Compassion at the Heart of Liberation: An End of Passover Retreat

RETREAT BY INVITED PRESENTER

The last few days of Passover are a time for spiritual deepening and awakening the inner call to liberation. Join us for our second annual mountaintop retreat to observe the deep rest of Shabbat and celebrate the seventh and eighth days of Passover. Our themes will include compassion (rachamim in Hebrew), rebirth and renewal, as this year’s confluence of Passover with Good Friday and Easter Sunday open up additional energetic pathways. On retreat together we will have the opportunity for solitude in nature as well as connection in community through teachings, discussion, music, ritual and meditation drawn from Jewish, Buddhist and Nonviolent Communication practices.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Our program begins with orientation and intention setting on Friday afternoon, in the hours before the Shabbat of Passover. After a special dinner together we will bring in Shabbat with candle lighting, singing, chanting and contemplative practices. 

On Saturday, we continue with a full program that weaves together Jewish shabbat, Buddhist practices, and Nonviolent Communication with our themes of compassion, rebirth, and renewal. After dinner we will harvest the day of practice by entering into shvii shel pesach, the seventh night of Passover, a mystical experiential ritual of crossing the sea of rebirth into the inner stages of liberation. 

On Sunday, the eighth day of Passover, we continue exploring Jewish, Buddhist, and Nonviolent Communication teachings and practices to integrate compassion and liberation consciousness. The day culminates in a mystical feast to metabolize our insights of freedom and renewal. Through the communal feast and remaining retreat time we continue with ritual, teachings, group discussion, music, movement and song, letting go of the constrictions we wish to leave behind and embracing the openings and insights we want to take with us.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Ritual experience crossing from our narrow places through the birth canal of the sea
• End of Passover Mystical Feast to renew and integrate liberation consciousness
• Interactive Nonviolent Communication practices for opening the heart 
• Jewish mystical teachings, including shabbat and the splitting of the sea on the seventh night of Passover and the rhythmic movement of the sacred Hebrew calendar, counting the Omer
• Intimate setting with personal access to the teachers and small group discussion
• Integration of Buddhist mindfulness and Jewish practices 
• Interactive sessions with question and answer periods
• Personal and guided meditation sessions
• Delicious all-vegetarian meals with locally sourced ingredients, tailored to Passover dietary observance** 
• Option to extend stay for a personal retreat
• Extensive library of spiritual  books for your enjoyment
• Expansive wooded grounds with beautiful flora and fauna for walking meditation and contemplation

**Please note that from our Friday arrival until the conclusion of our liberation feast after sundown on Sunday, we will follow the Passover observance of eating matzah and refraining from eating leavened bread and other products that contain leavening.

OPEN TO ALL

This retreat is designed to offer insights and experiences that nourish and deepen the practice of participants at every level; we welcome everyone seeking to integrate contemplative practices into daily life. We will create a community of beginners just embarking on a spiritual journey,and “old hands” wanting to continue practicing and deepening their understanding and connection. Whether you’re familiar with Jewish, Buddhist or Nonviolent Communication teachings or are encountering them for the first time, you’ll find a welcoming space to explore, reflect, and grow.

RETREAT FEE: SPECIAL NOTICE

The teachers are offering this retreat on a gift economy. Registration fees only cover room and board, and do not include tuition or payment for teachers.  At the conclusion of the retreat, the teachers will ask for free will/gift donations. As a guide, you may consider that tuition fees for similar retreats run from $180-$600 for a 4-day retreat. The teachers work on a gift/donation system so that those who can will give at the higher end and others are welcomed to give at the lower end. Check, cash, and Venmo are welcomed for your offering.

SCHEDULE

(subject to change)

Friday, April 18

Saturday, April 19

Sunday, April 20

Monday, April 21