Life is busy and our time is valuable, so every year, we must ask ourselves, “Why do we want to gather women of TBZ? What value will it offer us?” We gather intentionally in March, International Women’s Month, to turn our focus to women. After our previous women’s retreats, we have heard sentiments such as “This was so wonderful, I love doing this! We should do this more often!” So we know that it is valuable. Through shared experiences, our women’s gathering helps create a collective memory for us as well as moments that carry throughout the year. It allows us to celebrate and get to know each other, discover insights about ourselves, and deepen our connections to others, to TBZ, and ourselves.
We continue to ask the question of why a need for gendered space. Our retreat is open to people who experience the world as women (self-defined) to maintain the safety to explore sensitive topics without the need for the defenses that women often must use in multi-gendered spaces. This year, our theme is Ezrat Nashim: The Women’s Courtyard. This topic, drawn from both the women’s area of the Temple in Jerusalem and the women’s area of Orthodox synagogues, allows us to explore the question of women’s space, who defines it, and how we break, cross, and guard its boundaries. Come explore with us!
For TBZ Members only
(You must log in to your ShulCloud account first!)
8:30am Rosh Hodesh Davening (prayer) (MultiAccess) Sanctuary
9:00 Opening Remarks & Appreciation from Rav Tiferet (MultiAccess) Sanctuary
9:15-9:30 Sustenance Break (light refreshments) (in-person only) Community Room
9:30-10:15 Presence in Body:
Allison Talis is offering Nesfesh: A Soul Dance-Movement workshop. Nefesh is a guided improvisational movement practice that engages somatic awareness to facilitate personal growth, emotional well-being, and collective healing. We enter in gently, followed by a deeper, more visceral exploration, and we end in deep relaxation. Understanding the body holds our inherited epigenetic patterns and our present, we work with the body to release, untangle, and create new neural pathways towards integration.
Nefesh is a raw, non-verbal practice- set to music, where you should expect to sweat (though you are always in control of your rhythm and pace).
No yoga mat is needed, wear comfortable clothes you can sweat in, and bring water.
The session is for ages 18+, and no experience is needed
Feldenkrais Awareness through Movement® lessons offer us the opportunity, in this crazy busy world, to slow down and pay attention to ourselves while we make new movements which wake up the brain. ATM® may relieve pain and increase pleasure in our bodies, quiet our minds and help find new responses to old habits. The movements are simple, and can even be done in the imagination. Everyone, no matter where you are in your movement journey, is welcome. Bring a towel or mat if you would like to lay on the floor.
TBZ Member Nancy Lipman is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® teacher and an Acupuncturist, who, for over 30 years, has supported people to feel better and move with increased ease and energy. She practices in Cambridge and Roslindale.
10:15-10:30 Break
10:30-11:15 Creative Soul Expression:
Synopsis of the play: In New York City in 1946, a daughter and her father, Rose and Mordechai Weiss, have adapted to life as new Americans after escaping Poland before World War II. In their escape, they were forced to leave behind Rose’s sister Lusia and her mother. When Rose and Lusia are reunited, Rose tries to engage with an older sister who, having survived the horrors of war overseas, now seems a stranger. And Lusia—haunted by vivid memories of her past—struggles to connect with a family she barely knows. A Shayna Maidel explores family, faith, and forgiveness in the pursuit of a better future.
About Debbie: “I am long-term member of TBZ, former omember of chesed committe. I enjoy doodling, recently discovered neurographic art, found it relaxing and meditative, and invite you to come do it with me!”
In this workshop, you will create a visual interpretation of your concept of The Women’s Courtyard, or women’s space, using collage materials. We will consider how one creates a sense of space on a 2-dimensional surface, or perhaps venture into 2-½ or 3 dimensions if desired.
Participants can depict:
Working with found materials (newspaper, magazines, colored paper, tissue paper, wrapping paper), we will consider ways to use the pictures we select as representational elements or for their color and texture. This is an experimental project. You are invited to explore and tap your imagination.
11:15-11:30 Break
11:30-12:15 Mental Stimulation:
Founded in 1971 as a small women’s study group within the circuit of New York City’s Jewish counterculture, Ezrat Nashim worked to collect information on the status of women in Judaism and develop plans to rectify inequalities. Several prominent Jewish feminists, including Martha Ackelsberg, Arlene Agus, Paula Hyman, Elizabeth Koltun, and Dina Rosenfeld, were original members. A year after its inception, Ezrat Nashim presented its demands to the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly in the form of the manifesto entitled “Jewish Women Call for Change.” Come learn about the platform and consider what we would demand in our manifesto if we were writing one today.
Torah features a number of women that defy society’s expectations. We’ll focus on two women who act outside of sexual expectations and we’ll consider how our tradition views these women. Did they really misbehave? Or did they save the world?
Tikvah Chadasha Foundation Uganda is a community-based non-profit organization benefiting Jewish women and disabled children in Uganda. The mission of Tikvah Chadasha Uganda is to permanently eliminate grinding poverty through providing opportunities to earn a livelihood. Watch this powerful video to learn more about the Women’s Program Shoshana is excited to share aspects of the beautiful culture of this community called Abayudaya translated as the People of Juda. She will be speaking about the history of Judaism in Uganda, her experiences with the community, and how you can get involved. Originally from Southern California, Shoshana is a religious Jewish mom and stepmom living in Uganda full-time since 2021.
12:15-1:15pm Lunch in the Community Room (in-person only)
1:15-1:30-Meditative Sit with Nishmat Hayyim, TBZ’s Breath of Life Project (Sanctuary)
Nishmat Hayyim (Breath of Life) is the TBZ Jewish meditation project that is home to a core of Jewish meditators from diverse Jewish and meditation backgrounds. We are a resource for Jewish contemplative practices in the Boston area and throughout New England. Teachings and practices draw on the richness of Jewish texts, some Buddhist texts, and meditation instructions/techniques. Through weekly meditation sessions, contemplative Shabbats, Shabbat afternoon meditation sits, and day long retreats with renowned meditation teachers, Nishmat Hayyim offers opportunities for practice within a Jewish context, and highlights how this practice affects our humanity and our daily lives.
1:30-2:30 Keynote Speaker: Michelle Azar (Sanctuary)
Michelle Azar is an actress, singer and writer, currently portraying Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the national tour of the solo play ALL THINGS EQUAL, the life and trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by Rupert Holmes.
As published author; story teller, and teacher, she uses her degree in Drama Therapy to help unlock our life stories. We will see a snippet of her solo show, FROM BAGHDAD TO BROOKLYN, an emotive and humorous exploration of story and song through her experience growing up as a “mutt” , both of Sephardic and Ashekenazi descent. Then, she will lead us in a step by step workshop to help unlock our own stories, guiding us into what our personal “theme songs” of our own lives might be.
No performance skills necessary!
Just the willingness to listen and hear yourself, and the other sisters among you.
Michelle holds a BFA in Drama and MA in Drama Therapy from NYU. She is a Vinyasa Yoga Teacher, an Israeli dance, an alumni of d Habonim Dror Youth movement. She is a mother of 2 cool women, and the wife of Rabbi Jonathan Aaron. Her favorite form of volunteer work is as cantorial soloist in their synagogue, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills
2:45-3:30-Welcoming Rosh Hodesh Adar Bet (Sanctuary)
This year we are lucky to have two Adar months! And, our retreat just happens to be on Rosh Hodesh! So, let’s celebrate! We’ll use this time to both process what we received with from the Women’s retreat and create an Adar-themed craft to help us carry the joy from the day into the month and beyond!
Retreat ends at 3:30
Followed by Knitzvah at 4pm!
The Knitzvah Group is a subgroup of the Hesed Committee at TBZ. Our mission is to contribute to the sense of warmth, of being cared about and known within the Community by knitting together! We meet about once a month, from late Fall through spring, at members’ homes or virtually – and spend the evening knitting and crocheting (we teach/support from beginners to advanced) or doing any handiwork people choose to bring along with them. We make baby hats when there’s a new baby in a TBZ member’s family, and we make Caring Wraps (lap blankets and shawls) to bring to members who are ill or going through particularly challenging times. At meetings, we enjoy catching up with each other, as well as letting the group know of Community news and who might need something from us, the Hesed Committee, or the Rabbis. We’re a drop-in group – come once or as often as you’d like. Meetings are announced in Happenings.
If you would like to be on our mailing list, email knitzvah@tbzbrookline.org