Nehirim | Nehirim East 2012

The Nehirim East Spiritual Retreat is Nehirim’s flagship retreat weekend, bringing together over one hundred LGBT Jews from around the country to the beautiful Isabella Freedman Retreat Center in Connecticut. This year is our eighth annual retreat, taking place June 15–17. Directed by Dr. Zvi Bellin, Nehirim East is a unique weekend of spirituality and community: workshops, great food, sports & swimming, a pluralistic community, and plenty of time to connect and meet new people. Nehirim East offers you the opportunity to:

EXPLORE your connection to Judaism with spirited Shabbat services, workshops, and a special program on “Embracing our Journey” created by Rabbi Debra Kolodny (Blessed By Spirit, ALEPH), Ken Page, LCSW, and Dr. Zvi Bellin,

RELAX and enjoy nature and a beautiful 100-acre site in the Berkshires, and

CONNECT with an inclusive and diverse community of LGBT Jews, partners, and allies. We are Orthodox Jews to atheists, students and seniors, men, women, and the rest of us. Whoever you are, there are people like you at Nehirim!

Learn More :

Registration Fee and Financial Aid Information

Registration Fee. We have several room types available. Prices shown below are per person and include all room & board for two nights, and all your program expenses.

Dorm triple/quad (bathroom down the hall): $250

Economy (shared bath with one other room): Double $325, Single $375

Standard (private bath): Double $400, Single $450

Deluxe (Weinberg building): Double: $475, Single: $525

Child in room: $150

The deadline for Financial Aid has passed. You may still contact us to be considered for aid on a case-by-case basis.

Logistical Information

- Transportation. For directions and transportation information, please visit http://www.nehirim.org/isabella-freedman-retreat-center-information. To offer or request a ride to the retreat, visit our Ride Board. The retreat center is available by MetroNorth to Wassaic, and a shuttle is available for $15 (non-refundable) from the Wassaic train station — please email info[at]nehirim.org by June 1st to reserve a spot on the shuttle. For other pickup times or locations, Lakeville Taxi, (860) 435-8000, is available. Please note that Lakeville Taxi is a reservation service–voicemails for the purpose of reserving rides must be left before 5pm and at least 24 hours in advance. If you plan to arrive by plane, you must either find a ride via the ride board or pay for a taxi through lakeville (around $100). Because Hartford (Bradley) Airport is over an hour away from the retreat center, Isabella Freedman typically cannot provide a shuttle to/from the airport.

- Time. The weekend lasts from 4pm on Friday until 2pm on Sunday. In order to maintain the community dynamic, we do ask that retreatants stay for the entire weekend. That said, please let us know at info@nehirim.org if you will be arriving early or leaving late so we can plan ahead.

- Children’s Program. If there is sufficient demand, a childrens’ program will be offered. The decision will be made on May 15, based on the number of families registered. If you register with your children and a children’s program is not offered, we will refund 100% of your registration costs.

For more information, please email us at info[at]nehirim.org.

Faculty

Dr. Zvi Bellin, Retreat Director

Dr. Zvi Bellin is the Engagement Associate for Nehirim and is responsible for student outreach, internal community relations, and programming at Nehirim retreats. He leads workshops and directs retreats that integrate body-heart-mind-soul in a variety of spiritual and religious contexts. Zvi earned a PhD in Pastoral Counseling and an M.A. in Counseling and Guidance. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. He has worked as a therapist in a number of mental health settings, and has interned as a Psychiatric Chaplain. Zvi’s most recent interests include exploring the raw experience of meaning in life, and the integration of personal spirituality into a practice of holistic well-being. He is a co-founder of the Silver Spring Moishe House, a Jewish community house sponsored by the Schusterman Foundation.

Last Year’s Schedule (for reference)

Friday, June 10

2:00 – 4:00 Arrival, snacks, and registration (Bookstore open too)
4:00 – 5:00 Welcome and Opening Ritual with Debra and Ken
5:15 – 5:45 Optional mikvas (bring a towel!)
6:00 – 6:45 Get ready for shabbat/ more mikvas
Pre-Shabbat Meditation (Michael Hopkins)
Intro to Jewish Spirituality (Suzie Schwartz)
6:45 Candlelighting and Shabbat services
8:30 Shabbos Dinner
10:00-10:50 Mishpacha groups
11:00-12:00 Night session
Tisch (Rabbi Michael Rothbaum)
Seeing Ourselves through Love (Michael Hopkins)

Shabbat, June 11

7:30-8:00 Coffee, fruit, and pastry available
8:00-8:50 Morning spiritual practice: Morning Chi Gong (Dr. Barbara Siminovich), Silent meditation (Participant-led)
8:15-9:15 Breakfast
9:15-11:30 Shabbat Morning: Traditional davening & Torah reading (Rabbi Joel Alter and Gella Soloman), Renewal davening (Rabbi Debra Kolodny)
11:45-1:00 Kiddush and Lunch
1:10-2:10 Afternoon Session 1 (choose one)
Bearing The Light of Our Gifts (Ken Page)
Transformative (Trans)Gender Ritual (Suzie Schwartz)
L’Dor Va’Dor: Building an Intergenerational GLBT Community (Penina Weinberg and David Bass)
2:20-3:20 Afternoon Session 2 (choose one)
The Mystical Journey of Shavuot (Rabbi Deb Kolodny)
Story Telling Workshop (Daniel Kertzner)
The Part of My Journey Where I Stumble, Trip, and Fall on My….
3:30-4:30 Afternoon Session 3: All Community Learning with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Zvi Bellin: “Embracing Our Journey: Maintaining Meaning After Mt. Sinai
4:40-5:30 Afternoon Session 4 (choose one)
Naps, free time, frisbee, tennis, or nothing at all
Hike (Led by Freedman Staff)
Board Games
5:40-6:30 Afternoon spiritual practice (choose one)
Traditional-egalitarian Mincha (Rabbi Joel Alter)
Chi Gong (Dr. Barbara Siminovich)
HINENI: Entering The Vibrant Simplicity of Presence (Ken Page)
6:45-7:55 Seudah Shlishit (Dinner/Third meal)
8:00-9:00 Mishpacha groups
9:10-9:25 Traditional Maariv/ Evening service (Participant Led)
9:30-10:00 Havdalah (Ken Page and Rabbi Debra Kolodny)
10:00-11:15 Post Havdalah Dance Party (Rabbi Neal Kaunfer)
10:15-12:00 Film
11:00-12:00 Bonfire

Sunday, June 12
7:30-8:00 Coffee, fruit, and pastry available
8:00-8:45 Morning Service Shacharit
8:00-9:00 Breakfast
9:20-10:20 Sunday session 1
I’m the Real Thing — and So Are You (Corinn Adams) Israeli Dancing (David Siegel) Text Shop (Rabbi Michael Rothbaum)
10:30-11:30 Sunday session 2: Language Matters: Why We Should Stop Saying ‘Sodomy’ and Abomination’ (Jay Michaelson)
11:40-12:50 Closing session & final mishpacha group
1:00-2:00 Lunch

Still have questions? Please feel free to email us at info@nehirim.org