EJW Network Community Gathering
Stepping into the 4 Worlds of the Etz Hayyim (עץ חיים)
Thursday, January 19, 2023
10am PST | 1pm EST | 8pm Israel
Guided by Rabbi Jeff Foust & Rachel Glazer
The focus of our session will be on experiencing the Kabbalistic Tree of Life in our own bodies as well as in interacting with each other and with the world. A short introductory overview will lead into a guided meditation through the Eitz Hayyim of our own bodies including tuning into and releasing some of the places where we feel constricted or blocked, and then tuning into our life flow through the sefirot and how the right and left sides can blend and integrate through the central channel which is also where the chakras are. This will be followed by an opportunity for feedback and questions, and then we'll move into a movement dance through the 4 worlds, focusing both inward and then outward to each other and to our surroundings. At the very end we'll raise the question (for our breakout rooms and beyond) of how we can take this embodied consciousness of the 4 worlds into our Tu B'Shevat Seders and into our ongoing lives.
What to bring: clear a space for movement & bring a journal if you want to write down personal reflections.
Community Gatherings are offered monthly as part of the Embodied Jewish Wisdom Network. Become a member to attend these events live, or to view after, and connect with our growing community!
Rabbi Jeff Foust is deeply grounded in both the formal aspects of Jewish tradition and in the inner spiritual fire that brings it to life. He is a long time student and teacher of Kabbalah for our day to day world (embodied spirituality) emphasizing the integration of the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and material aspects of our lives. He is also the Jewish Chaplain and Mindfulness Coordinator for Bentley University. One of his special passions is leading sessions on embodying the Kabbalist Tree of life which he now has often done online as well as in person. He also sees this kind of teaching and learning to be essentially experiential exploration informed by tradition and open to new discoveries and knowledge wherever they may be found. This includes the findings of modern science, experience with body work and dance through most of his life, and currently study with Banafsheh Sadeh's Dance of Oneness and Chen Lizra's somatic intelligence work.
Rachel Glazer is a nonprofit educator working with communities across the South to engage in meaningful learning experiences. As the Assistant Director of Education at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Mississippi, she manages various curricular, programmatic, and professional development programs for a team of emerging young professionals and directs two secular initiatives in the local community: a peer mediation conflict resolution program and a spring literacy day camp.
Outside of her full time work, Rachel runs Beth Israel Congregation’s religious school. She is also a licensed Zumba instructor, an abstract artist, a ukulele tutor, and the Lead Educator for The Royal Y’all Improv Troupe. Rachel is currently working toward her Masters in Experiential Jewish Education from The George Washington University with lots of support from her partner, Sam, and their cats, Loki and Ash.
The Embodied Jewish Wisdom Network offers monthly virtual events and online community connection, inspiration and resource sharing for leaders and learners of Embodied Jewish Wisdom worldwide.