Programs and Classes

Whether in services or teaching, we often rush through our liturgy. So let’s slow down. Through the Light Lab methodology of chevruta (partnered) study, song, and personal reflection, we’ll take one gem of our liturgy and raise it to the light. What do our ancestors have to say to us right now? What does our own soul yearn to say? In this safe and supportive environment, let’s dive deep, open our hearts, and move from liturgy to prayer.

Go “behind the scenes” and host your very own episode of the Light Lab Podcast. Whether a round-table with the hosts, or an interview with your clergy, educators, or guests, it’s an exciting new way to learn together. Live chat and q&a offer even more interaction. Plus, your synagogue or organization will be named as a sponsor of the episode upon its release!

What does “God” mean to you? How has that changed over the course of your life? How can music help us explore these big questions in our communities? And why do these questions matter? Through soulful, playful original songs rooted in sacred texts and personal story, we will sing, explore, and wrestle with g?d together.

A Prayer-As-Poetry Workshop (with co-teacher Alexander Nemser)- When we encounter our liturgy as poetry, we can allow its language to resonate with depth and possibility; when we approach our prayer-practice with mindfulness, we can align our intention to connect with the details of our breath, body and heart. Using these techniques, plus wisdom gleaned from Judaism and contemporary poetry, we’ll dive into a prayer, ritual, or holiday of your choice. We invite you to open to an authentic experience of prayer in a new way: to write, to breathe, to learn, and to open your imagination to soulful possibilities. (learn more here!)

rise&shine is an immersive, embodied, heart-centered journey through the liturgy, expertly guided and lovingly curated. Let’s breathe, feel, and dance out our prayers. Put on your headphones and let the house beats open your soul to joy.

What’s the point of prayer? Is prayer innately human? What does that mean for our liturgy? (and where is g?d in all of this?) Through sacred text, quotes, and our own stories, we’ll explore a variety of answers, what they mean for our synagogue life, and what they mean for our every-day.

The Holy One, The Source, The Force, The Great Dude in the Sky- what we call g?d has tremendous power. What are these names, and what happens if we encounter one in Torah or liturgy that we don’t agree with? Together, we’ll explore a text that wrestles with this question, a few dozen g?d “nicknames,” and discuss what g?d means, and could mean, to each of us.

Using melodies old and new, we’ll move from the brain to the heart, experimenting with calling out to g?d in song using different names, and singing pieces of our own liturgy that wrestle with the very concept of prayer. How does it feel within us, and if we all have our own names, how do we pray in community?

Songs I sing, and poems I weave, though I have never seen You… What does it mean to pray to a g?d who even the prophets never truly knew? This prayer-poem from the 12th century is a deep yearning of the heart, and through exploring the poetry, textuality, and melody, we will aim to uncover its secrets and find reflections in our own lives today.

Prayer and liturgy can seem removed from our fight for a more just world. How might t’fillah actually encourage and inspire action in us? Let’s look at prayer and liturgy through the lens of social justice, and explore how spiritual practice can change us and our world.