For Jews, this is the story of how they became a people, a story which they retell each year at the Passover Seder.  For African Americans, this is a central story that animated their struggle for liberation from slavery and gave them strength and hope.  For many Jewish and African Americans, the modern Civil Rights Movement is the liberation struggle of our time, and calls up the ancient images of Moses and Pharaoh, and the Creator of the Universe who insists that all God’s children be free.

Through irresistible music, powerful storytelling and honest conversation, Rabbi Jonathan and his dear friends and renowned singers and activists Kim and Reggie Harris bring us all to the table to rediscover and celebrate our common ground, the shared sense of holy purpose that many Jews and African Americans shared during the struggle for civil rights.

Rabbi Jonathan and Kim and Reggie Harris are available for concerts, residencies, and many other formats. Contact us to find out more. Their CD, “Let My People Go: A Jewish and African American Celebration of Freedom” is available here.

Taken as a whole, when one travels this way through the entire Jewish calendar, one strikes all the themes of human life, and one experiences the entire year as a spiritual journey. We call this living in “Jewish time”.

Their followers were known as Hasidim, usually translated as “pious ones”, but better understood as “enthusiasts”, or perhaps “devotees”. Many of the teachings and tales of the Hasidic masters are timeless, and are especially accessible to modern seekers. We modern Jewish seekers, in fact, have been characterized as “Neo-Hasidic”, as we seek the enthusiasm and insights of Hasidism without necessarily adopting all of the strictures of traditional Jewish practice. In this workshop we will study a variety of inspiring and challenging Hasidic teachings that will help us progress on our spiritual paths.

The story of the Exodus from Egypt is a timeless description of the dynamics of oppression and the constriction of the human spirit, and of the unquenchable human desire for liberation. The quest for liberation is both political and personal, spiritual and material. Our faith as Jews is that the Creative Power in the universe that “wants” the seed to grow to its full potential as a plant, also “wants” every human beings to grow to his or her full potential. That, we affirm, is the inherent nature of life, and of life’s mysterious Creator. We humans must be agents for that flourishing, not agents of its repression. We must be on the side of human flourishing, and opposed to the forces that would stunt that growth.

Through a close reading of the Book of Exodus, and of the Passover Haggadah, we will explore the central theme of Judaism: the mandate to liberate the oppressed, so that every person might be free to serve Life Unfolding to the fullness of his or her potential.

But where are the ancient roots of universal human rights? I will argue that this revolutionary principle is first articulated in the Torah: “And God created the human in the Divine image; male and female God created them.” (Genesis 1:27) Therefore, every single human being, regardless of ethnicity or station, bears the imprint of Divinity (or more simply put, is a child of God) and cannot be considered of lesser value than any other human being. This principle becomes enshrined in Judaism. We will study how Judaism develops this concept from antiquity to the present.

The scion of a Polish Hasidic dynasty, Heschel also pursued a secular education. Forced to escape to the United States, he became one of the most influential Jewish theologians of the 20th Century. Through his friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Heschel also became the most prominent rabbinic voice in the African American civil rights movement.  His poetic teachings will move us simultaneously to reverie and to action.

Rabbi means both “teacher” and master”. The great luminaries of the early rabbinic period (2nd century B.C.E. – 3rd century C.E.) were both scholarly teachers and inspired spiritual masters. In this workshop we will immerse ourselves in the teachings of the two greatest luminaries of Rabbinic Judaism.

Rabbi Hillel and The Torah of Love

Hillel (d. ~10 C.E.) was an impoverished Jew from Babylonia who came to Jerusalem to study Torah. He rose to be the formative leader of rabbinic Judaism. Rabbi Hillel’s teachings remain central to Judaism to this day. They are teachings of love, humility, and peace, and never grow stale.

The Crazy Wisdom of Rabbi Akiva

Rabbi Akiva (~50-135 C.E.), the leader of Rabbinic Judaism, leaves behind tales and teachings that might remind us of Zen koans. Akiva was a passionate lover of God who understood the paradoxical nature of having faith in a benign universe in the midst of the human tragedy.

The Hebrew letters of the Divine Name – Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay – point us to the deepest truth of our existence: we are manifestations of Life Unfolding, and Judaism desires us to serve this dynamic and ineffable God. And because Life Unfolding is without end, Jewish tradition teaches that we do not pronounce the Name, in order to remind us that it is not static and cannot be captured in language.

For centuries Jews have utilized this paradoxical Divine Name as a vehicle for visualization and meditation, in an effort to see the entire world as a manifestation of Spirit, and to practice gratitude and compassion to all. As part of our exploration we will learn and practice some meditation practices using the Divine Name.

Projected onto a physical landscape, the Torah takes us on an inner journey from constriction to expansion, from enslavement to freedom. We will learn how to look at Torah as Sacred Myth, shining light on the human journey towards greater awareness.

I: In The Beginning
The story of Creation, and the subsequent tale of the Garden of Eden are traditionally interpreted by Jews on multiple, simultaneous levels: narrative, allegory, and mystical. We will explore the mystical level of interpretation – the birth of consciousness.

II: Abraham
In the Jewish tradition, Abraham is the archetypal spiritual seeker, who recognizes that all creation stems from one Source, and who leaves security and certainty behind in order to follow the call he hears to know God. We will explore Abraham’s story in the Book of Genesis, and look at the way Jewish Sages through the millennia interpret the tale.

III: Jacob
Jacob dreams of a ladder reaching from the ground on which he is sleeping up to heaven. This is Jacob’s spiritual awakening, which climaxes 20 years later when he wrestles all night with the angel, and receives the name Israel. Israel is our spiritual patriarch – we bear his name – what is Israel’s deeper meaning?

IV: Moses
Moses, the great Teacher of the Jewish People, goes on a classic hero’s journey, heading beyond the edge of the wilderness to encounter a vision that animates the remainder of his life: a bush that burns but is not consumed. What does this vision mean? The unfolding answer is the key to the Jewish understanding of God, and of our purpose on this earth.

The Hebrew term for this act of turning, or returning, is Teshuvah. During this intensive, we will assist each other to fulfill the mitzvah of Teshuvah. We will create a holy space of confidentiality and care. We will study Jewish wisdom together. We will listen to one another with compassion. We will write and reflect, and plan concrete steps for moving forward in our lives. We will allow thoughts and emotions to flow, creating a space for the unexpected within and around us, and preparing ourselves to turn towards each other and the world with renewed openness and love.