Men’s Retreat 2012
The 3rd Annual Nehirim Men’s Retreat
for gay / queer / etc. Jewish men & their admirers
March 30 to April 1, 2012
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Click Here to Register
Join us for a weekend of rejuvenation, community, and fun, including:
Community: The Nehirim Men’s Retreat brings together around 50 gay/queer/whatever Jewish guys of a wide variety of ages, religious affiliations (Orthodox, atheist, and everyone in between), family situations (singles, couples, families) and backgrounds. Nice Jewish Boys are welcome.  Not-nice Jewish boys are welcome.  Transgender men are welcome.  Non-Jewish partners are welcome.  Bagel chasers are welcome. Ours is a warm, diverse, inclusive community.
Program: Our program features inspiring workshops, spiritual Shabbat services, and plenty of social activities and free time. We celebrate LGBT Jewish culture, spirituality, personal growth, and making new connections. See below for this year’s schedule.
Accommodation: Our site is a gorgeous, comfortable, fully winterized, and fully kosher facility 3 hours from Boston and New York. Single rooms and amenities are available.
Our participants have said things like:
“Nehirim has truly enriched my life.”
“Nehirim keeps me connected to the Jewish community in multiple ways – education, friendships, and enthusiastic engagement. Thank you!”
“This was a very important and transformative experience for me.”
“This was a great, insightful, and fun weekend.”
“YOU GUYS KICK ASS”
Click Here to Register
Click one of the following links for more information:
Tachlis (Practical Information)
Tachlis (Practical Information)
Registration and Pricing
Prices shown below are per person and include all room & board for two nights, and all program expenses.
Dorm triple/quad (bathroom down the hall): $250
Economy (shared bath): Double $325, Single $375
Standard (private bath): Double $400, Single $450
Deluxe: Double: $475, Single: $525
Location & Transportation Information
The retreat will be held at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, CT. For directions and transportation information, please visit the Isabella Freedman website. Transportation is “on your own” — we cannot assist with transportation requests. To offer or request a ride to the retreat, visit our Ride Board. Isabella Freedman is also accessible by train from NYC. If you need to be picked up or dropped off at the Wassaic train station (for MetroNorth service from New York City), a shuttle will be made available for a $15 charge per person each way. One shuttle will run on March 30, picking up passengers on the train that departs Grand Central at 1:48 pm and arrives at Wassaic 4:03 pm.  You must reserve in advance by emailing info@nehirim.org by March 23. For other pickup times or locations, Lakeville Taxi, (860) 435-8000, is available. Lakeville Taxi is a reservation service; 24 hours advance notice required, and reservations are nonrefundable within 24 hours.
Click Here to Register
This Year’s Schedule
Friday, March 30
3:00 – 5:00 Arrival, snacks, and registration
5:30 – 6:00 Welcome and opening program
6:00 – 7:15 Candlelighting & Shabbat Services (Jay Michaelson & friends) (Temporal Shabbat: 6:59)
7:30 – 9:00 Shabbat Dinner
9:15 – 10:15 Small Groups
10:30 – 11:30 Evening Activities
— Nehirim Wine Bar & Poetry Reading (Hansa Bergwall)
— 12-Step Meeting (Participant-led)
Shabbat, March 31
8:00 – 9:00 Morning Yoga
8:30 – 9:30 Breakfast
9:30 – 11:45 Shabbat Morning Services
— Traditional Shacharit (Rabbi Y. Greenberg)
— Meditative/Renewal Service at 10:30 (Jay Michaelson)
12:00 – 1:15 Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 Afternoon Session 1 (Choose one)
— Healthy Sexuality (Jase Schwartz)
— Guerrilla Parenting (Yosef Baskin)
2:45 – 3:45 Afternoon Session 2 (Choose one)
— It’s the Relationship, Stupid (Eric Cohen)
— Working for Change in the Orthodox Community (Chaim Levin)
4:00 – 5:00 Afternoon Session 3 (Choose one)
— Text Study (Rabbi Lewis Warshauer)
— Parsha Study (Rabbi Y. Greenberg)
5:15-5:45 Afternoon Spiritual practice
— Orthodox mincha (Rabbi Y. Greenberg)
— Meditation (Jay Michaelson)
— 12-Step Meeting (Participant-led)
6:00 – 7:15
Seudah Shlishit (Dinner)
7:30 – 8:30 Small Groups
8:45 – 9:00 Maariv (Rabbi Y. Greenberg)
9:00 – 9:30 Havdalah (Jay Michaelson)
10:00 – 11:30 Night Program
— Shamanic Journeying (Hansa Bergwall)
— Movie: A Jihad for Love or Antarctica
— Snacks
Sunday, April 1
8:30 – 9:00 Morning Shacharit (Rabbi Y. Greenberg)
9:00 – 10:00 Breakfast
10:00 – 11:30 Sunday session
— Five Ways to Have Better Conversations about ‘God versus Gay’ (Jay Michaelson)
— Writing Workshop (Hansa Bergwall)
11:40 – 12:30 Closing session & final small group
12:45 Lunch
2:00 Tzeitchem L’Shalom (Adios) !
Teachers for 2012
Jay Michaelson
Jay Michaelson is the founder of Nehirim. For the last ten years, Jay has been a leading advocate for the inclusion of sexual minorities in religious communities, and his work in this area has been featured on NPR, CNN, and the New York Times. Jay is also a contributing editor to the Forward, Associate Editor of Religion Dispatches magazine, and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. In 2009, he was included on the “Forward 50” list of “the men and women leading the American Jewish community into the 21st century.” He is the author of four books, most recently God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality.
Hansa Bergwall
Hansa Bergwall is a poet who has done significant work as a shaman and healer in multiple indigenous traditions. He has led ritual and contemplative practice in LGBT contexts for several years.
Jase I. Schwartz
Jase Schwartz fell in love with Nehirim in 2007 and has been to over 10 retreats since. He loves the moments at Nehirim of spirituality, playfulness and heartfelt conversations. Jase is a graduate of the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College where he focused his studies on Community Organization, Planning and Development. He currently works with adult survivors of violence, primarily survivors of anti-LGBTQ hate violence. He has previously worked with homeless youth, queer youth and incarcerated youth in NYC and Michigan. Jase is passionate about creating and building safe spaces for communities and individuals.
Eric Cohen
Eric Cohen is a fifth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew College (Boston). He grew up in New York City, and attended Ramaz School. He then moved to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania. He went on to receive a PhD in ancient Near Eastern languages from Yale University (Egyptology). He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry, and served as a synagogue president in Brooklyn, NY. He has made “denominational pit-stops” in Modern Orthodox, Conservative and Renewal Judaism, before deciding to go the trans-denominational route. Eric has been a regular at Nehirim since its inception, and is thrilled to be able to teach this time around.
Lewis Warshauer
Rabbi Lewis S. Warshauer teaches seminars in Judaism. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1997. He has served as adjunct rabbi at Congregation Habonim in New York City and as a teaching fellow for the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has also served as assistant rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in Kansas City. Rabbi Warshauer received his B.A. in History as well as a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University
Yosef Baskin
When there was no work in his field, Yosi folk-danced professionally, tutored SATs, drove a NYC cab, sold mattresses and men’s suits. He managed restaurants as a mashgiach, modeled for art schools, studied corpses for anatomy class and taught advanced yoga. He is a songwriter and holds an MBA from NYU. Yosi loves to garden and bake, but prefers eating. His three kids are all grown up now.
Contact Us for More Information
If you would like more information, if you would like to volunteer to teach or lead services, you can always email us at info[at]nehirim.org.
