The Light Within
Contemplative & Embodied Practices for the Fourth Night of Hanukkah & Winter Solstice
Join us for a beautiful evening of Mindfulness, Song, Dance, Movement & Candlelighting to celebrate the 4th night of Hanukkah!
via Zoom
Pre-Registration is Required
With Julie Emden and special guests Rabbi Lavey Derby, Scott Shalom Green, Miriam Kanani & more!
In the Jewish mystical tradition, our sages teach that an eternal hidden light (אוֹר הַגָּנוּז/Or HaGanuz) is always present within the world and within each of us.
Join us as we embody and contemplate the eternal light of The Mystery that exists in all beings so that we may become vessels of light. This is the time in the Northern Hemisphere for Celebrating the Winter Solstice. We are invited to amplify the light within and to shine it out into the World.
This event is a gift offering - free and open to all! Tax deductible donations to Embodied Jewish Learning in lieu of workshop fees may be made to our fiscal sponsor, UpStart, in support of the Embodied Jewish Wisdom Network.
Julie Emden, E-RYT-500, Halprin Practitioner, Founder of Embodied Jewish Learning and the Embodied Jewish Wisdom Network, infuses her work with exploration, spirit and joy. She is passionate about awakening the body as a gateway to deep inner knowing and guides others in somatic explorations of Jewish wisdom teachings as a resource for living in balance and wholeness. A graduate of five fellowship and teaching certification programs related to her work as a Jewish educator, Iyengar-based yoga instructor and movement/expressive artist, Julie has two decades of experience guiding others in exploring Jewish wisdom, text and practices via the body in a variety of settings. Julie offers classes, workshops, on-line learning, retreats, teacher trainings, individual coaching, and strategic consultation and guidance for Jewish Wellness Initiatives throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn more about Julie and her work, visit www.embodiedjewishlearning.org
Scott Shalom Green has taught Yoga infused with Jewish wisdom at the Aleph Kallah, for R'uach H'aretz, and with Rabbi David and Shoshana Cooper during their Days of Awe Retreat. With his wife Tracey he offers Embodied Jewish Learning Practices for the Jewish Holidays and leads contemplative hikes in the Redwoods through Shalem's Wellness program. Scott has studied Meditation at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, with Mindful Schools, and during a MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Teacher Training. He is certified IYT (Integral Yoga Therapy) Yoga Teacher and has been teaching Yoga for 25 years. Scott is dedicated to living moment to moment connected to the ever-present presence and helping others discover that possibility.
Rabbi Lavey Yitzchak Derby teaches Zohar, Hasidic texts and commentaries on Torah, and other Kabbalistic works, as well as contemporary Jewish spiritual thought and practice, with the hope of supporting people in their Jewish spiritual journeys. He leads weekly meditations inspired by and infused with Jewish wisdom, and leads both Jewish Renewal Shabbat morning davening and a monthly shabbat afternoon Tisch. He also offers Spiritual Direction and Companioning to people who seek to explore their spiritual lives and to students in ALEPH ordination programs.
Lavey began to explore the world of Kabbalah and the formative Hasidism of the Ba’al Shem Tov as a college student, and these became the foundation of his own spiritual life. In 1981, he met Reb Zalman z”l who, as a mentor and friend, was instrumental in guiding him further along this path and deepening his understanding of Jewish spiritual wisdom. He has been blessed to have other remarkable teachers and mentors including Rabbi David Cooper z”l, Rabbi Art Green, Sylvia Boorstein, and Prof. Melila Hellner-Eshed. As the Director of Jewish Life at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Lavey partnered with Julie Emden to co-create Shalem, a Jewish Wellness initiative offering holistic wellness practices and programs inspired by and infused with Jewish spiritual wisdom. He is the founder of Omek HaLev, a center for Jewish spiritual learning and practice. To learn more about the programs Lavey leads, please visit reblavey.com.
Miriam Raziel Kanani is a singer, educator, and Jewish ritual leader and Rabbinical Student at the Pluralistic Jewish Seminary. Miriam leads Jewish prayer and singing around the Bay Area, including Family Shabbats, tot shabbats, and high holidays. Following a deep dream of hers, she recorded her own musical cd "Light Warrior" in which she blends reggae, jazz, and middle eastern compositions. Her music has been described as "rootsy and powerful, and her spiritual lyrics resonate with depth and truth". Miriam co-lead High Holidays with Nathaniel Markman and others for two years with the Ohel Moed pop-up shul in Lake Merritt, Oakland, and lead high holidays on her own at Colorado University Boulder Hillel last fall. As well, Miriam is the founder of Bay Area B'nai Mitzvah, where she prepares dozens of Bar and Bat Mitzvah students around the Bay Area, and also officiates their Bnai Mitzvah ceremonies. In her free time, she loves to spend time in nature, swim, dance, and take part in the Wilderness Torah community.