Nehirim Southeast
Nehirim Southeast
November 19-21, 2010
Join Nehirim for its first annual Southeast Retreat - a weekend of spirituality, culture, relaxation and fun for GLBT Jews, partners, and allies.
Explore and refresh your relationship to Judaism and the Jewish community with workshops by teachers including Rabbi Joshua Lesser (Atlanta), Rabbi Aaron Katz (Miami), Jay Michaelson (New York), and Zvi Bellin (San Francisco) — plus inspiring, beginner-friendly prayer services, and spirited singing, dancing, and fun.
Relax and enjoy a 100+ acre site with hiking, swimming, and other outdoor activities
Connect with an inclusive and diverse community of LGBT Jews, partners, and allies. Straight allies and multi-faith families especially welcome. Nehirim is nondenominational and pluralistic, and our community includes Orthodox Jews and atheists, students and seniors, men, women, and the rest of us. Whoever you are, there are people like you at Nehirim!
Nehirim has run retreats across the country for seven years. We are proud to be LGBT, proud to be Jewish and proud of the community we create together. Now, in partnership with the Rainbow Center and Congregation Bet Haverim, we are proud to bring our first retreat to the Southeast, and to the Atlanta metro community!
This page will be updated in August with further information and registration for the retreat.
Please note that our Financial Aid and Early Bird deadlines are Sunday, October 10th - apply now for financial aid, and register now for the Early Bird discount!
Early Bird $50 off
(available if you register before Sun Oct 10th)
Camp bunks (quads): $175
Triple (shared bath): $275
Double (shared bath): $325
Double (private bath): $375
Single (private bath): $475
Kosher food supplement: $75
LOGISTICAL INFORMATION:
Transportation:
Nehirim Southeast 2010 is located at scenic Camp Twin Lakes just 50 minutes outside of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. If you’re looking for a ride to the retreat, please visit our ride board at www.nehirim.org/board to request (or offer!) a ride or car share.
Food:
All of the food served during the Shabbaton will be vegetarian, although it will be cooked in the Camp Twin Lakes kitchen which is not kosher. There is a kosher food supplement which costs $75 and covers Friday Dinner, Saturday Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, and Sunday Breakfast and Lunch in addition to snacks.
For registrants requiring kosher food, with sufficient notice (at least 2 weeks before the start of the retreat) we are able to provide heckshered kosher food for you over the weekend. Participants will also be able to bring their own food (snacks) to the conference center to supplement the meals and snacks provided.
Note:
-Kosher wine and grape juice is always provided for kiddush at Nehirim retreats.
-When you register for your room type you will have the opportunity to indicate other dietary needs such as vegan, gluten-free, and any allergies.”
Retreat Co-Directors
Zvi Bellin PhD
Dr. Zvi Bellin is the Engagement Associate for Nehirim and is responsible for student outreach, internal community relations, and programming at Nehirim retreats. He leads workshops and directs retreats that integrate body-heart-mind-soul in a variety of spiritual and religious contexts. Zvi earned a PhD in Pastoral Counseling and an M.A. in Counseling and Guidance. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. He has worked as a therapist in a number of mental health settings, and has interned as a Psychiatric Chaplain. Zvi’s most recent interests include exploring the raw experience of meaning in life, and the integration of personal spirituality into a practice of holistic well-being. He is a co-founder of the Silver Spring Moishe House, a Jewish community house sponsored by the Schusterman Foundation.
Rabbi Joshua Lesser
Rabbi Joshua Lesser leads Atlanta’s growing Congregation Bet Haverim as a place dedicated to celebrating all aspects of Jewish life and creating a spiritual home that is accessible to those who have not connected in other settings. As a former Teach For America corps member, Rabbi Lesser is committed to creating innovative programs and events to further their Jewish education in fun and exciting ways. At Bet Haverim, he has worked with a wide variety of groups and coalitions to build a better community for Atlanta, including the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Task Force on Healing and Spirituality. In partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and Jewish Family & Career Services, he founded The Rainbow Center, a place of support and information for GLBTQ people, as well as their families.
Teachers and Presenters
Rabbi Aaron Katz
My name is Aaron Katz,. After 30 years in the Rabbinate, my partner and I decided to move from California to Florida. I was born in Argentina and moved to Israel in 1974 where I received my rabbinical diploma”Smicha”by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. In 1979 I was appointed the Orthodox Rabbi of Stockholm and Sweden where I lived for the next 14 years. From there I was working in Israel, Germany, Spain and California. While in Los Angeles, I was teaching at the Rabbinical School, was a scholar in residence in different communities,worked as the researcher and historian for the “Rashi’s Daughters” trilogy and was leading two communities. Through my travels I began to understand that Judaism is not just a question of color, political affiliation or a group association. Judaism is a question of identity. We need to bring to our members a feeling of belonging, a connection to our past and a eye toward the future.