Special Offerings: June 17-24 and Dec. 23-30, 2012
June 17 - 24, 2012
"Silence and Transformation: A 7-Day Silent Meditation Retreat"
Teachers: Rabbi David Cooper, Shoshana Cooper and Eliezer Sobel
St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Once again, this coming summer, Rabbi David, his wife Shoshana, and co-teacher, Eliezer Sobel will be offering a week-long, silent meditation retreat for beginning and advanced practitioners who seek to deepen their contemplative practice.
This year will again be held at the St. Francis Center for Renewal in Bethlehem, PA, a lovely retreat center, which provides a more intimate setting for a smaller group of attendees.
Meals will be vegetarian, but not kosher. David, Shoshana and Eliezer have been offering this retreat format for over a dozen years in different parts of the world, and have dramatically influenced the development of Jewish Meditation in the USA.
(To register, send $200 deposit by check, credit card or Pay Pal)
If interested in attending the June retreat contact the assistant manager of the retreat: Cheryl Tarash by email: ctarash@gmail.com. Single and Double private rooms, (shared bath) are available: $650 double, $850 single. A $200 deposit (non-refundable after May 15th), is required to hold a space. If mailing a check, send to: Cooper, 11905 Sara Rd., #84-172, Laredo, TX 78045.
(Check the Let's Shop button on this website for easy, direct payment)
If paying via credit card, see the Cooper Store pages for submitting the deposit (which can be made any time prior to mid-May, if you wish). We do at times run out of rooms, so if you want to be certain of space, do not delay. If we run over, we may have a waiting list.
Donations: The fees shown above cover room and board. We do not charge fixed tuitions at our retreats. Where a retreat center is involved, room and board is usually not negotiable. On a few occasions we can offer selected students a partial scholarship, but this very much depends upon the generosity of other students.
Dec. 23-30, 2012
Be Still, Be Quiet, Be Happy: A 7-Day Silent Meditation Retreat
Teachers: Rabbi David Cooper, Shoshana Cooper and Eliezer Sobel
Isabella Freedman.org or 1-800 398-2630 (Discounts available for early registration)
Whether you are a beginning or advanced student of meditation, deepen your moment-to-moment awareness in the “friendly” silence at this popular retreat. Enjoy peace of mind and awaken to the boundless nature of “being present” through silent sitting, chanting, walking meditations, insight dialogue and inquiry, with wisdom teaching from Zoharic, Hasidic, Zen and Dzogchen sources.
Rabbi David Cooper is the author of many books, including The Handbook of Jewish Meditation Practices, God is a Verb and Ecstatic Kabbalah. He has also published a number of audio-sets with Sounds True, including Mystical Kabbalah and Seeing Through the Eyes of God. Rabbi Cooper has led workshops and retreats in the US, Israel, Holland, Poland, New Zealand and Australia. His teachings offer a Jewish perspective that is complemented by the wisdom of other schools including Sufism, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. www.rabbidavidcooper.com
Shoshana Cooper is an artist, Tea Ceremony teacher, meditation instructor, composer and former nursing instructor. Shoshana has become a leader in the growing popularity of Jewish Meditation. She and her husband David taught at the Jewish Renewal Kallah for twelve years and they lived in the Old City of Jerusalem for the previous eight years. Together with Eliezer Sobel they produced the Songs of Prayer and Silence CD and songbook.
Eliezer Sobel is a certified teacher of the 5 Rhythms™, which he offers as part of the biannual meditation retreats with David and Shoshana Cooper. In addition to his regular teaching and musical support, Eliezer will offer 5 Rhythms™ movement sessions developed by Gabrielle Roth. The 5 Rhythms™ work is a dancing path of healing, a moving meditation that calls the spirit into physical form and propels each unique body—no matter what size or shape—toward its own destiny. This introduction to the fundamental 5 Rhythms™ will beckon us forward through the obstacles of inertia and resistance to change, taking us on a highly personal journey toward an inner stillness. No prior dance experience or skills required. Eliezer the author of Wild Heart Dancing, The 99th Monkey, Mordecai's Book and Minyan: Ten Jewish Men in a World that is Heartbroken, winner of the Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel. For more information, contact him at www.eliezersobel.com
Registration Information for December Retreat: Room and Board includes housing, meals, evening activities, yoga, meditation and full use of our facility. All rooms are air-conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter. Adult fees apply to ages 18 and higher. Rates are per person depending upon the type of room, and include all meals. For double or triple occupancy, you may either request a roommate, or be matched with one by the staff. For more information or to register, call 800 398-2630 or check out www.isabellafreedman.org
The program fee for this retreat is by donation; Donations are the life-blood of our ability to serve. We do not charge fixed tuitions at our retreats., Where a retreat center is involved, room and board is usually not negotiable. On a few occasions we can offer selected students a partial scholarship, but this very much depends upon the generosity of other students.
To learn more about our retreats, please read what follows:
Background Information About Weeklong Silent Retreats
A weeklong silent retreat is one of the essential and most important practices for any spiritual aspirant. Each spiritual discipline and many teachers have unique practices, schedules, relationships between the teachers and students along with other nuances of the training. The retreats offered by the Coopers have their own flavor.
On our retreats, the silence we emphasize has two important qualities: 1) it is "friendly," that is to say we do not have to cut ourselves off from other retreatants—a smile or small gesture may be used as long as there is no demand for reciprocation, and 2) the focus of our silence is on "inner" rather than outer plane.
So in our “silence,” we actually chant and sing together every morning. In some instruction periods, questions or comments are invited from the audience. Retreatants have opportunities to engage teachers, either one-on-one or in small groups. All this is considered part of the silence of social conversation.
Therefore, in our silence we are committed not engage one another on a social level. We do not have mundane conversations. We do not greet one another verbally. Why is this so important? The answer is that something happens deep within each of us when we maintain an outer silence as described. An inner silence for practitioners on our retreats arises after a few days. It is a spaciousness that makes itself known on a very deep level. We experience an ease that is uniquely satisfying and deeply content on some kind of soul level that is inexplicable. We begin to feel profoundly connected with others around us, even though we are not speaking. And we begin to experience a fascinating integration with our surroundings, nature, life.
It is true that initially, for the first few days, the experience may feel a bit strange. We are social beings. But we are also very adaptable and soon we begin to realize the extraordinary wonder of the possibility of a moment-to-moment connection with what is happening right now--the magic and mystery of the unfolding NOW. When this happens, the silence becomes a precious gift. Indeed, on our retreats, after the third or fourth day, retreatants love the silence so much they want it to last as long as possible.
The fees for retreats are for room and board only. There is no tuition for teachers, however, free will donations will be invited at the end of the retreat.