Our Vision

Opening the Heart of Judaism

For 15 years Elat Chayyim has existed to renew and teach a responsible and compassionate Jewish practice that has a clear sense of identity, love of Judaism, and meaning for modern life. Elat Chayyim has transformed contemporary Jewish life with retreat programs that integrate Jewish learning, spirituality and culture. Our mission is to be a resource and center for the development, experience, and promotion of a comprehensive Jewish spiritual practice that helps seekers in their quest to be aware of the constant presence of the Divine in all aspects of life.

Over Labor Day 2006 Elat Chayyim closed its facility in Accord, New York and merged with the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Connecticut. Elat Chayyim’s operations and programs are now the Elat Chayyim Center for Jewish Spirituality (ECCJS) at Isabella Freedman.

The Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, an agency of UJA-Federation of New York, is located two hours from New York City and three hours from Boston in the Connecticut Berkshires. For more than 100 years, Isabella Freedman has been a pioneering social agency, committed to initiatives in informal Jewish education. Isabella Freedman has developed several innovative Jewish retreat programs including the Senior Adult Vacation Center, the Jewish Multiracial Network, the Teva Learning Center, and ADAMAH: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship.

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