FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Debra Kolodny, Executive Director, ALEPH

DATE: Thursday, April 27, 2006

Phone: 301-565-0719

Email: DebraRuth@mac.com

Dear Editor:

Enclosed is the April 2006 ALEPH News Service. We hope you run one or more of the following articles, and look forward to hearing from you if you do. This release contains:

1. Rabbi Goldie Milgram nominated for prestigious Covenant Foundation award

2. Mother’s Day Reb Zalman/Eve Ilsen Shabbaton drawing hundreds to Philadelphia from around the world

3. ALEPH is cooperating partner in national conference on mikveh

About ALEPH: ALEPH acts as the headquarters of the Jewish Renewal movement by organizing and nurturing communities, developing spiritual leadership, ordaining rabbis, cantors and rabbinic pastors, creating liturgical and scholarly resources, holding retreats and festivals and working for social and environmental justice.

ALEPH has attracted and energized tens of thousands of seekers returning to Judaism as well as those who are deeply engaged but looking to elevate their current practice. ALEPH has 42 affiliated communities and its projects include two biennial gatherings: the Kallah and Ruach Ha'Aretz; the Sacred Foods Project, C-DEEP: The Center for Devotional, Energy, and Ecstatic Practice, the Bet Midrash (producing siddurim, publications, videos and CDs from our founder Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and other Jewish Renewal teachers) and Kesher (supporting twenty and early thirty year old leaders). In addition to its projects, ALEPH also produces one-day Jewish Renewal festivals in communities around the US and Canada called Caravans. It is home to OHALAH: The Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal and a Rabbinic Studies Program, educating future rabbis, cantors and rabbinic pastors.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like additional information. ALEPH looks forward to working with you,

Debra Kolodny /s/

Rabbi Goldie Milgram nominated for a Covenant Foundation Award

Rabbi Goldie Milgram, founder and Executive Director of P'nai Yachadut-Reclaiming Judaism.org, a Jewish educational research and teaching institute, was nominated for a Covenant Foundation award to Exceptional Educators this year. Only three people will receive this coveted prize, all exceptional Jewish educators, and Reb Goldie is in the final running. Designed to honor, thank, and celebrate outstanding educators, each award carries with it a prize of $25,000 for the educator and an additional $5,000 for the educator’s home institution.

Reb Goldie has been a leader in Ohalah: The Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal and is a former co-executive director of ALEPH. She is the author of Meaning and Mitzvah: Reclaiming Judaism through Daily Practices of Prayer, God, Torah, Hebrew, Mitzvot and Peoplehood (Jewish Lights 2005), Reclaiming Judaism as a Spiritual Practice: Holy Days and Shabbat (Jewish Lights 2005) and Make Your Own Bar/Bat Mitzvah: A Personal Approach to Creating a Meaningful Rite of Passage (Jossey-Bass).

Passionate about bringing spirituality back into Jewish life, Rabbi Milgram travels internationally as a teacher of Judaism and Jewish spirituality, most recently to Holland, Germany, South Africa, Venezuela and Paris. Formally the dean of the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York, a transdenominational rabbinic seminary, Reb Goldie completed her doctorate at New York Theological Seminary in May 2003. She holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from Yeshiva University's Wurzweiler School of Social Work and in Hebrew Letters from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). She was first ordained as a rabbi by RRC and then by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.

Over the past fifteen years, forty-five remarkable educators have received Covenant Awards. Recipients have distinguished themselves in a myriad of ways in Jewish education including classroom teaching, family education, dance, music, adult education, tzedakah, storytelling, Hillel work, curriculum design, leadership, and professional development.

Being considered for this award is a remarkable accomplishment, and Reb Goldie’s exceptional career makes her an outstanding candidate. Rabbinic Pastor Melissa Wenig who was interviewed as part of the Covenant Foundation’s exploration of Reb Goldie’s candidacy speaks for all of us at ALEPH when she says: “Yishar Kochech, Reb Goldie. What an honor for all of you and for all of us!”

You can find out more about Reb Goldie’s work at her website: www.rebgoldie.com

Mother’s Day Weekend Shabbaton with Reb Zalman/Eve Ilsen drawing hundreds to Philadelphia from around the world

Don’t miss this opportunity to study with the founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement and with hundreds of committed seekers, at a rich and energizing weekend designed to support your spiritual life throughout the year. Join Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Rebbitzen Eve Ilsen for “Heavenly Days Here on Earth” at the Keswick Theatre right outside of Philadelphia, May 12-14.

Designed as a holistic experience, the program will focus on weekday spirituality and accessing the presence of God through prayer in our everyday life. Our hope is that participants will leave feeling capable and ready to live into our Heavenly Days, whether alone or in community, not at some future time, but right here and now. Come and cultivate the capacity for a fully engaged spiritual life--not just in peak moments, but any time.

The weekend starts with our full presence to Shabbat, the foundation of our practice. Five afternoon workshops will provide opportunities to focus on specific aspects of our journey. For those called to prayerful life, Rabbi Marcia Prager (Dean of the ALEPH Rabbinic Program) will explore “Davennology”. Rabbi Steven Silvern (ALEPH Board Vice Chair) will work with those interested in living into the implications of Reb Zalman and Rabbi Daniel Siegel’s recent book, Credo of the Modern Kabbalist. For those drawn to the universal truths found in all of the worlds wisdom traditions, Rabbi Shaya Isenberg (Co-Director of the ALEPH Sage-ing Project) will teach on “Deep Ecumenism.” For those engaged in or attracted to contemplative practice, Rabbi Shohama Wiener (Director of the ALEPH HASHPA’AH/ Spiritual Direction Program) will lead a session entitled, “SHOHAM: Spiritual Healing of Heart and Mind.” For those whose Shabbos practice is the highlight of their week, seeking practical tips on bringing its energy into the rest of their days, Rabbi Elliot Ginsburg (Member of ALEPH’s Rabbinic Program Academic Council) will lead “Bringing Shabbat into the Week.”

The optional dinner and evening teaching (which is highly recommended and there are still some seats available) creates an experiential bridge to the rest of the week. Shabbat closes with Maariv, Havdallah and a rockin’ Maleva Malkah where gifted spiritual leaders will perform in a joyous concert escorting the Shabbos Queen to her dwelling place in our lives. Rabbis Shawn Zevit, Arthur Waskow (Director of The Shalom Center) and Geela Rayzel Raphael will join Rebbitzen Eve Ilsen and Yofiyah for an evening not to be missed. On Sunday we dive into the week and a rooted weekday practice.

Don’t miss this amazing event! To register, and for information on accommodations, directions and frequently asked questions visit: aleph.org/rebzalmanweekend.html.

ALEPH is Cooperating Partner in National Conference: Reclaiming Mikveh: Pouring Ancient Waters into a Contemporary Vessel

June 4 – 6, 2006 Boston, MA

This historic gathering—the first conference of its kind—focuses on a remarkable phenomenon in contemporary Jewish life: the growing number of Jewish men and women who are finding deep meaning in the ancient wellspring of mikveh.

Reclaiming Mikveh brings together clergy, educators, academics and Jewish leadership from across the country in a revolutionary exploration on immersion as a source of spiritual renewal and understanding. Nationally renowned keynote speakers, workshop leaders and leading thinkers will gather for a lively, in-depth examination of mikveh and its possibilities, including new uses and rituals. Pre-conference highlights include a seminar on “The Seven Steps for Creating a New Sacred Space in Your Community” and a special evening performance of The Mikveh Monologues, a moving theatrical piece by Anita Diamant and Janet Buchwald with original music. Each conference registrant will receive a complimentary “Immersion Gift Certificate” for use at Boston’s Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center.

This groundbreaking conference is presented by the Outreach Training Institute, a program of the Union for Reform Judaism, supported by a grant from Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, in cooperation with our Boston and national partners.

Over 30 national partners, including ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal as well as the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements have come together to challenge the Jewish community to reinvent mikveh for contemporary Jews. This historic gathering is the first conference of its kind. Rabbi Moshe Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion, Brookline, MA will be among the select keynote speakers, expert panelists and skilled workshop facilitators.   

For more information on the conference schedule, workshops, speaker bios, hotel accommodations, registration and fees, please visit our website at www.mayyimhayyim.org/conference. Register today at this site or contact mbenet@urj.org or 781-449-0404. Registration scholarships are available.