Local Practice Opportunities

Are you looking to practice in person with others?

Our practice groups are open to all, from beginner to advanced meditators, and welcome all kinds of relationships with Jewish spirituality and life - whether you’re curious, deeply aligned, or intensely grappling. These groups are designed to provide a welcoming space to connect with others on a shared path of grounding, togetherness, exploration and growth. They offer encouragement and support for your Jewish meditative journey.

Find your Or HaLev Practice Group

If you are located elsewhere and are looking for community, please be in touch. We are pleased to hear from you!

USA

  • 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:

    • 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

    • Wednesday night sits in living rooms across Brooklyn for those in their 20s or 30s through Shevet. Shevet Brooklyn is an IJS program co-sponsored by Or HaLev and Openlev. Once a month, Or HaLev teachers also lead an extended teaching and guided sit.

    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 by Or HaLev & Adas Israel.
    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

  • 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.

  • We meet weekly on Wednesdays 8-8:30pm for lightly guided sits in different homes around Camberville through Shevet. Shevet Camberville is an IJS program co-sponsorede by Or HaLev. This group is organized by and for younger adults in their 20s/30s.

    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 carrieswatkins@gmail.com with any questions. 

Israel

  • Poem Levavi: Weekly Sit Group With Avigail Be’eri Harel & Nomi Shifrin
    This group is currently on a hiatus. We will keep you updated when we resume

    You are warmly invited to join us for a weekly sit group at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. The group will take place on Mondays from 7:00pm-8:30pm and will include time for sitting practice, chanting, and sharing from the heart. Join us! All experience levels are welcome.

    For more information, please join our WhatsApp group here https://chat.whatsapp.com/BZk9flUaTyu2BC9eLxt7mI?mode=hqrc or contact Avigail at +972 50-821-6307 or Nomi at +19178427701, on WhatsApp.

    The group will take place in Hebrew.

    Feel free to join this Whatsapp group for updates, and let us know if you have any further questions.

Community Groups with Or HaLev Trained Teachers

While the groups in this section below are not groups which Or HaLev manages or is responsible for directly, the group teachers have trained with us and we are glad to make them available to you.

  • Hinaynu (Here We Are) with Shoshana Cetlin

    Come journey with a small, welcoming community of Jewish mindfulness meditators who gather each Sunday morning, 8:00–9:15 a.m. on Zoom EST,  with occasional in-person gatherings to deepen our connection ( in Sharon, Massachusetts, US). 

    Each session offers space to slow down, listen, and share sacred presence together:

    • 15 minutes of casual conversation

    • A brief teaching from the weekly Torah portion

    • A sacred poetry reading

    • A 20-minute guided meditation

    • 10–15 minutes of heartfelt dialogue and reflection.

    Hinaynu is open to both new and experienced practitioners. We meet as hevruta — companions and co-creators — honoring the wisdom that arises from each participant.

    Shoshana Cetlin is an Or HaLev and IJS-trained Jewish mindfulness meditation instructor. Hinaynu is a volunteer-led, freely offered community of practice and spiritual growth.   

    All are welcome.

    For more information or to join, contact Shoshana at tiferetti@tisharon.org

  • ‍Starting in Fall 2026, we'll offer regular evening sits most 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month in North Seattle (Meadowbrook neighborhood) 7:30-9:00 pm.‍‍ ‍

    These will be facilitated by Elliott Weiss, graduate of Or HaLev's Keter advanced teacher training. The group is drop-in and open to all. New and experienced meditators are welcome. All levels of Jewish experience and knowledge are welcome. All religious identities are welcome.‍‍ ‍

    To learn more, please register here to share your interest and receive schedule details and reminders of our meetings. If you have any questions or want more information please email us at: seattlejewishmeditation@gmail.com.

    ‍ ‍

  • AusLev with Gilad Shavit

    I teach Jewish mindfulness and breathwork sessions online and in Tasmania, Australia, for anyone interested in breath-based practices rooted in Jewish wisdom. The work supports cultivating both acceptance of how things are, and a sense of agency — learning how we can gently change how we feel by changing how we breathe. Find out more at https://www.the-breathers.com/

We Are Here

Any questions? Please email Zac Newman, at zacn@orhalev.org

“ I went out into the world with a wider heart,
with a deep breath full of gratitude.”
- Rina P.

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