Spiritual Practices through Jewish Spiritual Retreats

Those of you who read my articles know I like to feature spiritual retreats, journeys or pilgrimages once a week. Here’s an entire website devoted to Jewish Spiritual Retreats through the Institute for Jewish Spirituality in New York City. Here is what the “About Us” section has to say about their philosophy for spiritual practices through Jewish spiritual retreats.

Spiritual Practices through Jewish Spiritual Retreats

The Institute offers transformative, contemplative programs that help people reclaim traditional Jewish wisdom and deepen their relationships with God. This helps them become stronger, more effective teachers, preachers, and leaders, which in turn helps build healthier communities and enriches everyday life for all Jews.
Our challenge is to reestablish a connection between Jewish practice and teaching, and the lived lives of Jews. We need teachers, grounded in authentic Jewish spiritual practice, who can help Jews connect their own deepest experiences to the language, imagery and compelling power of the Jewish tradition. If we are to inspire our people and sustain our vision, we must tend to our own inner life, drawing from Jewish spiritual tradition.
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Now back to the retreats, a very complete section of the website with different types of retreats, different locations, even a travel center to help you with that aspect of your retreat vacation. Here is the description of some of the spiritual practices on retreats.

Meditation on Retreat

Our meditation sessions are all guided or with prompts, with the exception of early-morning meditation, which is optional and individual. If you have difficulty sitting for long periods of time (30 minutes to an hour) we invite you to bring a chair-pad, cushion, or to stand as necessary during meditation sessions. Your safety and comfort is our primary concern, and we encourage you to take the steps necessary to have a healthy mediation experience.

Prayer on Retreat

Our prayer practice typically incorporates mindfulness meditation, Hebrew prayers and chants. Hebrew texts will always have transliteration and translations available. If you have a siddur or prayer book that you like to use, we welcome you to bring it (we provide siddurs as well). You are also welcome to bring ritual items such as tallit, kippah, or tefillin – we are not able to provide these.

Silence on Retreat

Institute retreats, even ones that are not specifically “silent” retreats, incorporate intentional silence throughout the program. We offer periods of intentional silence in the form of mindfulness meditation each day, and incorporate periods of quiet during prayer and study. We believe that when we step back from the impulse to speak, we offer our souls the space in which they can more fully manifest. In no way is this silence meant to stifle expression – rather, it is intended to expand the opportunities for greater self-knowledge and more intentional, compassionate expression and action.
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This site is worth visiting as a good resource for those who want to maintain or strengthen their Jewish ties. It’s well organized and easy to navigate. Some of the upcoming retreats such as the Silent Shabbat Contemplative Retreat on July 13th or the Hevraya Summer Retreat on July 15th look intriguing as spiritual practices through Jewish spiritual retreats. It seems that some of them are attended by the many of the same people each year. If you find this article useful, please use the “share” buttons below to pass it along. Thanks.