Some Recent Shabbatonim, Scholar-in-Residencies and Workshops
Given for Communities and Conferences by Rabbi Goldie Milgram

Themes: Reclaiming Judaism as a Spiritual Practice; Creating a Mitzvah-Centered Life; Advances and Controversies in Jewish Bio-ethics; Depth Study in the Mitzvah of Yirah; Important Metaphors in Torah and Siddur; Jewish Healing; Teshuvah: Do You Always Have to Forgive?; Jewish Meditation in Nature; Exploring Jewish Spiritual Masters; Celebration of Jewish Story; New Mitzvah Stories for the Whole Family; B Mitzvah Family Adventure; Jewish Approaches to Spiritual Guidance and Development; Why Be Jewish? Does the Jewish People Exist for a Reason? Exploring Jewish Literature; Advancing Jewish Art

EXAMPLE SHABBATON SESSIONS:
Friday:
Kabbalat Shabbat (sermon spot): Interactive dialogue with community on shabbaton: Creating a Mitzvah-Centered Life
 [better title for some settings is Creating a Jewish Spiritual Life..same contents just a titling issue]

Saturday:
Shabbat Morning: Created service and ensemble led Farbrengen*-style service with support from local Jewish musicians. *core prayers/parsha with a pertinent powerful story woven throughout


Saturday oneg: Interactive workshop on primary Jewish spiritual practices (mitzvot) such as Lo Tikom: Refraining from Holding a Grudge, Teshuvah: Healing Relationships; Shmirat HaGuf, "The body is the instrument on which the soul plays life for God";

Saturday evening: "Scat-style" Jazz Mitzvah-Centered Storytelling Havdallah

Sunday
9:30-11:30
Mystical Text study on Metaphor of Rock within Torah, Siddur, Midrash, Zohar

1:30-4 pm B Mitzvah! Family Adventure program

7-9:00 pm  In-service Training for regional Jewish principals and teachers on theme of Jewish Spiritual Education:  Principles , Methods and Resources

EXAMPLE SHABBATON/SESSIONS
Friday
Tot Shabbat 5-5:30 pm: Told interactive mitzvah-centered Ethiopian story with hand-puppet

Regular Friday night service given by local rabbi and cantor
a. Candle-lighting meditation (5 levels of the soul) the sermon spot: 

b. Interactive talk:  "How Happiness Happens: An Exploration of Soulful Jewishness"

Shabbat after services after the oneg: Experiential Education approach to teaching text: "Touched by Torah: Looking at the Sacrificial System through New Eyes"


Havdallah Fargrengen-style program: The God of Curried Fish: A Mitzvah-Centered Story


Sunday:
9:30-11:30 Inter-generational program adults through grade 6 

"What's in a Jewish Name?"


1-2 PM Steinzaltz Global Day of Learning (whole community)

I gave the interactive keynote based on Jewish tradition that "All faces in Torah are the Face of G*d"

 2-3 PM In-service training for region's Jewish educators: Introduction to Methods of Jewish Spiritual Education under theme of "Creating a Mitzvah-Centered Life" each community bought one of our Mitzvah Card decks for participating teachers ($8 each for 12 or more)


EXAMPLE SHABBATON/SESSIONS

Friday night: Led candle-lighting meditation and 
in sermon spot using storytelling and text reader (available) introduced theme of mitzvah of Yirah [Judaism teaches for a mitzvah-centered life to be realized the soul needs to wings to fly: Ahavah and Yirah, Love and Awe]


Saturday am: Led creative service that I built on conference call together with volunteers in dance/movement/theatre/music/meditation from the synagogue.


Saturday after Oneg: Experiential text study on theme of Yirah (awesome/fearsome) vs pachad (fear).


Sunday
8 am: Led Jewish meditation service out in nature in national park


10-12: B Mitzvah! Family Adventure Workshop with B'nei mitzvah families


 2-3: Storytelling at Jewish Home for the Elderly

3-4: Text study on Yirah with assisted living and independent living residents

EXAMPLE REGIONAL SHABBATON/SESSIONS
Topic was "Do You Always Have to Forgive?"
)

Friday night: Reform Congregation: Story and discussion


Saturday
Morning: Conservative Congregation
. In-depth text study and discussion
 Saturday afternoon: Experiential, playful and yet serious approaches to Teshuvah with families in a picnic setting (community-wide)


Sunday
Morning: BJE: Educator in-service training in methods of Mitzvah-Centered Jewish Spiritual Education
Afternoon: 3 hr Do You Always Have to Forgive workshop  (Reconstructionist Congregation) 

EXAMPLE SHABBATON/SESSIONS
Theme: Torah and Metaphor

Friday night: Torah and Metaphor [I'm presently writing on this topic], teachings done as "voice overs" during the regular service to show the powerful metaphoric portals to "connection" within prayer and Torah


Saturday
After oneg: Text study on metaphor of Rock [tzur/evehn] within Torah 
Saturday night: Farbrengen style with Ohr/Light metaphor


Sunday
Morning: Expressive arts study of water/mayyim metaphor within Torah, midrash, tefillah, Zohar



F. EXAMPLE SHABBATON/SESSIONS(this one was during Sukkot)

Friday night: Metaphor of Anan/Cloud Part I, poetry and text study during oneg

Saturday

Shabbat service out in nature:
Co-created and led fabrengen style service during conference calls with local talent/leaders


Saturday late afternoon: Sunday studies lying on our backs with texts and meditation on Anan/Cloud on a knoll over the ocean


Sunday morning: B'nei Mitzvah Family Adventure Program


Sunday pm: Expressive arts exploration of mitzvah of Sukkah and understanding of Anan/Cloud

[Note: This model works beautifully for focusing on only one metaphor each time
, e.g., stone, water, fire, cloud, tree, etc.]

G. EXAMPLE SHABBATON/SESSIONS
THEME: Jewish Healing [also led a version of this for the AMA and the APA]


Friday:
During Service: Story/teaching in sermon spot

After oneg:
Open mike: "Healing from the Wounds of Growing Up Jewish" I shared my story and then opened the floor to stories from those present (fascinating and important doorways to healing opportunities)


Saturday:
During Shabbat service: Led bibliodrama on expulsion of Hagar during the service


After oneg: Depth study in methods of Jewish healing using a core Talmudic text on depression


Havdallah:
Women's Jewish healing session with local Rosh Chodesh group


Sunday
Morning: Jewish healing ritual based on study of sacrificial system Torah text on " mistakes of leaders"


H. EXAMPLE SHABBATON/SESSIONS
Theme: Jewish Bio-Ethics: How Science and Religion Meet in Healthy and Holy Ways

Friday Night: Story to introduce theme in sermon spot
Friday
Oneg Discussion: Organ Transplantation: The Incredible Story of Judaism as an Evolving Spiritual Practice

Shabbat Day:
Morning Oneg Text Study: Designer Babies: Fascinating Controversies in Jewish Bioethics

Havdallah: Exploration by Candlelight:
Judaism: When Does Life Begin and End?

Sunday
Morning: Lobbying Congress: Opening discussion and study of hot topics followed by break-out groups to plan community initiatives [Consider inviting interested Hillel students and teens too, to this and most of these shabbaton models]

INQUIRIES