Kohenet—Open Shabbat Weekend

Spend a Shabbat with Hebrew Priestesses!

August 6 – 8, 2010

Kohenet: the Hebrew Priestess Institute, invites you to an open Shabbat of ecstatic prayer, study, and experiential learning, centered on the sacred feminine in Jewish tradition and the ways we embody Her. Through chant, movement, spirit journey, holy stories, and ritual, we will experience the powerful energy of Shekhinah on Her holy day, the Sabbath. Our learning sessions will relate to women's mysteries in the Jewish tradition.

Kohenet, the Hebrew word meaning priestess, signifies both spiritual leadership and embodiment of/service to the Divine.

The Kohenet Institute seeks to revitalize the Jewish connection with the Divine feminine by reclaiming the ancient role of the kohenet — the priestess or sacred servant who facilitates holy experience — in a Jewish context.

Kohenet is beginning a new two-year training program this summer. Week 1 will be held August 9 – 15. Visit the Kohenet Institute web page for more information or to fill out an application.

The Kohenet Open Shabbat will coincide with the Jewish Women's Music Festival and participants will have the opportunity to attend several Music Festival events. This weekend is also a Kohenet alumnae weekend and is open to all current and past Kohenet students.

This program is for women only. Some Kohenet prayer spaces will be open to all.

This special weekend is sponsored by Kohenet: The Hebrew Priestess Institute. Learn more at www.kohenet.org.

Teachers

Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD is an author, educator, midrashist, myth-weaver and ritualist. She is the co-founder of Kohenet: The Hebrew Priestess Institute, and the director of Tel Shemesh, a website and community celebrating and creating Jewish earth-based traditions. She is also the Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic Jewish seminary. Rabbi Hammer is the author of two books: Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women (Jewish Publication Society, 2001) and The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons (Jewish Publication Society, 2006). Rabbi Hammer conducts workshops around the country on ancient and contemporary midrash, bibliodrama, creative ritual and Jewish cycles of time. She was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and holds a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Holly Taya Shere, co-founder of Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, is a folklorist, ritual artist and educator committed to reclaiming and innovating embodied and earth-honoring models of Jewish women’s spiritual leadership. Since 2006, Holly has held the rabbinic pulpit at Olney Kehila Jewish Congregation, where she serves as Spiritual Leader. Holly also facilitates life-cycle ritual, leads prayer services, and teaches Judaism in three other Washington, DC area Jewish communities, and is a leader of ALEPH’s biannual “Renewal in Israel” trips. She shares her tribal-style, prayer offerings celebrating the sacred feminine at gatherings around the country, as well as on her forthcoming CD, “holy, holy: the wild earth shebrew chants.” She received her M.A. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania, where her Master’s thesis was "Everything She Touches Changes: A Feminist Ethnography of Women Integrating Spirituality, Politics and Creativity." She spent several years priestessing in earth-based communities and working as a healer before becoming a teacher and facilitator in Jewish community.

Shoshana Jedwab is a prize-winning Jewish educator and the Jewish Studies Coordinator at the A.J. Heschel Middle School in New York City. She is the founding facilitator of the Makom Drum Circle at the JCC in Manhattan and is a percussionist and performance artist who has trained in bibliodrama and psychodrama. Shoshana has provided empowering drum circles to singles, student, training and bereavement groups. Shoshana has performed with Storahtelling, Chana Rothman, Debbie Friedman, Akiva Wharton, A Song of Solomon, Hebrew Mystical Chant with the Kirtan Rabbi Andrew Hahn, and Tel Shemesh seasonal events. She is Kohenet's ritual drummer and also serves on the Kohenet faculty.

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Registration Information

The program fee for this retreat is $125 for each adult and $65 for each child. Fees are per person, and do not include the cost of Room and Board (below). We strive to make our programs affordable to everyone. For information about Financial Aid, please see below.

You will receive a confirmation email once you have registered and made a payment online or by phone. If you do not receive this email within 24 hours of registering, please call us at (800) 398-2630 ext. 4.

Room and Board

Our goal is to help you feel at home while on retreat. We provide you with comfortable accommodations in a beautiful, natural setting and three homemade meals prepared each day with your health and well-being in mind.

Room and board rates are per person and include housing, meals and full use of our facility. To calculate the cost of your stay, add the program fee above and your room and board rate below.

We offer a variety of housing accommodations that enable individuals with a wide range of financial capabilities to participate in our programs. All rooms are air-conditioned in the summer, heated in the winter, and simply decorated in a country style without modern multimedia distractions.

Rooms are available as single or double occupancy, with private, shared, or hall bathrooms. If you are coming alone and request a shared room, you will be paired with a roommate of the same gender. Please note, however, that some cabins and shared bathrooms may be co-ed.

For children's rates as well as commuting and tenting options, please see below.

Standard Plus Rooms: Weinberg, May

Standard plus rooms have private bathrooms and are available with either two queen-sized beds or three twin-sized beds.

Standard Plus Rooms	Two Nights
Single Occupancy	570
Double Occupancy	350

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Standard Rooms: Scheuer, Pine, Cedar, Maple, Blue Heron

Standard rooms have either a private bathroom or a bathroom shared with one other room. Most standard rooms have twin-sized beds; queen-sized beds may be available on a limited basis.

Standard Rooms	Two Nights
Single Occupancy with Private Bath	500
Single Occupancy with Shared Bath	420
Double Occupancy with Private Bath	300
Double Occupancy with Shared Bath	250

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Economy Rooms: Elm, Kaufman

Economy rooms have twin-sized beds and a shared bathroom in the hall.

Economy Rooms	Two Nights
Single Occupancy	330
Double Occupancy	200

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Camping

Campers supply their own tents and equipment and have access to bathrooms and showers. Camping fee includes all meals and snacks, use of the facility and its amenities, and participation in any open programming provided, such as meditation, yoga or non-holiday prayer.

Camping Rates	Two Nights
Each Camper	140

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Commuter

The commuter fee includes all meals and snacks, use of the facility and its amenities, and participation in any open programming provided, such as such as meditation, yoga or non-holiday prayer.

Commuter Rates	Two Nights
Each Commuter	130

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Children's Rates

There is no charge for infants and children ages 3 and under. Children ages 4–17 must share a room with at least one parent or guardian. Young adults ages 18 and above must pay the regular rates.

Children's Rates	Two Nights
Each Child	150

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Financial Assistance

One of our core values is that our programs should be accessible to everyone. We provide limited financial aid for Room and Board fees. This financial support is only available for dormitory rooms with hall baths and economy rooms for couples and families. If you would like to request financial support, please complete the Application for Financial Aid. In your request, please consider that we have a limited pool of resources.

All requests must be received at least three weeks prior to the retreat.

Please note that we are not able to make any refunds in order to grant an aid request. If you choose to register prior to being awarded aid, and your remaining balance is less than the aid award, you will forfeit any award in excess of your outstanding balance.

Please support our ability to continue to provide financial aid by making a donation online or by calling 800.398.2630.

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Cancellation Policy

Payments made will be refunded in full (less a $50 processing fee) if you cancel more than 14 days prior to your arrival. If you cancel between 13 days and 72 hours prior to a retreat for which you have registered, a non-refundable, non-transferable credit (less a $50 processing fee) will be held for one year from the date of issue. No credit or refund is available if you cancel within 72 hours of a retreat or on the retreat arrival day, if you do not show up, or if you leave a retreat early for any reason.

Isabella Freedman reserves the right to cancel any program at any time. In the event of such a cancellation, you will receive a complete refund.

Inclement Weather: Isabella Freedman reserves the right to cancel a retreat due to inclement weather if, in its judgment, it will be unable to operate safely. In the event of such a cancellation, a full refund will be made to all registrants. In the event that the retreat proceeds as scheduled, no refund or credit will be available.

Shuttle and Transportation Fees: A full transportation refund is available if you cancel a transportation reservation at least 3 days (72 hours) in advance. No refund is available if less than 3 days notice is given.

Training Institutes: If you are participating in a two-year training institute and you miss or cancel one of the weeklong retreat sessions, your room and board fee will be refunded according to the policy above, but the program fee for a missed or cancelled retreat session is still due. Withdrawal is permitted only after the first retreat session. If you withdraw from a training institute after the first retreat session, or if you are asked by faculty to leave the institute, you will receive a full refund on your program fee for any remaining pre-paid retreats.

Travel Insurance: We recommend you contact your travel agent to purchase travel insurance in the event that you need to cancel or change your travel plans.

Exceptions: Exceptions to these policies may be available in the event of severe weather emergencies or the death of a close family member. To request a non-transferable credit for one of these reasons, please submit a written request to registrar@isabellafreedman.org no more than three days after the start of the event.