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Return to One: Journeying Through the High Holidays
An Online Learning Cohort (August 27-September 10)
The High Holidays are more than a period on the Jewish calendar—they are an extended journey through states of feeling and awareness, designed to catalyze a process of introspection and transformation. Spanning from Elul through Sukkot, this season offers a soul-map for the journey: preparation (the month of Elul), awakening (Rosh Hashanah), dissolution and rebirth (Yom Kippur), and embodied integration (Sukkot). Rooted in ancient wisdom and Jewish mystical traditions, Return to One invites us to journey through these Days of Awe with intention—opening to expansive possibilities that they offer.
Each of the four sessions offers frameworks, resources and guidance for engaging in the ritual arc of this season in meaningful and resonant ways that both complement psychedelic experiences and offer consciousness-expanding opportunities on their own. Through deep exploration of the practices of these holidays and the states of awareness that they can induce, we will gain access to the particular medicine and support that each step of this process offers. The course is accessible and resonant for beginners on the Jewish path and experienced practitioners alike. Our learning and exploration will take place within an inclusive and compassionate communal container, inviting people to join together at the meeting place of psychedelic experience and spiritual tradition.
Standard Rate- $140
Each session will include:
An explorative teaching with slides
A guided practice
Space for sharing and questions
A PDF resource to take the practice home
Each 75 minute session will take place on zoom on four Wednesdays, August 27, September 3, September 10, and September 17, at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 8pm Israel. Sessions will be recorded and sent to course participants for self-paced study.
Aug. 27 ~ Teshuvah: Return to Belonging
Teshuvah—which literally means “returning”—is the primary spiritual practice of this season. But what are we returning to? And how? This session offers a primary framework for teshuvah as a path of connecting with our fundamental sense of belonging, to ourselves, the universe, and the Divine. This provides the basis that prepares us for the journey through the High Holidays.
Sept. 3 ~ Rosh Hashanah: Return to Creation
On Rosh Hashanah, we mark the Jewish new year with feasts, prayers and the sound of the shofar—a ram’s horn. This session uncovers layers of meaning within the shofar’s call that wake us up, and attune us to the primal lifeforce of Creation.
Sept. 10 ~ Yom Kippur: Return to Essence
Yom Kippur is much more than a day of fasting. It is a 25 hour period that invites us to disconnect from limiting sources of identity, and reconnect with our most essential Source of Being. This session opens us up to the process of dissolution and renewal through the practices of this day.
Sept. 17 ~ Sukkot: Return to the Flow Life
Sukkot is the ancestral harvest festival. Coming on the heels of the month of Elul, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it is a culmination of the period of return that channels the inner, spiritual work of this season into a direct, embodied experience of Life. This session explores the deeper aspects of this holiday and its earth based practices that offer a path for integrating the teshuvah journey and bringing it forward into the new yearly cycle.
About our Guide:
Ami Silver is a rabbi and psychotherapist based in Jerusalem. He has been a devoted student of contemplative, embodied Jewish practice for over 20 years, and teaches Jewish wisdom and practice as a path of direct experience and spiritual connection, independently and in collaboration with various organizations. Alongside his rabbinic work, Ami maintains a private therapy practice where he supports people through mindfulness-based, somatic and experiential therapy approaches. He has been at the forefront of psychedelic-assisted therapeutic work in Israel, working as part of the clinical team at treatment centers and on clinical research trials. A beloved contributor to Shefa, Ami authored “Return to One: A Shefa High Holiday Companion,” as well as our psychedelically inspired Passover and Chanukah readers.
Return to One - A Shefa High Holiday Companion
Teshuvah. The central spiritual work of the High Holiday season, this Hebrew term is most commonly translated as “repentance.” It figures prominently in the seasonal liturgy: “Teshuvah, Prayer and Charity will overturn the evil decree!” Even the very time period from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur is called the Ten Days of Teshuvah. But in the mystical tradition, teshuvah is linked to something much deeper than repentance, and derives from the primordial roots of existence itself.
Through a unique blend of traditional and contemporary voices to awaken our slumbering consciousnesses and gentle, meditative techniques and guided reflections to put word into action, we hope this year's High Holidays, supported by our teshuvah companion, will birth us anew into a life of hearing the eternal call of the Divine.
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L'shanah tovah u'metukah! Blessings for a sweet and good new year!
We hope your High Holidays are elevated by our free resource.
Awakening Consciousness: Shefa’s High Holiday Beit Midrash
In the weeks leading up to Rosh HaShanah in 2022, we presented sessions from renowned teachers and practitioners of the Jewish mystical tradition to prepare our consciousness for the High Holiday season. Each of these sessions offers an opportunity to explore different dimensions of the internal, direct experience that this potent time of year can offer.
Accessing the Divine- An Embodied Jewish Mystical Approach With Rishe Groner
A downloadable 4 part series
Much like a psychedelic experience, the Jewish High Holiday season can support a return to deeper levels of personal authenticity and an intimate awareness of Divinity. What are the Jewish ancestral traditions of teshuvah–cultivating our highest selves–and grounding this into our lives far beyond the holiday season? How can we understand the practice of returning as a framework for doing deep work on our past in order to create a more aligned present?
The Jewish ancestral tradition is filled with stories, legends, practices and rituals that utilize sound, breath, body, space and time to connect to the Divine Infinite within. It also provides practical guidance to weave community and connection with those who share the same inner landscape. In this course, we’ll explore embodiment in the Jewish tradition, its connection to the Divine Feminine, and get a taste of various practices for returning to Divine consciousness, on our own terms, in and out of psychedelic space.
This course provides multiple access points for spiritual awakening and healing, guiding you towards a profound reconnection with your roots and the Divine essence within and around you.
Session 1: “The Queen is in the Field”: Encountering the Divine Within
Understanding the special accessibility of Divine connection in Elul, introduction to the Divine Feminine, and vocabulary of Divine Encounter within our tradition.Session 2: Aligning with Divine (Most of the Time)
Re-imagining sin and repentance with a new vocabulary, building muscles of Divine connection, and uncovering the soul’s mission in the world.Session 3: Ancestral Reconnection as Psychedelic Teshuvah
Exploring the potency of ancestral work in returning to our highest selves.Session 4: Integration Practices Rooted in our Ancestral Tradition
Tasting and exploring Jewish embodied practices for psychedelic integration and year-round Divine
About Our Guide:
Rabbi Rishe Groner is a storyteller, ritual leader and spiritual archeologist, focused on creating unique immersive experiences of ecstatic, mystical Jewish embodiment. Rishe fuses her background in Chabad Chasidism with her experience in the world of nightlife and festivals to support people through personal growth with ancient tools of spiritual technology. Rishe dances in and out of worlds of prayerful movement practice; psychedelic chaplaincy; spirituality retreats and organized religious institutions. She has brought her brand of post-Chassidic embodiment to festivals, retreats, conferences and gatherings across Israel and the United States, ranging from Burning Man to Limmud NY. Her writing has featured on Lilith, Tablet, Hey Alma and on her website, TheGene-Sis.com. Rabbi Rishe was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary where she also received a Masters in Jewish Thought and Mysticism; and is currently serving as rabbi of Congregation Beth Ohr in Bellmore, Long Island, NY.