Retreats
At Orot, our retreats offer an immersive daylong experiences for spiritual nourishment and refreshment. Orot retreats include shared learning, conversation, mindfulness, art, embodied practice, song, and delicious food for lunch. The retreats interweave Jewish study with mindfulness and embodied practices, shared conversation and reflection, and delicious vegetarian food in a serene natural setting. Our retreats have limited capacity and are open to all levels. Learn more about our educator team and our past retreats on this page.
Stepping Out of Our Caves: Transforming Fear into Radiance
Tuesday, May 21 - 10am-3pm
Join Orot for this special daylong retreat at the beautiful Elawa Farms. This retreat will meet this challenging moment in time and offer tools for healing and restoration.
May 21st, 2024 | 10 am - 3 pm
Elawa Farm - 1401 Middlefork Road, Lake Forest, IL
The retreat will take place during a meditative time in the Jewish calendar - the period of the counting of the Omer, as we make the journey from Passover to Shavuot. May 21st comes just a few days before one seminal day in the calendar called Lag BaOmer.
On this retreat, we will explore mystical teachings and stories about this powerful day to open up to its spiritual invitations - to meet fear with courage, to transform isolation into the possibility of personal integration and radiant reengagement with the world as it is. The retreat will feature shared learning of ancient Jewish wisdom, embodied practice, mindfulness meditation, a farm-to-table vegetarian lunch, and time for private reflection within the context of a warm community.
Open to all.
Led by Rebecca Minkus Lieberman, Jane Shapiro, and Deb Wineman
Fee: $165
From the orot community:
In what way was participating in an Orot retreat nourishing and meaningful for you?
“Orot continues to offer meaningful programming and I’m looking forward to future classes and retreats - they are a highlight of the Jewish calendar for me!
Jane, Rebecca and Deb offer a brief pause in life, which can’t be understated. Visiting Elawa Farm is always an amazing backdrop to study texts and poetry from our ancient and contemporary teachers.
In a safe and open setting, amongst familiar and new faces, we are given the opportunity to extrapolate and share meaning which resonates within us, that we then are able to weave into our own life’s story.”
“My heart opened in a new way and I was nourished, replenished, and redirected by the activities of the day. Every moment was precious, meaningful, and filled with love and connection.
It’s not only about the retreat, it’s what changes afterwards. I returned to a book I started last year. This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared. Chapter Three. I Turned, The Walls Came Down, and There I Was.
I would recommend an Orot day retreat to reclaim and return to the wisdom of Judaism and your soul. ”
“Jane, Rebecca and Deb planned a perfect day for us in a heavenly setting. With their guidance, we devoted ourselves to reflection surrounded by nature and love. Meditative walking, gentle yoga, reading, writing and sharing with others all fostered a great sense of peace. The farm to table meal right from the garden and the quiet conversation around the table were nourishing on every level. It was just what I needed. I loved every moment and could not have asked for anything more. I would highly recommend to others who want to take a respite from the hectic demands of modern life and restore their sense of well being and tranquility.”
Are you interested in bringing an immersive retreat to your staff or team? Contact Orot for more information on customized retreats. Email us to start the conversation!
From the Orot Community
During the Pandemic, Orot hosted multiple virtual half-day retreats. Through online text study, reflection and Jewish mindfulness meditation. All practices focused on supporting our community and meeting the challenges of this time with a deeper sense of courage, stability and confidence in our internal resources. Now that Orot offerings are back in person, we invite you to join us in taking an intentional break in 2023. Our upcoming retreats in 2023 will be on March 22, 2023 and May 18, 2023. Stay tuned for more info!
“This was a great experience. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend. Thank you so much! ”
“This retreat was wonderful and nourishing for the soul- so resonating, especially at this time of year.”
Meet The Educators
Past Orot Retreats
To Love and Dance: a Day Retreat for Tu B’Av | August 2nd 2023
The day of Tu B’Av - the 15th day of the month of Av - is a day devoted to love, connection, dancing, and stepping away from the elements that separate us from one another. At this special day retreat, Orot celebrated Tu B’Av together, explored the Jewish teachings and other sources of spiritual wisdom that animate this day, and brought them into deep conversation with our lived relationships and experiences. The day featured study, conversation, embodied practice, mindfulness meditation, and a delicious farm-to-table vegetarian lunch, all in the serene natural setting of Elawa Farm.
Led by Rebecca Minkus-Lieberman, Jane Shapiro, and Deb Wineman
A Mindfulness Meditation Retreat: Empowering Practices for this Moment
Sunday, February 21, 2021 9:00 AM- 12:00 PM
During the Pandemic, Orot hosted multiple virtual half-day retreats. Through online text study, reflection and Jewish mindfulness meditation. All practices focused on supporting our community and meeting the challenges of this time with a deeper sense of courage, stability and confidence in our internal resources.
Facilitated by Orot Co-Founders Jane Shapiro and Rebecca Minkus-Lieberman and Master Teachers: Rabbis Sam Feinsmith and Jordan Bendat-Appell
Standing in the Sun: A daylong retreat for women
Wednesday, July 13, 2022 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM Central at Elawa Farms.
This retreat was centered around the Hebrew month of Tammuz, a summer month, when we consider both sunlight and shadow, abundance and loss, the choice of living a guarded or open life.
Facilitated by Rebecca Minkus-Lieberman, Jane Shapiro, and Deb Wineman
Manifesting Light in the Dark: Cultivating Practices of Personal Illumination
Wednesday, December 12th, 2022 10:30 AM - 3:00 p.m at The Interpretive Center at Rosewood Beach
This retreat explored the teachings associated with the month of Kislev and the upcoming holiday of Hanukkah to cultivate personal practices for resilience and wellbeing that can sustain us during tumultuous times.
Facilitated by Jane Shapiro, Rebecca Minkus-Lieberman, Deb Wineman, and Traci Hill, sound healer
“All retreats are focused on supporting our community and meeting the challenges of this time with a deeper sense of courage, stability and confidence in our internal resources. ”