A Three-Day Jewish Meditation Practice led by Rabbi Jeffrey Roth
The Jewish New Year, 5787, begins on Friday night, September 11, 2026. It is traditional Jewish practice to spend the month preceding Rosh Hashanah, the month of Elul, preparing oneself spiritually for the coming year. This can include introspection and an honest appraisal of one’s current state of heart/mind, helping us to enter the new year with a renewed sense of openness to possibilities for a life filled with wisdom compassion and kindness — qualities we might ascribe to Divine encounter and inspiration.
The practice of introspection is well supported by contemplative practice which we can call Jewish Mindfulness/Heartfulness meditation. This practice teaches us to awaken our attention to the present moment of experience.
The present moment is constantly changing and it is difficult to maintain attention. We get caught up almost immediately in reactivity and distract ourselves with endless stories about life and our place in it. We focus on planning how to get the things we want and get rid of what we don’t want — including people and situations. Driven by a small sense of self, we act selfishly and in self-centered ways. Awakened attention, in contrast, allows us to see the Sacred Divine Unfolding behind and within All-Being and experience our place as part of that Unfolding, sometimes called mystical experience or mystical revelation.
During this weekend retreat we will learn a variety of practices including contemplative prayer and chant on Friday night and Shabbat morning, using Shabbat observance as a vehicle to bring us into Sacred space/time. Our time together will be conducted in social silence (refraining from speaking with each other), allowing each of us to pay more sustained attention to the normal mundane workings of mind and ego.
Through didactic teaching and practice instructions, Rabbi Roth will guide your experience and present a variety of ways to gain insight into the conventional conditioning of mind and the possibilities of new ways of perceiving that can contribute to renewed spiritual engagement as we enter a new Jewish year.
Our program will begin Friday night before Shabbat dinner with introductions and a contemplative Kabbalat Shabbat service. We’ll eat dinner in silence, allowing us to savor the sacred privilege of a Holy-day meal. Following dinner we’ll have one additional practice period, ending the evening by 9:30pm.
Shabbat morning will begin with a sitting practice at 9am, Shabbat morning chants from 10am–12pm, including looking at the weekly Torah portion for sacred wisdom and guidance. A silent lunch and break will be followed by an afternoon session from 2–6pm and another silent meal.
An evening practice session will finish with havdallah by 9:30pm.
The WJC congregation will be gathering at 10:30pm with Rabbi Karen for an interpretive and interactive Selichot service — an opportunity to review the accomplishments of the past year, the ways we’ve “missed the mark,” and to set intentions for moving forward — that all are welcome to join.
On Sunday morning we’ll gather once more following breakfast on your own for some final silent practice, a chance for Q and A, some practice speaking with each other about the coming new year and a closing sharing session about what was experienced in this mini-retreat.
REGISTER HERE!
Rabbi Jeff Roth was ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi as well as by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He was the co-founder of Elat Chayyim, the Jewish Spiritual Retreat Center in Accord, NY, where he served as Executive Director and Spiritual Director for 15 years. Currently he is the founder and Director of The Awakened Heart Project for Contemplative Judaism. Rabbi Roth was part of the team that introduced contemporary Jewish meditation to assorted Jewish leaders in the mid 90s which led to hundreds of temples and synagogues supporting meditation groups today. He has facilitated of over 200 Jewish meditation retreats. He is the author of Jewish Meditation Practices for Everyday Life and Me, Myself and God from Jewish Lights Publishing.