| Pardes Levavot |  |
Pardes Levavot, “Orchard of Hearts,” was formed in the spirit of creating conscious holy community. Our name expresses the spiritual blossoming of each individual heart within an inspiring and nurturing orchard.
For information on our congregation please call (303) 563-2110 and leave a message or send email to info@pardeslevavot.org. To join our congregation, please print a copy of our membership form, fill it out, and send it to our Synagogue.
Pardes Levavot gratefully acknowledges Allied
Jewish Federation of Colorado for their support of
our Circle of Family Education program. Thank you!
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Debra Kolodny, Executive Director, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal DATE: November 24, 2008 Phone: 301-565-0719 Email: DebraRuth@mac.com <mailto:DebraRuth@mac.com> Web site: www.aleph.org Below is the November 2008 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 Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Joins Council of American Contemplative Elders 2. Maryland ALEPH Affiliate Am Kolel Welcomes Renown Author, Alan Morinis, December 12-14 3. Jewish Renewal Composers Celebrated in Washington DC Concert May you find yourselves immersed in gratitude this week, and may that experience nourish, inspire and light your way through the darkening days until Chanukah arrives to bring bring radiance, simcha and latkes into your life! Debra Kolodny /s/ Executive Director ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal ********************************************************************************** Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Joins Council of American Contemplative Elders Over one hundred diverse religious leaders, including several Jewish Renewal participants, met in Aspen, Colorado on November 5-10 to discuss how to collectively support President-Elect Barack Obama in addressing the nation’s challenges. Attendees, who came mostly from contemplative traditions, galvanized their collective commitment to mobilize a new spiritual voice based on inclusion, compassion, and a vision of oneness. The conference was organized and led by women through the Global Peace Initiative of Women, (GPIW.) The conveners made unprecedented outreach to Buddhist, Hindu, Sufi and Native American spiritual leaders, which ensured a diversity rarely seen in interfaith gatherings in the US. In addition to Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalom Rabbis Shefa Gold and Rami Shapiro were in attendance, as well as Rabbinic Pastor Eve Ilsen and ALEPH Executive Director Debra Kolodny. The Jewish contingent also included Blu Greenberg, a co-chair of GPIW and Rabbi Naomi Levy of Nashuva in LA. After days of joint prayer, meditation, discussion and reflection, there was agreement to join contemplative wisdom with compassionate action to help Americans move beyond fear, develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy and deepen respect and protection for our environment and natural resources. Statements and position papers on how to approach these issues from an inter-spiritual vantage point will be developed over the coming months. “There was agreement on the need to mobilize a new spiritual movement in the country,” says Dena Merriam, Founder of the GPIW, and convener of the summit. She continued, “In most traditional societies there was a special place for spiritual elders, who offered a guidance vision for their communities. Thus it was agreed that a Council of American Contemplative Elders would be formed as the guiding voice and face for this new movement, named the Contemplative Coalition.” Catholic leaders Father Thomas Keating, Father Joseph Boyle and Sister Joan Chittister are joined on the Council by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Reverend Joan Brown Campbell, Reverend Cynthia Bourgeault, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, Reverend James Parks Morton, Acharya Judith Lief, Swami Atmarupananda, and the Hopi leader Grandmother Mona Polacca. Though its membership is still in development, the Council will begin work immediately. It will write to President-Elect Obama calling for ongoing dialogue between his administration and an inclusive group of grassroots religious leaders, and will help replicate contemplative interfaith gatherings around the country to mobilize new spiritual voices. For more information about the conference and ongoing work, visit <http://www.gpiw.org/> . *********************************************************************************** ALEPH Affiliate Am Kolel in Maryland Welcomes Renown Author, Alan Morinis, December 12-14 EXPLORING MUSSAR: AN ANCIENT SET OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES FOR THE JOURNEY OF OUR LIVES Please join us December 12-14, 2008 at Am Kolel Sanctuary & Renewal Center near Washington DC, for an intimate weekend of sacred study and contemplation, as we journey into the world of Mussar with author Alan Morinis. Alan Morinis is an anthropologist, filmmaker, writer and student of spiritual traditions, whose passion for the past seven years has been the nearly lost Jewish spiritual discipline of Mussar – a contemplative spiritual practice for refining the soul. His journey is recorded in his books, Climbing Jacob’s Ladder and Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar. The weekend begins with Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, December 12th at 7 pm and continues till noon on Sunday, December 14th. Residents, $295. Commuters, $195. Member discounts available. A flyer and registration form can be downloaded from our calendar page at <http://www.sanctuaryretreatcenter.com> Contact Gilah to register or for more information. 301-349-2799 or <mailto:gilah@am-kolel.org> . ********************************************************************************** Jewish Renewal Composers Celebrated in Washington DC Concert The work of three Jewish Renewal composers will be performed at "No Rock Like You: Songs for the Jewish Soul." This Shalshelet concert will be at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in downtown Washington, or at workshops the day after. The concert will feature inspiring new works—pop and classical to Latin and klezmer— performed by gifted soloists, a full choir, drums and more. Free creative workshops for music lovers, musicians, and composers will take place on Sunday, Dec. 14, also at Sixth & I. Visit www.shalshelet.org for details and tickets. Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit is a founding member of Shabbat Unplugged and Playback Philadelphia. He has taught in Philadelphia at Melton Adult Mini-School and Temple University, and at the University of Toronto. He also co-directs the Davennen’ Leadership Training Institute. He is Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam and a senior congregational consultant for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation and is also on the steering committee for Harmoniyah: the Reconstructionist Music Network. Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael is the rabbi of Beth Israel Congregation in Woodbury, New Jersey. She consults with the Jewish Women’s Spirituality Institute and InterFaithways: an Interfaith Family Support Network of Greater Philadelphia and teaches in numerous locations in the area. She performs with MIRAJ, which recently released the CD Healing Chants for the Soul, and with Shabbat Unplugged. She can also be heard on her CD, Friday Night Revived. David Goldstein is a composer of Hebrew chant and sacred choral works. His Song of Songs Suite for Women’s Choir was recently premiered at West Virginia University. He is the leader of the Tikkun Chant Circle in Pittsburgh, and a recent graduate of the Kol Zimra Chant Leadership training program led by Rabbi Shefa Gold. He was formerly Composer in Residence at East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. David is also a business director at PPG Industries, Inc. |