Shefa exists because more Jews are working with psychedelics than ever before — and few Jewish frameworks exist to help them prepare for, understand, and integrate these powerful experiences within community.

The organization emerged after Rabbi Zac Kamenetz participated in a landmark clergy study at Johns Hopkins and NYU in 2017 exploring how psilocybin-induced mystical experience impacts religious leaders. The deeper question that followed was communal, not personal: if expanded states of consciousness are becoming more common, what vessels does Jewish life have to hold them?

In a time of rapid change — expanding psychedelic research, evolving legal frameworks, and deep communal strain — Shefa meets this moment with grounded, tradition-rooted support.

Today, Shefa offers small-group retreats, integration circles, educational programs, and one-on-one spiritual care rooted in Jewish wisdom and practice. In partnership with Emory University and Common Era, we are conducting Jewish Journeys, a population-level study examining how Jews are engaging psychedelics and what they are seeking.

We are building a spiritually mature model of Jewish psychedelic practice — one that honors ancestral tradition, strengthens communal responsibility, and supports lasting integration.

Our vision is a Jewish future revitalized through embodied experience and expanded consciousness, held within strong and ethical communal vessels.