JICC Program Book 2014

Jewish Intentional Communities Conference November 20th - 23rd, 2014, Falls Village, Connecticut

WELCOME!

All of us here at Hazon are so glad you have decided to join us here at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center for our the second annual Jewish Intentional Communities Conference, produced in partnership with the Pearlstone Center, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Siach. Here is some information that will help make your stay more comfortable and enjoyable.

ROOMS We don’t have keys here at Isabella Freedman. Doors do lock from the inside. Please make sure your door is unlocked when you leave your room and please shut off your lights when not in use. Let us know if you need any additional hospitality items for your room.

PARKING

Please park in designated areas only. These are the parking lot near the tennis court or down by the barnyard. Cars parked on or along the main campus road are an obstruction to emergency vehicles and subject to towing at the owner’s expense.

KASHRUT

Our kosher kitchen is under the strict supervision of the Hartford Kashrut Commission and is overseen on campus our Mashgiach (kosher supervisor). Any outside food or beverage must be checked by the Mashgiach on duty and be in it's original packaging in order to be consumed in any dining areas.

COMPOSTING & RECYCLING We are a green organization.

Our disposable plates, napkins, tableware, and cups are all compostable!

Please put them in the correct bin in the main hall or under the coffee bar.

Please recycle using the proper receptacles. Remember to think twice about the proper place to dispose of waste -- it’s likely not the trash bin!

SMOKING Smoking is prohibited in all buildings. Please only smoke at the fire circle by Lake Miriam.

EMERGENCY CALLS In the event of a medical emergency,

please call 911. If you need to call 911 using a campus phone, please note you must dial 9 to get an outside line first and then 911, thus 9-911.

Afterwards please call our emergency phone at 860 824 3068 immediately.

CHECK OUT

On Sunday, please leave your rooms by 9:15am and place your luggage in your car or in the Great Hall. When leaving your room, please put your sheets in one pillow case by the door.

WORKSHOP THEMES Session themes reflect the continuously evolving journey of creating Jewish intentional community: examining our history reminds us where we've come from and upon whose shoulders we stand.

Learning about existing and nascent Jewish intentional communities, and:P considering some of the issues they face, gives us a solid sense of where we are. And "getting our hands dirty" in practical workshops helps us develop the skills to get where we're going.

HISTORY of JICs (4 sessions)

Explore the history of intentional communities in Israel as well as a variety of pioneer communities in the U.S.

SHORTER-TERM & THEMED JICs (5 sessions)

Learn about communities formed for specific groups (young adults, professionals), purposes (connection to land/Israel, social justice/ entrepreneurship), or durations.

LONGER-TERM JICs (5 sessions)

Learn about more permanent or intergenerational communities, both the existing (and mission-driven) ones in Israel and the nascent ones in the U.S.

ISSUES FACED BY JICs

(5 sessions) Consider some of the issues and challenges that arise in the creation and operation of intentional communities.

SKILLS for JICs

(6 sessions) Participate in practical workshops that will enhance your ritual, organizational, group process, and community-building skills.

Open Space Open Space Technology means the sessions are crafted by conference participants.

How Open Space will work at JICC: 1. Saturday, between 7:15-8:30pm we invite you to propose a topic by writing it on the paper posted on the wall in the great hall. Proposed topics should be in the realm of "Where we're going from here".

2. Saturday, between 8:30pm - 10pm, vote for your top 3 topics. The topics with the most votes will be chosen and assigned rooms for Sunday morning sessions.

3. Sunday 9:15 - 10:45 attend the session of your choice! Choose 1 member of the session to report back to the full group in the closing.

Mealtime Caucus Spaces We will have several caucus spaces available during meals. These are loosely facilitated conversations where folks can get together and connect with others who have shared identities. Conversation will be directed by the interest of those who come. This usually looks like discussing how that identity shows up in the space and/or the intersection between said identity and building Jewish Intentional Communities. The caucus spaces that have been scheduled are below.

• Friday Breakfast: Families Caucus, lounge • Friday Lunch: LGBTQ Caucus, lounge

• Sat breakfast: Sephardic / Mizrachi / Jews of Color Caucus, lounge • Sat Lunch: Young People Caucus, lounge

THURSDAY 2:00pm

Check In - Guest Services

7-8:15pm

Opening - Great Hall

6 - 7pm

8:30-9:45pm

Dinner

Panel: Many Faces of Jewish Intentional Communities - Great Hall

10pm

The Cosmic Walk: A Tour of Our Universe from the Beginning to Us with David Seidenberg - Beige Yurt

Rise Up Singing Sing Along with Jon Leiner - Synagogue

Orthodox Ma’ariv - Red Yurt

FRIDAY 7:00am

Yoga with Sarah Young- Beige Yurt

7:30am

Orthodox Shacharit - Red Yurt

8 - 9am

9 - 10:15am

Avodat Lev - Adamah Fellowship prayer service - Synagogue Breakfast

Families Caucus, lounge Breakout Sessions 1

• The History of Intentional Communities in Israel in the 20th century with Aharon Ariel Lavi and James Grant Rosenhead (History of JIC) - Synagogue

• What Do We Do When I Live Downwind from Your Dung Heap? A Look at a few Talmudic Texts on Intentional Living with Arthur Kurzweil (Issues Faced by JIC's) Red Yurt

• Models of Young Adult Intentional Communities with Sara Zebovitz, Steph Sperber, & Itai Gal (Shorter-Term and Themed JIC) - Lounge • Exploring Ritual in the Home with Jessica (Yaffa) Rubin (Skills for JIC) - Beige Yurt • Come to the North Country with Basia Yoffe (Longer-Term JIC) - Guest Services

10:30-11:45am Breakout Sessions 2

• The Jewish Alliance Revival Project: A Modern Jewish Farming Community … 130 Years in the Making with William & Malya Levin (History of JIC) - Synagogue • To Build or Not to Build: Unpacking the Question of Creating Exclusively Jewish Intentional Communities with Margot Seigle and Eliana Golding (Issues Faced by

JIC's) - Red Yurt

• Social Entrepreneurship as a Key to Creating Community with Sveta Shalayev (Shorter-Term and Themed JIC) - Lounge

• Accepting and Demanding: A Workshop of Practical Community-Building Tools with Ofir Elmalah (Skills for JIC) - Beige Yurt

12 - 1pm

Lunch

1-2pm

JOFEE Infusion

Homesteading off the grid: A DIY Workshop -- Pickling with ADAMAH Farmers - Great Hall

LGBTQ Caucus, Lounge

2:15-3:30pm

Slowing Down into Shmita with Jessica (Yaffa) Rubin - Red Yurt

The End is the Beginning: Introduction to Seed Libraries with Janna Siller, ADAMAH Field Manager - Lounge Organic Growing in Community: Farm Tour with Arielle Solomon - Meet Outside Arts & Crafts Breakout Sessions 3

• Case Study: Beit Chavura with Marty Warbar and Sarina Berlow (History of JIC) Lounge • Urban Moshav: Creating Jewish Co-housing in Berkeley and Beyond with Roger Studley (Longer-Term JIC) - Synagogue

• Creating a "Community Facility" in NYC: Urban Planning & Zoning in the Big City with Philip Angel (Issues Faced by JIC's) - Red Yurt • Introduction to Consensus and Navigating Conflict as a Group with David Arfa (Skills for JIC) - Beige Yurt

3:30pm

Get ready for Shabbat

4:15pm

Kabbalat Shabbat

4:10pm

Candle Lighting - Great Hall

Orthodox - Red Yurt

Traditional Egalitarian / Renewal - Synagogue 6pm

Shabbat Dinner

Nigel Savage and Aharon Ariel Lavi - Great Hall

7:30pm 9pm

Hakhel: Emerging Jewish Intentional Communities with Tisch - Singing, Stories, L’Chaims - Synagogue

The Work that Reconnects - Sarah Chandler - Beige Yurt

Night Hike - with Teva educators - Meet Outside Arts and Crafts

SATURDAY 8:00am

Yoga with Sarah Young - Beige Yurt

8 - 9:30am

Breakfast

Morning Meditation withe Jessica (Yaffa) Rubin

Sephardic / Mizrachi / Jews of Color Caucus, lounge 9-11:30pm

Orthodox Shabbat Service - Beige Yurt

Traditional Egalitarian / Renewal Service - Synagogue

11:30-12:30pm Torah Study

Hakhel: A Shabbat Learning of the Jewish Fundamentals of Intentional

Communities with Aharon Ariel Lavi (Lounge) Ishbitz Torah on Communal Living with Psachya (Beige Yurt) 12:30 - 2pm

Shabbat Lunch

2-3:15pm

Breakout Session 4

Young People Caucus, Lounge • The Chavurah Movement: Testimony from a Participant-Observer with Kurzweil (History of JIC) - Lounge

Arthur

• Case Study: Pearlstone Moshav with Psachya Lichtenstein & Julie Tonti (Longer-Term JIC) - Red Yurt • Shared Jewish Workspace: Professional Intentional Communities with

• Naomi Friedman Rabkin, Lauren Greenberg & Jon Leiner (Shorter-Term and Themed JIC) - Synagogue • Group Spiritual Direction with Jacob Staub (Skills for JIC) - Beige Yurt

3:25pm

Orthodox Mincha - Red Yurt

3:45-5pm

Breakout Session 5

Welcoming Sunset: Acceptance Practices for the Winter Season with Sarah Chandler - Synangogue • Mishigoyim (“crazy people”) in Babylonia, in the Shtetl, in the Chavurah Movement, in Jewish Renewal and in My Neighborhood: Dealing with difficult individuals in Jewish communities with Arthur Kurzweil (Issues Faced by JIC's) - Synagogue • Learning from the Israeli Intentional Communities Movement: What Works, What Doesn't, Best-Practices, Advice & Suggestions with Aharon Ariel Lavi and James Grant Rosenhead (Longer-Term JIC) - Red Yurt • Lessons From 10 Years of Building Community at Adamah with Shamu Sadeh (Shorter-Term and Themed JIC) - Lounge

• The Way Community is Shaped Through Learning with Matan Lax (Skills for JIC) Beige Yurt

5:15-6:30pm

Breakout Session 6

• Dealing with Internal Conflicts: How can a Social Business Maintain a Stable Community? with Tzur Oren (Issues Faced by JIC's) - Red Yurt

• Urban Kibbutzim: Who? What? How? Why? with James Grant Rosenhead (LongerTerm JIC) - Lounge • Working for Justice with Your Intentional Community: Moishe Kavod Jewish Social Justice House case study with Helen Bennett (Shorter-Term and Themed JIC) - Beige Yurt • Dynamic Governance for Intentional Community with Jerry Koch-Gonzalez (Skills for JIC) - Synagogue

6:30pm

Orthodox Ma’ariv - Red Yurt

6:45pm

Havdallah with ADAMAH & TEVA - Great Hall

Niggun Circle - Synagogue

7:15pm Dinner

Meet the Hakhel Applicants!

7:15 - 8:30pm Open Space Sign Up in Great Hall 8:30pm

Shmita Bazaar & Barter Fair - Great Hall

8:30 - 10pm

Open Space Voting - Great Hall

9pm

Screening ‘At Home In Utopia’ - Synagogue Campfire Sing Along w Daniel Kieval - Bonfire Pit

SUNDAY 7:00am

Yoga with Sarah Young- Beige Yurt

Renewal Davenen - Synagogue

7:30am 8-9am

Orthodox Shacharit - Red Yurt Breakfast

Everyone must be out of their room by 9:15am 9:15-10:45a

Open Space: Where Are We Going? - see Open Space Schedule

12pm - 1pm

Lunch

11a - 12pm

12pm - 2pm

Closing Circle - Great Hall

ADAMAH Market - Great Hall

The People Arthur Kurzweil‘s

own personal quest eventually led him to explore his spiritual identity, which resulted in his seminal book on Jewish genealogical research, the classic best seller From Generation to Generation. Realizing that there were relatively few serious Jewish books available to the English language reader, Arthur Kurzweil developed what has been described as a visionary plan to transform the experience of the Jewish seeker looking for nourishing Jewish books. During his tenure as an editor and publisher, Arthur Kurzweil has commissioned and published over 700 volumes of Jewish interest.

Arthur is the author of On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz: 25 Years of Pre-Dawn Car Trips, Mind-Blowing Encounters and Inspiring Conversations with a Man of Wisdom.

The book is Arthur’s spiritual memoir about his experiences as a student and chauffeur for one of the great Jewish leaders of our time, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. Arthur is also the author of Pebbles of Wisdom from Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (2009), a collection of teachings on a wide range of subjects by Rabbi Steinsaltz.

Arthur was approached by the famous “for Dummies” series, who invited him to write Kabbalah for Dummies, based on his serious private studies with some of the leading authorities in the field of Kabbalah, and because of Arthur’s reputation as a teacher who is able to explain difficult spiritual concepts in down to earth, accessible language. Arthur is also the author of The Torah for Dummies.

Arthur has had a lifelong passion for books. Trained as a professional librarian, editorin-chief of the Jewish Book Club for 17 years, past president of the Jewish Book Council, Judaica acquisitions editor and literary agent, Arthur Kurzweil came to a personal conclusion that the ultimate book for him is the one often described as the cornerstone of Jewish culture, the Talmud.

With the guidance of his teacher, the renowned Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Arthur Kurzweil has inspired many people across the United States to discover and get entangled with the Talmud. As the Coordinator of the Talmud Circle Project, under the direction of Rabbi Steinsaltz, Arthur Kurzweil’s mission has been to introduce the Talmud to Jewish spiritual seekers. He has been the catalyst for many individuals as well as synagogue groups who now study Talmud regularly.

Arthur Kurzweil is also an accomplished magician. A member of the Society of American Magicians (founded by Harry Houdini) as well as a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Arthur Kurzweil blends his spiritual interests with magical effects, adding his own insights and weaving together an enchanting presentation for his audiences.

Roger Studley

is founder of Urban Moshav, a nonprofit development partner for Jewish cohousing. He has been an organizer of San Francisco’s pluralist Mission Minyan, co-founder of Berkeley’s East Bay Minyan, and co-chair of a Hazon Food Conference. Roger has doctoral training in economics from U.C. Berkeley and, when not creating Urban Moshav, works half-time in his “day job” as a Senior Research Associate in education for RTI International, a large nonprofit multidisciplinary research institute.

Roger is married to Rabbi Chai Levy and looks forward to moving into Berkeley Moshav, the world’s first Jewish cohousing community, with Chai and their son Ezra in the next few years.

Jessica Rubin (Yaffa)

is a naturalist, wilderness first responder, earthtender, licensed educator, mentor, & Kohenet in training with a Masters in Environmental Studies. She has 18 years of wilderness guiding experience and is the founder/creative director of Roots and Trails, an Eco-Jewish Education and Mentoring business in Central Vermont. She has also been a contributing member of Living Tree Alliance. Her college thesis was a book of poetry entitled ‘On the Trail to Nowhere” about how Intentional Communities are at the forefront of human consciousness evolution. She is most excited about exploring with others how to revitalize the earth-based roots of the Jewish tradition in Community within today’s context.

Philip S. Angel

grew up on a “back to the land” farm north of Charleston, WV. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and a few credits shy of a Masters of Fina Arts degreee in Poetry from Brooklyn College. Mr. Angel is self-employed as a NYC Zoning Resolution and Buildnig Code Consultant. He has worn several hats over the last 20 years: Zen Buddhist novitiate, Elat Chayyim intern, grass roots organizer in southern WV, kibbutznik, Hebrew teacher, etc. Mr. Angel and his wife, Aviva Zakarin-Angel and their three children,

Hillel, Avraham & Zohar

a are actively exploring the possibility of joining or starting an intentional Jewish community in NYC.

David Arfa

has lived in cooperative houses and practiced consensus for over 9 years. He has taught an Introduction to Consensus at the Chicago Cooperative and Communities Gathering and for the Chicago AVODAH Corps. He is a cartographer and lives in Chicago with his husband.

James Grant Rosenhead

is a founder member of the biggest urban kibbutz in Israel, of a national network of olim social activist urban kibbutzim, and of the national communities council. James was born in Leeds, England in 1974. James became active as a Jewish Zionist youth leader with Habonim Dror in 1990 after his first visit to

Israel. From 1992-3 James spent a year of leadership training in Israel, then returned and directed local branches of the youth movement around London until 1996. He completed his LLB.Hons Law degree in 1996, then served as HDUK’s national secretary until 1998. Concerned for the future of the Jewish world and Israel, and inspired by the first urban kibbutzim, James made aliyah to Jerusalem in 1999 with Kvutzat Yovel – the first Anglo olim to build a thriving urban kibbutz. From 1999-2010 James led a worldwide transformation and renewal of Habonim Dror programs, education and ideology from their traditional kibbutz bases towards social activist urban kvutzot. The result is a new adult movement of activist kvutzot including olim from around the world. Since 2010 James has been coordinating nationwide social justice and education projects of activist community networks through Tikkun (NGO), of which he is the Joint CEO. James is a founding director of the Israeli Council of Communities for Social Action, the umbrella body of 14 national networks of activist communities. James is married with three daughters in Nazareth Illit, in the urban activist Kibbutz Mishol.

Matan Lax

Is the founder and director of BASE - a vibrant Young Adult downtown Toronto Beit Midrash & community. Matan is a graduate of Ein Prat Leadership Academy and is a full staff member. The past 2 summers Matan lead the prestigious Elul program. Matan visited Toronto 3 years ago, and identified the void in young pluralistic Beit Midrash programs like in Ein Prat and Israel. Upon returning to Israel he envisioned the establishment of BASE; he fundraised and made his dream into a reality. Matan was raised in Yeshuv Alon, a pluralistic vibrant community where he was involved in leadership through the Zofim (Israeli Scouts). Matan is 26 and is looking to create a change in the way young people deal with their Jewish Identity.

Tzur Oren

is the Coordinator of “Ketzev,” a Jewish Agency program that helps groups of idealistic young Israelis to create social-activism businesses that raise the quality of life in Israel’s geographic and cultural peripheries. Ketzev helps young social activists to create programs that are both uplifting to the surrounding communities and also financially self-sustaining. As Program Coordinator, Mr. Oren is responsible for developing the marketing strategy for Ketzev, providing executive and strategic support to the activists, and monitoring their progress. Tzur was raised in Moshav Neve Ilan , a mixed Moshav where he was involved in leadership through the local youth organization. Tzur holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, with honors, from The Open University of Jerusalem, with a concentration in Political Science and Communications And MBA from the Hebrew University. Previous to his work at The Jewish Agency, Tzur was Director of Marketing for the Reut Community Mental Health Organization in Jerusalem, for whom he managed strategic brand planning, public relations, and social media marketing. He also previously spent three years living in Houston, Texas, where he was Operations Manager for Optimum Real Estate Investments. Tzur additionally has professional experience in product management, online news content, and security.

Aharon Ariel Lavi

is the founder and director of the Nettiot Mission-Driven Communities Network, reengaging Haredi Ba’aley Teshuva (Returnees) into Israeli society.

He is also founder of Garin Shuva – A Jewish Eco-Mission-Driven-community on the Gaza border and co-founder of the National Council of Mission-Driven Communities, and a member of its steering committee. Lavi is also involved in developing similar Jewish intentional communities in North America. Aharon is Founder and Director of the Hitzim social business in the Negev, and was involved in many other social initiatives and also used to work for the National Union of Israeli Students as a researcher and project manager. In addition, he edited a book on Judaism, Society and Economics and wrote over 100 articles dealing with Judaism, Economics, Social Justice, Environmentalism and more, and also participated in the Halihcot Olam center for Judaism and Environmentalism. Aharon is completing his MA studies at the Science, Technology & Society program at Bar-Ilan University and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics & Geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He lives with his wife Liat and their three children at Shuva. In 2013-14 Aharon was a Tikvah Fund fellow, situated in NYC.

Sveta Shalayev

is one of ten students that have leaded the program “Choosing Tomorrow” in Nazareth Illit. Choosing Tomorrow is a unique student program that encourages students to develop intentional communities and was developed by the young adults department at the Jewish Agency for Israel. Sveta was born in Russia, in a town called Birobidzhan – which is the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Region. She made Aliya to Israel with her family when she was 10 years old, and arrived to Nazareth Illit. Sveta holds a Bachelor degree in Nutrition Science and a Master Degree in Public Health with concentration in health promotion from the Haifa University.

These days, Sveta is working as a Health Promoter in the municipality of Nazareth Illit.

At her position, Sveta is responsible for developing and leading new programs related to health in formal and informal frameworks, developing collaborations, managing financial resources and budget planning. She also gives lectures and private consultations about proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle. Previous to her work in the municipality, Sveta was discharged with honors from Israel Air Force, Technological unit.

Ofir Elmalah

, 31 years old, born in Israel. For the past 13 years I have been a part of a communal movement for social change called Dror Israel. In my day to day I work as the communal living coordinator of Kvutzot Am , a network of groups of olim working for social change in Israel and the Jewish diaspora. In my position I help match up individuals or groups considering living communally, help facilitate group bonding and decisionmaking processes, and mentor leadership structures which strive to be both anarchic and effective. I live in Azor, Israel and am finishing an undergrad in informal education.

Jerry Koch-Gonzalez:

Jerry’s passion is to share Dynamic Governance (Sociocracy), Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and Restorative Circles. What these approaches have in common is support for the notion that everyone’s needs matter; we can

organize any institution based on the inclusion of all members in decision making; and we can do it effectively, efficiently and with the joy of shared meaning and purpose.

Jerry Koch-Gonzalez is a founding resident of the 20-year old Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community in Amherst MA which is organized according to Dynamic Governance.

Rabbi Jacob Staub

is Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he directs the program in Jewish Spiritual Direction.

Sara Zebovitz

is the National Director of Habonim Dror North America (HDNA), a Jewish youth movement based on the ideals of collectivism and Jewish community. She has been involved in HDNA since she was 10 years old, developing a personal understanding of Judaism, and has been unable to separate “Judaism” from “community” for some time now. Sara is currently living in a Jewish intentional community in Brooklyn, NY.

William Levin

is the founder of the Jewish Alliance Revival Project. He was born and raised on the farm in Vineland, NJ, where his family have lived since settling in 1883 as founding Alliance Colony members. Levin, creator of the Shabot 6000 comic strip, produces educational animations and music videos for Jewish non-profit organizations and companies. Levin was also a writer for the 2010 Shalom Sesame series. Known for his edgy and innovative work and his ability to create synergies in the Jewish community—much like his great-great grandfather Moses Bayuk, founder of the original Alliance Colony— Levin is now returning to his roots by creating the Jewish Alliance Revival Project. http:// JewishRobot.com

Malya Levin

, wife and partner to William, is a lawyer admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bars. Malya is a staff attorney at the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, the nation’s first emergency elder abuse shelter. Prior to attending law school, Malya worked in the field of Jewish education for four years. Malya is currently a member of the leadership team at Altshul, a traditional egalitarian lay-led minyan in brownstone Brooklyn. Malya is eager to use her legal, educational and community organizing abilities to help revive the Vineland Jewish Alliance.

Sarina Berlow

is a founding member of Beit Havurah and one of its original incorporators. Her conversion to Judaism happened at Beit Havurah in 1976. A social worker by training, she worked with older adults as an outreach caseworker for Jewish Family Service of Greater Hartford and as Director of Adult Programming and the Jewish and Israeli Film Series at the Allentown Jewish Community Center. She resides with her husband, Bernie, in Palmerton, PA, where they raised their three grown sons—Yossi, Noah, and Benji.

Marty Werber,

along with his wife Bracha Werber, joined Beit Havurah in 1976. Beit Havurah played a major role in launching their spiritual journey and was a safe place for them and their three children to allow their Jewish religious life to evolve.

Professionally, Marty is in real estate management. Much of his time is devoted to his role as Chair of the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center, and serving on the Executive Committee of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and on the Board of the Jewish Education Project.

Jon Leiner

is Hazon’s Digital Strategist. He began digitally strategizing at an early age by playing a lot of Nintendo. Today those important skills have blossomed into multimedia work across different mediums like photography, video, and graphics. He loves to sing and have a good time.

Lauren Greenberg

graduated from Tufts University this spring with a BA in English and a minor in Judaic Studies. Originally from New York, she is thrilled to be back here as Hazon’s program fellow. Lauren first discovered Hazon while writing an article as an intern for another Jewish non-profit a few years ago, and quickly became enamored with their mission and their ways of combining Judaism and sustainability (and envious of their interns).

Lauren grew up spending time in a variety of Jewish denominations based on the preferences of different family members, spent a year in Israel on Nativ and ran a minyan in college that claimed to be Conservative but whose constituents identified at various points on and off the denominational spectrum. Her interest in Judaism formally aligned with her aspiration to save the world, the expected mission of all liberal arts college graduates, this past summer when she participated in the Adamah fellowship. Though she has always been interested in conserving resources, it was during Adamah that Lauren became fully aware of the sense of empowerment that one can derive from knowing that her own actions are actively reducing waste. Her highlights of the summer include starting a greywater system, completing the Hazon New York Ride, and earning an Earth Bead, which she would love to talk to you more about.

She also enjoys listening to Jewish a capella, baking desserts that contain vegetables, and noticing misplaced hyphens.

Basia Yoffe

is a columnist for the Jewish Currents and hopes to do all she can to support the Jewish environmental community and mother earth herself. She currently resides in Potsdam, New York and owns property in Colton, New York.

Rabbi David Seidenberg

is the director of neohasid.org and author of Kabbalah and Ecology: God’s Image in the More-Than-Human World, forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. He was ordained in the Conservative movement and by Reb

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and teaches around the world on Jewish texts, spirituality, embodiment, nigunim (song) and ecology.

Sarah Zell Young

is an Artist, Jewish educator and certified yoga Teacher living and working in NYC. She received her teacher training through Yoga Works and is also holds additional certifications in restorative Yoga, therapeutics, meditation facilitation and mindfulness based stress reduction. Sarah believes that yoga is possible for everyone regardless of physical ability or body type and she specializes in working with injuries and other chronic conditions. Her classes have been describes as accessible, informative, relaxing and fun! Sarah is a certified Reiki practitioner and is currently perusing a certification in yoga therapy.

Naomi Rabkin

is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Leichtag Foundation in San Diego’s North County Coastal region. Naomi develops new programs to stimulate Jewish life and community organizes agricultural festivals at the Ranch and oversees external communications and the North County Jewish Hub, a collaborative coworking community. Prior to joining the Foundation, Naomi worked to build Jewish community through experiential education in a number of positions including at Spark: Partnership for Service, Jewish Funds for Justice and Project Otzma. The Service Learning 2000 Center and The Wexner Heritage Foundation. She was the first Executive Director of Limmud Atlanta +Southeast and founded the Jewish Food Alliance, a volunteer run organization which organized people around community supported agriculture. Naomi earned her Master’s degree in Education at Stanford University in 2001 and focused her thesis on the intersections between Jewish Values of Social Action and Service Learning Education.

Nigel Savage

founded Hazon in 2000, lives in what has become an UWS NORC, and is happy to be at his second Jewish Intentional Communities Conference

Psachyah Lichtenstein

is as Rabbi, speaker and mentor exploring the intersection of technology, ecology, and the human spirit. He serves as Marketing Director and educator for Pearlstone Center, a Jewish retreat center and educational farm.

The Sessions Thursday Night Panel: Many Faces of Jewish Intentional Communities DESCRIPTION: With the help of some experienced panelists, we’ll take a look at what it takes to make a Jewish Intentional Community, emphasizing both the wide variety of different possibilities whilst also highlighting some common aspirations.What are the minimum requirements for a JIC (if any)? What is the basic definition for Jewish? For Intentional? For Community? Within those definitions, what lies at the heart of the matter - what is the vision? What are the central values which these definitions are built around?

Friday Night Panel: HakhelL Emerging Jewish Intentional Communities DESCRIPTION: Last year’s conference created a significant buzz that echoed in many places in the Jewish world. As a result of this, the UJA Federation of New-York decided to take the initiative and asked us to propose a plan for creating pilot Jewish Intentional Communities. Through cooperation between Hazon and Mission-Driven Communities and networks from Israel, we came up with the Hakhel project. Hakhel comes from the same root as Kehila in Hebrew - Community. This project is aimed at fostering five pilot JIC’s during the upcoming year, by supplying them with seed money, networking, mentorship and a trip to visit JIC’s in Israel. Hakhel got three times more application than expected, and some of those applicants are going to be at this year’s conference. We invite you to join in this Friday night session in discussing the Hakhel project, getting to know the applicants and thinking how can this small step become the beginning of a long and fruitful journey for the emerging JIC movement in North-America.

(In alphabetical order)

Accepting and demanding: a workshop of practical community-building tools, Ofir Elmalah DESCRIPTION: In this session we will talk about the place of acceptance and demand in intentional living, expose different tensions this issue raises and understand how shaping the levels of demand and acceptance shape a community. We will also learn about different methods of shaping and dealing with this in a community.

Case Study: Beit Chavura, Marty Warbar and Sarina Berlow DESCRIPTION: Beit Havurah was incorporated in 1975 as a unique experiment in creating an intentional Jewish community in time and space that spanned hundreds of miles, embraced singles, couples, families, denominational and age differences, a diversity of interests and professions and a wide spectrum of religious belief and practice. The group purchased an eight bedroom farmhouse in Norfolk, CT to serve as its bayit. Beit Havurah which lasted almost 40 years donated the house to HAZON in October 2014. This session will explore the challenges and accomplishments of Beit Havurah and what other groups can learned from it.

Case Study: Pearlstone Moshav, Psachya Lichtenstein and Julie Tonti DESCRIPTION: The Pearstone outside of Baltimore, Maryland has been steady evolving a residential intentional community adjacent to the center for several years now. Come hear about exciting next steps!

Come to the North Country, Basia Yoffe DESCRIPTION: Her presentation will describe the local Jewish Community, the local homesteading community, and the landscape of this county in Northern New York. Young Jewish farmers and even old Jewish farmers will find a warm welcoming community if they visit Basia in Potsdam, New York.

Creating a “Community Facility” in NYC, Philip Angel DESCRIPTION: This session will introduce aspects of NYC urban planning and zoning that are important to any intentional community which wishes to establish itself (at least in part) as a non-profit, philanthropic institution providing services to the community al large.

Dealing with Internal conflicts - How can a social business maintain a stable community?, Tzur Oren DESCRIPTION: This session will involve two case studies. The first one will be my personal story of growing up in a “Moshav Shitufi” (a Moshav with a common economic system) that was idealistic once it was established but lost his way along the years and got into social and financial crisis which effected his ability to maintain his full cooperation framework. The second case study will share the story of Kibbutz Kramim and its social Business – “Community Stage”, which keeps the social mission of the Kibbutz alive, in order to show how a can a social business assist in maintaining the intentional community values.

Dynamic Governance for Intentional Community, Jerry KochGonzalez DESCRIPTION: We want to live in community because we want to live as equals in a context that affirms life. Too many communities avoid conflict, accept lowest common denominator consensus, and adopt a structure that does not mirror their vision. This session offers an alternative. Dynamic Governance (DG) offers a consent decision-making process and a circular organization structure that honors both the “I” and the “We.” The work gets done effectively and no one’s voice can be ignored. DG (also known as Sociocracy) is increasingly being adopted in communities throughout the world. This will be an interactive session that introduces practical skills -- come experience DG for yourself !

Exploring Ritual in the Home, Jessica (Yaffa) Rubin DESCRIPTION: How does your family harness ritual to connect with each holiday season’s Divine energy? Come explore with us as we travel through the Jewish calendar together, sharing ideas and practices we do to align & co-create within our tradition’s framework.

Group Spiritual Direction, Jacob Staub DESCRIPTION: Jewish Spiritual Direction is a practice that cultivates our discernment of the holy in all aspects of our lives. Group Spiritual Direction is a form of that practice that involves sitting in small groups of 4 or 5 on a biweekly or monthly basis, listening contemplatively to one another and accompanying one another on our spiritual journeys.

This workshop will introduce the practice, guide participants in hevruta pairs or small groups to try out the practice of contemplative listening, and reflecting on the experience.

Hakhel: A Shabbat Learning of the Jewish Fundamentals of Intentional Communities, Aharon Ariel Lavi DESCRIPTION: Intentional communities are the deepest response to the inner psychological human struggles, and a substantial component of the social fabric. Judaism has a long theoretical and practical tradition regarding such communities, and this session will explore this issue intellectually, offering some key Jewish traditional sources to keep in my mind while building, or at least envisioning, your own Jewish Intentional Community.

Homesteading off the grid: A DIY Workshop -- Pickling & Seed Saving Workshop with ADAMAH Farmers Janna Siller, Claire Lipson, Brooke Palatt, Sam Slotin DESCRIPTION: At Isabella Freedman, Adamah makes organic kosher lacto-fermented products, including pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi and more. Learn about the magic and nutritional importance of fermentation as you follow each step of the fermentation process.

Participants will ferment their own jar of seasonal vegetables to take home. We will also be teaching about seed saving -- something that used to be common among all farmers and has evolved to a radical act.

Introduction to Consensus and Navigating Conflict as a Group, David Arfa DESCRIPTION: Come learn why consensus helps build relationships and learn a formal method to practice consensus in your community. Meeting roles, procedure, and multiple facilitation techniques will be presented, along with tips to navigate conflict as a group.

Ishbitz Torah on Communal Living, Psachya Lichtenstein DESCRIPTION: Expolore the Mei Hashiloach’s radical conception of individual religious freedom and communal conformity.

Learning from the Israeli Intentional Communities Movement: What Works, What Doesn’t, Best-Practices, Advices & Suggestions, Aharon Ariel Lavi and James Grant Rosenhead DESCRIPTION: Before you jump on a plane, you want to make sure it was constructed according to a serious blueprint and is being maintained according to the manufacturer’s orders. That is probably because planes are perceived as something very accurate and very complicated. An Intentional Community is not all that accurate, but much more complicated. And when it crashes no lives are lost usually, but souls can be wounded for life. In the professional world of community building in Israel, that has been accumulating knowledge and experience for the last three decades, we usually say that the most problematic component in a community is human beings, but that’s the only thing you can actually work with on such a project. So you better take this seriously, try to understand some human psychology and sociology and prepare some reliable tools to build your community. In this session we will not pretend to cover the entire profession, but rather present some key elements and tools on the practical level to make a community work, avoid the most common mistakes, prepare for the most common crisis (that simply cannot

be avoided) and take advantage of the best opportunities. We will leave room for Q & A so come and share your thoughts!

Lessons From 10 Years of Building Community at Adamah, Shamu Sadeh DESCRIPTION: Adamah has formed a key part of the community at Isabella Freedman for the last 11 years. To build community and learn together we use tools of prayer, communal living, mentoring, non-violent communication, and productive work. We will share some of what we have learned about building community.

Models of Young Adult Intentional Communities Sara Zebovitz, Steph, & Itai

Organic Growing in Community: Farm Tour with ADAMAH Farmers, Arielle Solomon DESCRIPTION: Join us as we take a tour of the Kaplan Family Farm on Beebe Hill. We will explore one of the largest Jewish agricultural projects in the country, and get inspired by the range of plants and techniques we will see on the farm.

Rise Up Singing Sing Along, Jon Leiner DESCRIPTION: Open the gates of song with Rise Up Singing! Bring your copy, your voice, your instrument, your beat, or just your good energy. If you are new to this special songbook you will encounter a treasure trove of songs deliberately gathered for communal singing. Most of the time music is divided into genres – pop, country, rock, R&B... Rise Up Singing defies those categories and instead organizes songs by subject – love, travel, the sea, the mountains, good times, hard times, and more. Come raise your spirits and Rise Up Singing!

Screening ‘At Home In Utopia’ DESCRIPTION: New York City cops in the Great Depression called it Little Moscow, but for the 2,000 Jewish immigrant residents of the United Workers Cooperative Colony, a.k.a. “the Coops,” it was their first taste of the American dream. AT HOME IN UTOPIA bears witness to an epic social experiment, following two generations of residents and their commitment to radical ideas of racial equality and rights for tenants and workers.

Shared Jewish Workspace: Professional Intentional Communities, Naomi Friedman Rabkin, Jon Leiner, Lauren DESCRIPTION: “Can we have Jewish intentional community without living together?

Many of us spend much of our time at work. What if our professional workspaces modeled

a new kind of intentional community? A model of shared workspace is emerging in the Jewish world in which building community is not only possible, but also enhances and supports the effectiveness and efficiency of networked organizations. And perhaps most importantly, work becomes more fun and fulfilling as a result!”

Slowing Down into Shmita, Jessica “Yaffa” Rubin DESCRIPTION: Journey to the forest to find a spot to silently attune to the surrounding wild community & the still, small voice within. Reflect on Shmita and our opportunity to creatively honor it. Share in circle as we witness, support, & inspire each other.

Social Entrepreneurship as a Key to Creating Community, Sveta Shalayev DESCRIPTION: A case study of a “Choosing Tomorrow” student group in Nazareth Ilit, looking how the different social activities that the group developed in the city, helped the group build the roots of their intentional community. In addition, the workshop will allow its participants to take part in an active analysis of their current or future community vision, and will also help them to develop creative ways to recruit more members to the community. All the tools will involve my personal story and the motivation that led me to take an active part in building an intentional community in my hometown.

The Cosmic Walk: A Tour of Our Universe from the Beginning to Us, David Seidenberg DESCRIPTION: Come take a tour of the universe, starting from the beginning, walking a spiral labyrinth of candles that mark the miraculous events that brought us to this day, from the formation of galaxies to the beginning of photosynthesis to Eomaia, the first mammal.

Our storytelling will be structured according to the seven lower Sefirot of the Kabbalah, which according to the Kabbalists represent the six days of Creation and Shabbat. Prepared to be awed and amazed!

The History of Intentional Communities in Israel in the 20th century, Aharon Ariel Lavi and James Grant Rosenhead DESCRIPTION: The first experiments of the new generation of intentional, activist communities in Israel can be traced back to as early as 1968. In that year, Garin Sha’al began building a prototype Urban Kibbutz in Carmiel, whilst meanwhile the founders of the first Garin Torani began establishing themselves in Kiryat Shmona. These new social action oriented communities were from very different backgrounds, politically, ideologically and sociologically. By the time that the massive socio-economic protests swept Israel in 2011, there were already at least 14 different community movements and networks

representing, networking, and creating over 200 social action oriented communities across Israel. Furthermore, there is now a national council bringing them all together. In this session we will explore: Who are all these new intentional communities? Where did they spring from? Why? How did they get so numerous and widespread? What are the similarities and differences between them both ideologically and practically? What are the relationships between them?

The Jewish Alliance Revival Project: A Modern Jewish Farming Community … 130 Years in the Making, William & Malya Levin DESCRIPTION: In 1883, a group of 43 Jewish families emigrated from Russia and established the first Jewish agricultural society in the United States. The Levin family are the last descendents and Jewish owners of this historic farmland in Salem County, New Jersey. William and Malya Levin will discuss their vision and journey on the path to reviving the Jewish Alliance farming community.

The Way Community is Shaped Through Learning, Matan Lax DESCRIPTION: This workshop will allow participants to experience the unique approach to learning. We will use the learning experience as a platform to talk about the community model we have created in Toronto.

The Work that Reconnects, Sarah Chandler DESCRIPTION: This session is a basic introduction to Joanna Macy’s “The Work that Reconnects” that encourages us to connect with our love for all life as well as the feelings that arise within us when we encounter the destruction and chaos of our world. Placing this within an understanding of The Great Turning-moving out of the Industrial Growth Society into a new future- we are empowered to see with new eyes and to go forth with a strong and full heart. Participants in this session must arrive on time and stay through the end; due to the sensitive nature of the work, we will not be able to accomodate latecomers.

To Build or Not to Build: Unpacking the Question of Creating Jewish Intentional Communities, Margot Seigle & Eliana DESCRIPTION: In this particiaptory workshop, we will explore the gains and losses of building intentional communities that are exclusively Jewish.

“Urban Kibbutzim: Who? What? How? Why?, James Grant Rosenhead DESCRIPTION: A look at some of the variety of different examples of urban kibbutz around Israel. What are the similarities between the different models? Is there a common definition of what makes an urban kibbutz? What is the significance of the differences between them (both ideologically and practically)? We’ll zoom in on a specific case study (Urban Kibbutz Mishol in Nazareth Illit, the biggest urban kibbutz in Israel) and zoom out to the wider scene, as well as trying to get to grips with some of the terminology and concepts. For example: What’s a Kvutza? A Garin? A Kibbutz of kvutzot? A nongeographical kibbutz? How do they live and work? Who is building them, how and why? Is a rurally based kibbutz whose members all work in projects in town an Urban Kibbutz? Is a farming kibbutz inside a town an Urban Kibbutz?

What’s a Tnuat Bogrim (Adult Movement) Kibbutz? An Educators kibbutz? An Artists Kibbutz? Economics: Cooperative consumption, Cooperative Production or both? Equality vs Standardization vs According to Needs & Abilities? Balancing Autonomy - Federative networks or movements?”

Urban Moshav: Creating Jewish Cohousing in Berkeley and Beyond, Roger Studley DESCRIPTION: Urban Moshav is creating Jewish cohousing; Berkeley Moshav is our first community. We are actively forming a Berkeley group, pursuing a site, and raising money. Come hear about our work and learn how we can help create Jewish cohousing in your community!

Working for justice with your intentional community: Moishe Kavod Jewish Social Justice House Case Study, Helen Bennett DESCRIPTION: How can the values that are the foundation of your community push your members to take action for justice? How can an Jewish intentional community use community organizing to make positive change in the outside world? In this session we’ll learn tools for making social justice work a core component of your community using the successful model of the Moishe Kavod House, a thriving progressive and politically active young adult community in Boston.