. We'll learn
fun, spiritually oriented songs and culminate the class
with a musical healing experience as we sing to lift
the hearts of those staying at a local hospital or nursing
home.
When: Wednesdays Dec. 23-Feb 10, 7-9pm
Location: Chochmat HaLev 2215 Prince Street, Berkeley
Tuition: $125 Chochmat HaLev members,
$150 non-members
As the Spirit Moves You: Experiencing God through the Arts
with Maggid Cheryl Bartky
An Alternative Shabbat Afternoon Practice
Members: $125 per cycle
Nonmembers: $150 per cycle
Pre-registration/pre-payment is a must! (We will not be handling money on Shabbat so pre-registration/pre-payment is absolutely required!)
On the seventh day, it is said that God “Vayinafash”—rested, restored, refreshed, renewed, and re-invigorated her creative juices. Let us explore new forms of Shabbat spiritual practices by resting in God’s presence through dance, story, and nature.
The Winter Cycle: Sacred Story Circle
6 Saturdays, Jan 30th-Mar 7th, 2-4pm
In winter, we go within, we gather as a tribe around the fire – the burning bush – to tell our stories. We will read, share, write, and create stories interwoven from our personal lives and the lives of our ancestors and our rich Jewish story tradition. We will learn how to present our sacred stories authentically, brilliantly, and expressively so that our hearts and the hearts of our listeners are cracked open and we are all touched by the presence of God.
The Spring Cycle: Sacred Nature Circle
6 Saturdays, Apr 17th, May 1st, 8th, 22nd, June 5th, 12th, 2-4pm
In spring, life bursts renewed. We connect with God through nature. We will take several short trips into local areas of beauty, and use the inspiration of water, trees, mountains, earth, and sky, to create works of art, dance, and story. Our creations in turn will return us again and again to the wisdom of the Divine.
This program is open to all adults – no special artistic talent or experience is required.
Cheryl Bartky is an experienced dance teacher, dance-movement/creative arts therapist, storyteller, writer, counselor, spiritual director and ordained maggid. For Cheryl, dance, story and nature are portals to the divine. She has a private practice in San Pablo.
Torah of Six Feet Under with Maggid Jhos Singer
The Torah is full of stories exploring life, death, love, family, sex, betrayal, reconciliation, spirituality, and teenage angst. Many of them were preserved by master storytellers of the ancient Middle East. Our contemporary counterpart to this maggidic (storytelling) tradition is television.
Join Maggid Jhos Singer for a Torah/TV journey. We will explore the masterful storytelling of the Torah and the brilliant, award-winning HBO series Six Feet Under (Season 1). Every week we will view an episode, have a little nosh, and engage in some serious discussion and Torah learning that focus on traditional Jewish approaches to death, burial and mourning. Maggid Singer will prepare a teaching from Torah that applies to the episode, making links to some eternal wisdom as refracted through a contemporary lens.
Sundays 1/10/10 to 3/21/10 (no class on 2/28)
6 pm to 8 pm EXCEPT on 1/10, 2/7, and 3/14 when it will go until 9 pm)
$215 members/$255 non-members
At least eight people are needed to pre-register.
Have a projector? Trade the use of it for free tuition. Email frontdesk@chochmat.org.
Read more about it in the Forward.
The Spirit of Integrity: A Study Group on Kabbalistic Mussar with Estelle Frankel
This study group is focused on tikkun ha’middot-building spiritual muscle through cultivating the soul’s divine attributes. Each of the middot, like facets of a diamond, reflect aspects of our essential being—our potential to be whole. As we polish and perfect these soul qualities we deepen in our connection with the divine. This foundational inner work, shared by both Jewish mystics and Mussar masters alike, helps ground our spiritual aspirations, increase our joy & authenticity, and deepen our personal integrity.
Each month we will focus on a particular middah. A study packet and recommended reading list will be given out that that explore how to cultivate this soul quality. While we hope you will take the entire series, it is possible to sign up on a month by month basis.
Tues evenings 7:30-9:00 pm
1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/2 , 2/9, 2/16, 2/23, 3/30
$200 non-members, $160 members
January: The Wisdom of “Not Knowing”—Spiritual Teaching for Dealing with Uncertainty
Jewish Tots’ Music Circle
With Jen Miriam Kantor
Please pre-register by calling 510.704.9687—the class will fill up.
For tots ages 0-4 and their parents or caregivers, this class includes 45 minutes of music featuring Jewish songs, prayers, niggunim, Israeli dances and more. Children will have the opportunity to explore different instruments, scarves and other props in a fun, engaging and developmentally appropriate way. Parents will be invited to stay and socialize after class.
February 4-week session
Thursdays, 4-4:45pm, Feb. 4-26
$50 members/$65 non-members
Jennifer Miriam Kantor is a certified Music Together teacher
and is currently pursuing a masters degree in Clinical
psychology with an emphasis in pre and perinatal psychology.
She is a pre-school teacher and specialist in early
childhood education. She is the Founder and Co-Director
of The Puppet Players, a Jewish ritual puppet theatre
troupe in Berkeley and has toured throughout California
and Oregon performing puppetry with Kid Kaleidoscope,
a children's music and puppetry performance troupe.
Jewish Spirituality in the Kitchen with Avishai Pearlson
Four Sundays, 10 am - 1 pm, 1/24, 2/14, 3/14, 5/9
$45 members/$55 nonmembers (includes food to take home to feed your family)
Discount packages:
$10 off if you register for 2 classes;
$40 off if you register for all 4.
Four cooking workshops, each leading to a Communal Feast!
Learn to cook spiritually with meditation, Hebrew phrases, chants and songs, healthy nutrition guidelines, hands-on creative cooking, blessing and gratitude rituals, and introduction to Thriving in Challenging Times.
We use sustainable, seasonal, local, and organic (eco-kosher) ingredients as much as possible.
Jan. 24: Russian Beet Borsht, Peruvian Quinoa, 4D Sesame Tahini, Seasonal Green Salad with Pears and Roasted Nuts.
Feb 14: California Coast Spicy Fish Soup, Roasted Roots and Tubers, Corn Bread with Nuts and Dates.
March 14: Jacob's Red Lentil Soup, Basmati Rice Pilaf, Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed with Kale, Ricotta, and Garlic.
May 9: Spring Fritatta with Spinach, Wild Mushrooms, and Sheep Feta, Roasted Herbed Potatoes, Fruit Salad with Homemade Sesame-Honey Halva.
Living Judaism with Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks
Living Judaism is an annual, four-part series teaching the essentials of Jewish spiritual practice.
All classes are Monday evenings, 6:00 pm- 7:15 pm. Each part: $140 members, $160 non-members.
Part I : Hebrew 1
8 Mondays, January 4 - February 22
All Jewish ritual involves chanting of the sacred language. In this class you will learn to read Hebrew and build vocabulary. But this is more than just a Hebrew reading course; you will also learn how each letter is a particular window into meditation.
Part II : Hebrew 2
8 Mondays, March 8- May 17, (no class March 22, 29, April 5)
In this continuation of Hebrew 1, you will learn the language in more depth, particularly as it applies to the daily practice of Jewish prayer.
Part III : Evening Practice, Morning Practice
8 Mondays, May 24 - July 12
Real transformation of consciousness requires regular practice. This class explores the particulars of ritual, liturgy and meditation as it applies to the daily cycle of Jewish prayer.
Part IV : Torah of Awakening
8 Mondays, October 18- December 6“Awakening” is the experiential realization that you are infinitely more than the sum of your thoughts and feelings. Beneath the personality there is a radiant field of awareness, free from negativity and connected to the aliveness of the present moment. This class will explore the basics of Jewish spiritual practice as a context and expression of the awakening process.
Meditation and Torah Study
with Rabbi SaraLeya and Jeffrey Kessler
Every Thursday, 6:40pm. Free.
Thursday evening weekly Parashat HaShavua Torah Study, with Hasidic commentary
6:40 pm Meditation led by Jeffrey Kessler
7 pm (we'll start on time!) study of selected texts from the weekly Torah portion along with commentary by various Hasidic rebbes. Bring your on Humash or Tanakh if you have one. In the Garden Room.
Introduction
to Jewish Meditation
with Brian Schachter-Brooks
 4th Monday of each month, 7pm
Free (Donations welcomed.)
The Jewish tradition is rich with images of communion with the Divine. These
images to point to a deeper Reality--not to events that happened a long time
ago or those we hope will happen in the future—but to the oneness of Being in
the here and now. The key to this communion is meditation, or hitbodedut.
Join Brian Schachter-Brooks and the Chochmat HaLev musicians for an informative
and experiential introduction to Jewish Meditation. This seminar will provide
an overview of hitbodedut, chanting, silent meditation, and a question & answer
session. Perect for those new to or curious about Jewish meditation.
Tai-Chi
Meditation and Chi-Gung
with Jeffrey Kessler
 Thursdays, on-going, at 5 pm
Fee per month: $50 members, $70 non-members
Develop inner strength, balance, and better health with Jeffrey Kessler, a seasoned
practioner of chi arts. Jeffrey Kessler holds degrees in philosophy, mathematics
and spiritual psychology. He is a long-time practitioner and teacher of Tai-Chi
Chuan. A graduate of Chochmat HaLev's Jewish Meditation Instructor's Training
program and a student of various traditions and psycho-physical systems, he
is dedicated to the deepening of Jewish Spiritual practice.
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