Jewish Men's Retreat - JMR25 to JMR28
JMR25: 2016
Our Fathers, Our Brothers, Our Selves: Building Bridges
JMR26: 2017
Claiming Our Strengths
JMR27: 2018
Man Up, Mensch Up
JMR28: 2019
Beginnings: Creating New Relationships with Yourself, Your Brothers, Earth, and Spirit
The 25th Jewish Men's Retreat
November 11-13, 2016
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
Parshat Lech Lecha
Co-Chairs:
Donald Gardner and David Piver
The journey begins! It is so exciting that we will be attending the 25th Jewish Men’s Retreat (JMR) with more than 90 brothers saying YES! to spiritual awakening! to celebrating a quarter century of Menschwork and creating the unique authentic journey in Torah!
The retreat is an opportunity to explore [drash] and live into a Torah portion (parsha) in rich and authentic ways as we drash what it is to be a man, a father, a son, a brother. The retreat is a time to reflect on how the parsha informs our JMR 25 theme–Our Fathers, Our Brothers, Our Selves: Building Bridges. What was Avram’s journey? Is it relevant to your life’s journey? What is it like to be in the midst of a moment like Avram’s call from G-d? What can we learn from the Torah of his actions? What does it mean for us and how we learn and grow in our lives as men?
The invitation is to journey into an exploration of our own and each other’s life journey through Torah. What is it to be leaving and building upon our father’s ways, to be building, repairing, celebrating brotherhood and to be in more authentic relationship with oneself, to be creating bridges to Jewish community and beyond. Arrive and feast upon the buffet of Torah in new and ancient ways!
Avram heard his calling, at times questioned aspects of it, but nevertheless responded with actions necessary so that God could create a covenant with Isaac. Crucial to accomplishing this, Avram was required, as are each of us, to bridge and foster relationships with those in his life.
In each relationship, Avram constructs these bridges using the same materials that we use when building our own bridges. With Lot, he starts with his concept of responsibility to family. Love, caring, protection, mentoring, teaching values, working through difficulties, addressing conflicts; all within the umbrella of maintaining bonds that will last a lifetime. With Yah, he accepts and at times questions the wisdom and teachings as a broader awareness is presented to him in measured intervals from an all-knowing, all-seeing presence.
JMR25 offers each man time and space to envision Avram’s journey and consider how it relates to his own.
The 26th Jewish Men’s Retreat
November 10-12, 2017
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
Claiming Our Strengths
Parsha: Chayei Sarah
Co-Chairs: Simon Olsberg, Bill Magaliff, and Michael Landau
The JMR26 Planning Team is excited to announce the opening of registration for this year’s retreat – Claiming Our Strengths – to be held once again at Hazon’s Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in bucolic Falls Village, CT. We are conditioned with limited archetypes of what it means to be “a man” and, furthermore, “a strong man” – archetypes that both provide a foundation and continue to shape — and also hinder — the development of our Selves. Through the lens of the Chayei Sarah narrative, JMR26 will provide a container in which to explore liberation from this conditioning and welcome in a fully authentic range of human strengths, power and character – in a community of loving brothers as we immerse in nature’s beauty, deepen our connections with Jewish tradition and community, davven dynamicially, study, contemplate, converse, eat/laugh/sing/dance/hike/chill, and relish a Shabbos afternoon snooze. |
JMR27: Man Up, Mensch Up
October 19-21, 2018
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
Parsha: Lech Lecha
Co-Chairs:
Marc Jacobs
Cobi Waxman
Brothers,
During Elul we turn our intentions toward t’shuvah and personal development for the new year.
The upcoming 27th Jewish Men’s Retreat, with its emphasis on cultivating mensch-like qualities, can serve as a valuable support system for this ongoing process.
We hope you will join us October 19-21, 2018 at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center as we reconnect to our essential selves and draw strength from the richness of the JMR community and the enjoy the fall colors of the Connecticut Berkshires.
As always, we envision a weekend of camaraderie, prayer, study, personal growth and fun. And this year we plan to introduce a brand new program called, “Pathways”.
Our Pathways program will feature break-out groups on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning aimed at creating experiences based on shared interests related to Jewish culture, tradition and daily living. We plan to provide a format where men of similar interests can meet and connect. Potential topics for discussion and activities include text study, gender identity, aging, physical activity, singing, prayer and politics.
It’s just one more way we are striving to make this year’s JMR one of our best retreats ever. Please join us. Register now at: https://register.menschwork.org/jmr27
We hope to see you in October!
Cobi & Marc – JMR27 Coordinators
The 28th Jewish Men's Retreat
Beginnings: Creating New Relationships with Yourself,
Your Brothers, Earth, and Spirit
October 25-27, 2019
Parsha: Beresheet - בראשית
Co-chairs: Ralph Benmergui, David Cherenson, and Michael Evers
The Parsha Beresheet opens up with the account of Creation by the Divine and all the wonder and awe flowing from that. Yet, as men in 2019 we must take stock of the damage done to our world – physically and interpersonally.
Are we living our lives with a sense of the sacred? Do we connect or disconnect from our fellows? From the Earth? What would it mean to be in relationship for you? What will you create from JMR28?
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