In our generation’s search for healing over the past decades, Jewish authors and teachers have sought guidance from the ancient and divine.
Their excavation has revealed the astounding relevance of the mystical and sacred, discovering less-traveled paths towards love of self, expansion of limiting perspectives, and comfort in the presence of the Divine.
In this online course with Nadav Slovin, teacher of text, student of psychotherapy, and facilitator of awakened Jewish practice, we will explore six frameworks of healing in Jewish text and tradition.
We will begin with Chanukah, an encounter with the infinite light of God embedded in the human soul, a theme that will weave its way into all six weeks of study.
We will be encountering a variety of texts along our path ranging from contemporary perspectives and modalities to the timeless pesukim of Torah, Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Mussar and Chassidut.
In addition to offering a warm communal forum for discussion and sharing, practice will be interlaced with text study throughout our course. Along our journey of personal discovery and growth, of self embrace and gentle release, we will integrate embodied practice, including meditation, writing, movement, and art.
All texts will be provided with clear line-by-line translations, and no prior knowledge or experience with the subject matter is necessary. This course is welcoming of advanced students and novices alike.
How does it work?
Healing Light consists of 6 recorded sessions, each engaging a new perspective or modality of understanding and facilitating emotional healing.
The sessions are approximately 1.25 hours each.
Registrants gain lifetime access to all the course materials, including the recordings of every class.
Sessions consist of close study of texts interspersed with guided practices that will support personal growth and spiritual encounter alongside our learning.
Each session includes:
1) A recorded class.
2) Guided personal practice.
3) A printable handout of relevant texts from Biblical, Rabbinic, Kabbalistic and Chassidic sources, provided in full translation with introductory comments and guiding questions.
The Six Sessions
We will be studying the first two lines of the Shema prayer in great depth. Our prayer, the chant that has accompanied our people throughout the generations, is hardly linear. It is a journey, an invitation to partake in a process that began in the creation of the world and will conclude in the days to come, the days of full revelation. We will enter through the portal of its opening cry:
1. Shema (Hear), and proceed to explore on a circuitous route through the first pasuk -
2. Echad (One)
3. Adonai Eloheinu (The Eternal our G!d)
4. Adonai (The Eternal)
5. Yisrael (Israel), ultimately concluding on the whisper that follows -
6. Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L’Olam Va’ed
(Blessed be the Name of His glorious sovereignty forever and all time).
1) Shema (Hear): What is unique about the faculty of hearing? Is it truly within our human capacity to hear the word of G!d? How might we cultivate a listening ear and an open heart?
2) Echad (One): Written in bold, the Torah calls us to our pasuk’s conclusion: One. The essential descriptor of our G!d. What is the deeper meaning of our proclamation? Our exploration will serve as a guiding light into genuine personal growth throughout our course.
3) Adonai Eloheinu (The Eternal our G!d): If our goal is to proclaim G!d’s oneness, why include multiple names? What aspects of G!d are indicated by the names encountered in Shema, and what is the union that we seek to bring and perceive through our chant?
4) Adonai (The Eternal): Despite our progress, mystery remains. Why repeat Adonai? The repetition demands that the repetitive names are not identical and static but point to a process. What does it mean for G!d to go through a process, and what is its catalyst?
5) Yisrael (Israel): Within the grandeur of the Shema's theological poetry, reaching beyond all galaxies and stars, stands a simple being: Yisrael. Our forefather Jacob, our people Israel. What is our role in all this?
6) Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L’Olam Va’ed. A whisper. (Blessed be the Name of His glorious sovereignty forever and all time). Mysterious and secretive, these powerful words draw the nourishing waters of the Shema into our lives, offering a patient and healthy path towards achieving our ultimate dreams.