Exploring the Zohar

August 13-19, 2007

What exactly is the Zohar? Why is it considered the masterpiece of Kabbalah? How does it revolutionize Judaism? How can its deep, ancient wisdom transform us today?

Daniel and Hana Matt will explore these questions with us, studying the teachings of the Zohar and engaging in spiritual practices to directly experience Divine Presence and deepen our spiritual lives.

The selections we will study are from Daniel’s groundbreaking translation and commentary—The Zohar: Pritzker Edition. Among the topics to be covered: the feminine aspect of God (Shekhinah), the mystical dimension of Torah, the radical idea that God needs us, the spiritual and psychological meaning of the ten sefirot (divine qualities), and Kabbalistic techniques of meditation.

Teachers

Daniel Matt is one of the world’s leading scholars of Kabbalah and the Zohar. For twenty years he served as professor of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and he has also taught at Stanford and Hebrew University. He has published nine books, including the best-selling The Essential Kabbalah (translated into six languages) and God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony between Science and Spirituality. Currently, Daniel is engaged in the formidable task of translating and explicating the Zohar. For this work, Daniel has been honored with a National Jewish Book Award and a Koret Jewish Book Award. The Koret award called his translation “a monumental contribution to the history of Jewish thought.”

Hana Matt is a teacher of Jewish spirituality and also a Jewish Spiritual Director in Berkeley. She is completing her book, Jewish Spiritual Practices and Spiritual Direction from Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism. Hana leads Jewish meditation retreats and teaches classes in Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, and Jewish meditation in the Zohar at Chochmat HaLev. In addition, she teaches “World Religions” and “Jewish Spirituality” at Graduate Theological Union, in Berkeley, at Naropa University in Oakland, CA, and at the Institute of Wisdom Studies in San Francisco.

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Registration Information

Adult Fees

The program fee for this class is $300; take a second class this week for 50% off! Fees are per person, and do not include the cost of Room and Board (see table on the right).

Room and board includes housing, meals, Shabbat services, evening activities, hot tub, yoga, meditation, and full use of our facility. All rooms are air-conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter. Adults fees apply to ages 15 and higher.

Limited financial aid is available.

Arrival and Departure

Please arrive between 2pm and 5pm on the day your retreat begins. Retreats end with brunch at 11:30am on the last day of the retreat.

Cancellation Policy

• Receive a full refund minus a $75 processing fee for cancellations more than 30 days prior to retreat.
• If you cancel between 30 days and one day in advance, a non-refundable credit (less a $75 processing fee) will be held for one year from the date of issue. This credit is non-transferable.
• No credit or refund is available if you cancel less than 24 hours in advance or on the workshop’s arrival day, if you do not attend a retreat, or if you leave a retreat early for any reason.

The Elat Chayyim Center for Jewish Spirituality reserves the right to cancel any program at any time. In this event, you will be given a complete refund.

For transportation: A full refund of transportation fees is available if you cancel at least three days (72 hours) in advance. No refund is available if less than three days notice is given. For more information on getting here, please visit our Travel & Transportation page.

Register now!

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