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!

Costa Rican Adventures

I am the Jewish Programs Coordinator for Costa Rican Adventures, a wonderful eco-adventure tour organization. Costa Rican Adventures specializes in outdoor adventures for schools, camps, families, singles groups (more on that soon), youth groups, and anyone with a penchant for experiencing the outdoors. Four summers ago we began a program called Outdoor Adventures for Jewish Teens, a 3-week trip to Costa Rica filled with all sorts of wonderful adventures - hiking in the rainforest, whitewater rafting, ziplining over the rainforest canopy, surfing, caving, and so much more. In addition, we spend a few days on hands-on community service projects, and we spend Shabbat together in beautiful locations. There's nothing quite like spending Shabbes in a rainforest! I've staffed the Jewish Teen Trip the last two summers and have found it to be a fabulous experience for all of our teens, and for me as well (it's a tough job, but someone has to do it!).

We are still looking for a few more teens to join us on our trips this summer. We're currently offering two sets of dates in 2008, June 29 - July 21, and July 21 - Aug 11.

In addition, we have an optional week of Spanish immersion and homestay after the first trip, which is a wonderful way for teens to further their Spanish language skills. Some of our students have received high-school credit for this.

More information about the Jewish Teen trip can be found here: www.costaricanadventures.com/earthconnect/jewishteens

Please feel free to share the website and trip information with your families and congregants, and you or they are all welcome to contact me with any questions. In addition, we are starting to work with a few synagogues, JCCs, summer camps, and youth groups. If you are interested in a trip to Costa Rica with your synagogue or other group, please also be in touch. I am always excited to help new groups discover the wonders of Costa Rica. If you know of anyone who might be interested in our programming, please do send me their contact information, and I will happily connect with them.

ALEPH Rabbinic Student, Ilan Glazer.
tevamaggid@gmail.com