Passover in the Desert 2012 Offerings
Some things to look forward to in the desert this year:
Wake up with the sun and join Andrew Hahn, the Kirtan and Tai Chi Rabbi, in his daily chi-kung classes, to greet the day in peace, plus join in Hebrew kirtan as a part of our communal prayer practice.
Find deep peace and connection with the natural world and yourself through the lens of Jewish teaching and prayer with Rabbi Mike Comins of Torah Trek, Center for Jewish Wilderness Spirituality.
Walk back from your Wilderness walk into our communally led, egalitarian, and pluralistic Friday night Shabbat prayer service where we will joyfully bring in Shabbat together! (with Mia Cohen, Rabbi Andrew Hahn, Renna Khuner-Haber and others)
Get connected to Indigenous wisdom with Peter Wolf, as he takes you on a journey combining nature awareness, psychology, and martial arts that teaches you how to plant your feet firmly and softly on the earth… Peter has spent his life collecting teachings from Indigenous and masterful teachers of ancient ways of living on the earth. Check out his website here.
Use your voice and creativity with Yari Mander and Aharon Wheels Bolsta, local bay area musicians, and learn how to use your voice, hands, and body as part of a vocal orchestra, creating a fun and harmonious vocal-jam. All levels of musical ability welcome!
Get down and funky with our resident “Jewgrass” band, a band formed at Camp Towanga, our local Northern California earth-based summer camp, and sing along to fun Wilderness torah and campfire songs!
Connect with the mystical understanding of the time we are in with Ron Feldman and learn about the Kabbalistic connection to the counting of the omer, the 49 day counting that happens between Passover and Shavuot.
Also, watch out for our mystical seder, our share-your-light campfire, basket-weaving workshop, and more…. More info coming soon.
The theme for Passover in the Desert 2012 is “Embracing Liberation.” The festival will be focused on both the individual and collective journeys from mitzrayim (the Hebrew word for Egypt, or narrow places) to liberation. There will be collective time in tribes that will create the container for our journey towards a solo wilderness vision walk on Friday afternoon before Shabbat. Outside of tribe time and other WT planned moments such as Kabbalat Shabbat, offerings are given by members of the community with various passions and skills to share. This year we will have 4 spaces where offerings will be held:
SCHEDULE PASSOVER IN THE DESERT 5772/2012
WEDNESDAY
3:00-dark Registration
6:00-8:30 Dinner
8:00 Opening Ice Breakers Dance & Music Jamboree
THURSDAY
7:00-8:00 Chi Kung
Sit Spot
8:00-9:00 Shacharit
8:00-9:30 Breakfast
9:15-9:45 Children’s Village Orientation
10:00-11:00 Opening Circle
11:00-12:30 Tribal Councils
12:30-2:30 Picnic Lunch & Sharing Circles
1:30-5:30 Hike to Surprise Canyon
3:00-4:00 Offerings Session 1
4:30-5:30 Offering Session II
6:00 Dinner
8:30 Evening Activity Choices: Night Hike, Share Your Light Campfire, Mystical Seder
FRIDAY
7:00-8:00 Chi Kung
Sit Spot
8:00-9:00 Shacharit
8:00-9:30 Breakfast
9:00-12:30 Hike To Surprise Canyon
10:00-11:30 Offerings
12:00-1:30 Picnic Lunch, Sharing Circles
2:00- 5:30 Wilderness Encounter in Tribes
5:30-7:00 Kabbalat Shababt
7:00 Dinner
9:00 Cozy Corners
SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 Chi Kung
Sit Spot and Birding
9:30-10:30 Shabbat Morning Prayers/ Shacharit
10:30-12:00 Torah Service
12:30-2:00 PICNIC LUNCH and Sharing Circles
2:30-4:00 Shabbat Offerings
4:30-6:00 Tribe Time
6:30-8:30 Dinner
8:30- Closing Pesach/Havdallah and Liberation Dance Party
SUNDAY
7:30-8:30 Chi Kung
Sit Spot and Birding
8:00-9:30 BREAKFAST
10:00-11:30 Closing Circle
11:30-1:00 Whole Camp Breakdown in Teams
1:00 Snacks and L’hitraot!
Would you like to offer something to the community?
In the Wilderness Torah tradition of collaboration and co-creation, we invite you to consider offering a class, workshop, experience, music, teaching etc. to the Passover in the Desert Community. All participants are invited to consider offering something you are passionate about! If you have something you’d like to offer you can either tell us in advance or sign up during open offering slots in the desert.
For any offering we would like you to keep in mind the following:
- When deciding on your offering, please connect it to the theme of Passover and the festival theme, “Embracing Liberation.”
- Note that for each of the above spaces there will be “open space” time where spontaneous offerings can be posted and offered at the festival.
- Please provide all materials (such as copies) you will need for your offering. It’s hard to know how many people will attend each offering. You should expect between 2 and 20 people at your offering. Keep in mind not everyone attends offerings and your offering is occurring concurrently with other offerings.
- In an effort to build community and be as inclusive as possible, please take time at the beginning of your session to introduce yourself and have the group introduce themselves, perhaps asking prompting questions so folks can get to know each other before the session begins.
- Please make your offering as interactive as possible. There should be some time for discussion or participation from the group. Try to go for the 50/50 rule, creating space for students to have space to talk/discuss at least 50% of the time.
Please fill out the following form. It is good to first write out your answers in a word processing program first and then cut and paste them here:
cforms contact form by delicious:days
A selection of our 2011 Program Offerings:
Rabbi Mike Comins:Teacher of Jewish spirituality in nature and founder and director of TorahTrek
Dr. Gabe Goldman: Teacher of Jewish values as they connect to ancient wilderness living skills and Jewish ecological wisdom
Jen Miriam Kantor: Musician for all ages, puppeteer, artist and healer. Check out her music for all ages!
Eliyahu Sills: Musician of the desert (Turkish & Arabic ney, Indian Bansuri, upright bass), leader of The Qadim Ensemble
Elana Jagoda: Cantorial soloist and Jewish musician
Saul Kaye: Get down and funky with the Jewish Blues… check out his rendition of Go Down Moses here!
Friday
Freedom Through Meditation with Gabe Goldman
Meditation, in Judaism, is a technique for achieving a balance of pure mind, pure love and pure faith (The Shema). When these three forces are brought into balance, we become free. We are able to recognize the limits of time and space and step beyond them. Whether you are seeking the de
eper meanings of life or are only seeking a way to fall asleep on restless nights, this session is for you.
Hike to Suprise Canyon with Sam Goldman
Meet at the info kiosk with a bottle of water, a hat, and suncreen. Must sign up beforehand. Surprise Canyon is a special place in the California Desert. The year round stream that runs through the canyon has carved out beautiful white stone and the series of waterfalls are a great way to escape the desert heat. There may be times when you’ll get your feet wet depending on how much water is flowing. This oasis in the desert makes it a popular home for wildlife like Bighorn Sheep, endangered birds, and rare plants. If one continue long enough up the canyon you will enter the ghost town of Panamint City which in the 1800′s was a large mining town. Past Panamint City is Death Valley National Park. Please bring a snack and plenty of water.
Desert Singing Wilderness Torah Style with Leah Ahmadi
Come join Leah and friends for a wild hour-long, sing-along to expand our pre-Shabbos joy. We’ll use the Wilderness Torah songbook as our guide, and teach some Wilderness Torah Shabbat melodies and new campfire favorites. Great for newcomers and long-time WT songmeisters alike.”
Let My People Go: Creative Exploration of Middle East Uprisings for Justice and Freedom with Rae Abileah
We will explore the qualities of the “Pharaohs and Midwives” in the Exodus story in the context of movements for liberation in the Middle East, from Egypt to Libya to Palestine and Israel, through a creative writing process and a short walk on the land. People of all political persuasions are encouraged to join for this personal journey. Bring an open mind & heart, water, and a journal if you have one with you.
Finding God in Nature Text Study with Rabbi Mike Commins
Rabbi Mike Comins’s spiritual journey has been a constant dialogue between heart, nature and Judaism. Using text from Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Kabbalah, he will share the Jewish resources that have accompanied his own path from Egypt to Mt. Sinai and helped reveal God in the natural world. Be ready to share your own experiences of the divine in nature!
Fire in Jewish Tradition with Gabe and Aryeh Goldman
Shelter, water, fire and food are the four things our ancient ancestors needed to survive their trek through the wilderness. Every creature needs shelter, water and food. We, however, are the only animal that needs fire to survive. During this session, learn about fire in Jewish tradition and how to make fire the same way our ancient ancestors made it – by rubbing sticks and striking rocks together!
Walking With Our Ancestors: Healing Ourselves, Healing Our Bloodlines with Aviva Shira
As we walk our healing path from Mitzrayim, our narrow places of struggle, our ancestors guide us on our way to joy and liberation. Join Aviva Shira Bernat as she offers a chance to connect more deeply with a supportive ancestor using the tools of guided imagery, drumming and song. This is a chance to receive “manna in the desert” as you open up to the nurturing support of your ancestry.
Matzah Making with Casey Baruch, Yigal Deutcsher and Jacob Holzberg-Pill
Making Matzah is a very mystical and practical practice. Come learn about significance of using water from a natural spring and wild wheat. Cook a piece of matzah in under 18 minutes over a fire.
Partner Yoga: Opening Together in Freedom with Leah Michele
Through the connection with and support of another, we are invited to open and release more deeply into yoga postures and life. Come play and learn as we share breath, movement, and fun in this partner yoga class. All levels welcome. Please bring and extra blanket or sleeping bag.
Saturday
Morning Meditation with David Schiller
What could be more aligned with “Journeying towards Freedom” then experiencing freedom from the habitual patterns of the mind? Spending time each day sitting in silence can be extremely beneficial to the body/mind/spirit. Together we’ll discuss and practice a technique that will connect to, and balance, the energy centers of the body, the chakras. Open to students of all levels, including first-timers.
Embodying the Hebrew Letters with Miriam Schwartz
In this workshop we will explore how the imagery of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life can be a tool for deep breathwork and meditation. An emphasis will be placed on understanding how we can embody the Hebrew letters and on further understanding how these letters correspond with the elements of the earth and our bodies.
Matzah, Meditation, and Living Soulfully with K’vod Wieder
More than a funny cracker, the rabbinic and mystical traditions around matzah and what it symbolizes, provide unique insight into living fully in the world and being present for relationship. Come explore how the wisdom of matzah and meditative awareness can help us access a deeper dimension of living.
Moshe’s Vision Walk:
In the late afternoon on Saturday, the entire village will be guided in tribes through time alone b’midbar (“in the wilderness”) to experience nature as teacher, just as Moses did when he encountered the burning bush.
Sunday
The Gift of Wilderness: Freedom to be in this Moment with Toby Joy-Zelt and Mike Comins of TorahTrek
We will walk away from main camp and explore the freedom of being fully present in the natural world as we appreciate things big and small, creatures we hadn’t seen before, the drops of water on a flower, and the expansive sky. This fresh approach to Jewish spiritual practice invites the Divine presence through mindfulness exercises, such as meditation, chi gong, and singing, enhancing the spirituality that many people naturally feel in wilderness. B’eretz breisheit (in the land of God’s pristine creation), we explore the connection between inner and outer geography, renewing the organic union between Jewish spirituality and wilderness.
Pillar of Fire and Sea of Water: A Taste of Spiritual Nutrition with Michael Bedar
As a pillar of fire enclosed the Hebrews on one side, and the sea of reedy water sat on the other, an epic miracle inspired the Hebrew Liberation. If you recognize fire and water as two vital elemental forces, then you’re ready for Jewish Spiritual Nutrition wisdom on how Moshe, the Rambam, and contemporary Rebbes receive their transmissible energetic glow, and how modern Hebrews may let food be both our medicine and our deep ally on the spiritual path of Liberation.
Freeing Our Selves of Chametz: Accepting the Gifts of the Desert with Rabbi James Brandt
We will explore chametz as the fears, myths, and constrictions that keep us from reaching our true potentials and from becoming our true selves. Our time will begin with a short presentation and discussion. Following this, we will create a safe time/space to summon Shechina for the taking of chametz and the bringing forth of freedom.
Break them Chains: Liberation from Babylon with Sarah Wu and Stephen Brooks
Sarah and Stephen explain how Permaculture, off the grid living, social consciousness, education, Deep Ecology, Gaian wisdom and plant medicine have helped them recogn
ize their right and ability to move out of the system of institutional oppression. Hear the voices of Stephen, who’s chains were never forged and of Sarah, how she liberated herself from the typical American downward spiral. This talk will be focused on personal story and how Permaculture in particular shaped this process.
The Song of The Sea
On Sunday evening we will culminate around the campfire with a Wilderness Torah rendition of the Crossing of the Sea of Reeds. We will honor Miriam and the women who led the Israelites in dance and song and celebrate our collective freedom as we continue on our journey towards Shavuot and revelation!
Children’s Village
Yael Raff-Perskin is coordinating an amazing Children’s Village with crafts, nature hikes, Jewish learning, games and more. Featuring a Magic show with magician K’vod Wieder (for kids of all ages around our Thursday night fire) & music with singer Elana Jagoda.
