Local practice opportunities

Find your Or HaLev Practice Group

Or HaLev has launched a new local hub in Brooklyn, NYC, stewarded by Or HaLev Faculty Shira Abramowitz. Join us for mini retreats, weekly sits, and various creative programs with local partners. A taste of what we're up to:
- Wednesday night sits in living rooms across Brooklyn, in partnership with Shevet
- Sunday afternoon 3-hr mini retreats, every other month at Kane St Synagogue
- Pre-kabbalat Shabbat sits and contemplative Shabbat offerings at local minyans
- Regular meetups, gatherings, and creative collaborations with NY organizations, synagogues, and partners
To learn more and get involved, join our listserv here: https://tinyurl.com/orhalevbk
It is our great delight to let you know about an in-person sitting group in Washington, DC in partnership with Or HaLev. Please join us on Tuesday nights from 7-8PM at Adas Israel Congregation. These sits are held by Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, Jill Minneman and Amy Golen. This group is drop-in and open to all regardless of membership status at Adas. Both new and experienced practitioners are welcome!
Please register here to receive schedule details and reminders of our meetings. If you have any questions or want more information, please email us directly at jewishmindfulnessindc@gmail.com
Shevet: Wandering Jewish Meditation meets weekly on Wednesdays 8-8:30pm for lightly guided sits in different homes around Camberville. We are a project of IJS and Or HaLev.
Hosts can add something before or after (singing! soup! etc!), or keep it simple with just the sit! Learn more and sign up to host here: https://tinyurl.com/hostshevetcamberville
More information is here: https://tinyurl.com/shevetcamberville
You can join the WhatsApp group here and email carrie@orhalev.org with any questions.

New York / Brooklyn

Or HaLev has launched a new local hub in Brooklyn, NYC, stewarded by Or HaLev Faculty Shira Abramowitz. Join us for mini retreats, weekly sits, and various creative programs with local partners. A taste of what we're up to:

Wednesday night sits in living rooms across Brooklyn, in partnership with Shevet
Sunday afternoon 3-hr mini retreats, every other month at Kane St Synagogue
Pre-kabbalat Shabbat sits and contemplative Shabbat offerings at local minyans
Regular meetups, gatherings, and creative collaborations with NY organizations, synagogues, and partners

To learn more and get involved, join our listserv here: https://tinyurl.com/orhalevbk

Washington DC

It is our great delight to let you know about an in-person sitting group in Washington, DC in partnership with Or HaLev. Please join us on Tuesday nights from 7-8PM at Adas Israel Congregation. These sits are held by Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, Jill Minneman and Amy Golen. This group is drop-in and open to all regardless of membership status at Adas. Both new and experienced practitioners are welcome!

Please register here to receive schedule details and reminders of our meetings. If you have any questions or want more information, please email us directly at jewishmindfulnessindc@gmail.com

Boston

Shevet: Wandering Jewish Meditation meets weekly on Wednesdays 8-8:30pm for lightly guided sits in different homes around Camberville. We are a project of IJS and Or HaLev.

Hosts can add something before or after (singing! soup! etc!), or keep it simple with just the sit! Learn more and sign up to host here: https://tinyurl.com/hostshevetcamberville

More information is here: https://tinyurl.com/shevetcamberville

You can join the WhatsApp group here and email carrie@orhalev.org with any questions.

Los Angeles

OHL-LA will launch in Spring 2026 with a monthly sit group tied to the Jewish calendar, quarterly Shabbat dinners with song and celebration, and other opportunities for sharing ritual and practice in community. We are open to the meditation-curious and the advanced practitioner and look forward to hosting special guest teachers. If you are seeking Jewish wisdom, joy and connection – please join us! For more information, please email danielle@orhalev.org.

Meet Your Teacher

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman is a sought-after speaker, spiritual leader, and educator ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018. Based in the Washington, D.C. area, she teaches, consults, and leads workshops across North America on disability access and inclusion, bringing a deep understanding that anyone can take hold of Torah and contribute their unique insights. Rabbi Tuchman is a teacher in multiple Jewish mindfulness and meditation communities. She completed the three-year Gates of Awareness Jewish mindfulness and meditation teacher training program under the auspices of Or HaLev and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In 2024, she launched Disability Wisdom As Soul Care in partnership with Kirva, and she writes the Contemplative Torah Substack.

Choose your Rate

At Or HaLev, we believe in the spirit of generosity as an essential part of practice. We also acknowledge that financial abilities differ for everyone. We strive to make this offering accessible to those who wish to participate, regardless of ability to pay.
Please consider paying at the highest rate that you are able to. Your generosity enables this course to happen and helps support Or HaLev's activities and grow our community.

We want to make this series accessible to anyone who wishes to join it. If the scholarship rate is financially unfeasible for you, please write to zacn@orhalev.org, with a brief explanation of why you’d like to join us and your financial needs, and we will do our best to make the series accessible to you.