Hineni. We are here.
2026 Impact Report
In 2026, the Institute for Jewish Spirituality met the needs of our time with presence.
Hineni, here I am.
We spent 2026 widening our open tent, so all could find a sense of welcoming presence within it. We brought together more than 42,000 people online and in person for retreats, daily sits, and classes that created a safe spiritual haven.
Hinenu—we’re here for you. Here to breathe, practice, and welcome whatever you’re holding in your heart. Here to be your community, however you engage Jewishly. Here to honor the Divine image within you and build a more resilient, spiritually soaring Jewish future together.
Thank you for being here with IJS—what we accomplished this year belongs to all of us. Together we did the holy work of teaching a Torah that lives in the human heart and helps us each to flourish.
Hineni. It is how our ancestors responded when they were called upon in times of uncertainty, responsibility, and sacred encounter. Hineni does not mean “I have all the answers.” It means: I am present and ready to meet the moment.
Hinenu: We are Here
Serving more Jewish seekers
IJS is growing rapidly, as more people seek out Jewish spirituality as a refuge during these turbulent times. In 2026, attendance grew across all our programs. Our faculty and nationally acclaimed guest instructors taught more online courses, exceeding our goals for enrollment by nearly 30%. And we held eight in-person retreats that brought hundreds together for powerful silence and meaningful spiritual connection.
+ % Increase compared to 2025
In 2026, IJS had 221,500 total program engagements by 42,000 unique participants.
Hinenu: We are Here
Expanding our offerings to meet today’s needs
Many of this year’s programs offered practices for healing from trauma, showing up with compassion and loving-kindness, and finding stability amidst the chaos. Others nurtured creativity, mindful communication, and deep connection with the Divine spark within each of us.
New Courses & CONVERSATIONs
WITH ACCLAIMED GUEST INSTRUCTORS
In this fractured world we’re living in, IJS provides an irreplaceable sanctuary and community. I have received an abundance of wisdom, profoundly rooted in my Judaism, and I am forever grateful.
Lynn Wiener, Daily Sit participant
Hinenu: We are Here
Investing in the next generation
This year, we expanded our Shevet 20s & 30s community. We held weekly sits, multiple online courses and a sold-out retreat geared toward young adults. We also launched a new meditation challenge during the winter that helped introduce mindfulness to nearly 100 new participants.
Shevet Local Communities
I’m so profoundly grateful for IJS for curating this magical, profound, invigorating experience for young adults.
Marlee Goldshine, Shevet Participant
Hinenu: We are Here
Investing in the next generation
This year, IJS helped shine a light on one of the most urgent challenges facing Jewish communal life: clergy burnout. In partnership with The Amen Center for Civic and Spiritual Leadership, we surveyed 726 rabbis and cantors across North America to better understand their well-being and what helps sustain them. The findings showed deeply committed leaders whose reserves are badly frayed by leading through years of crisis.
In response, IJS is expanding our investment in clergy resilience, working with our Hevraya clergy network and beyond. We’ve launched programs to help Jewish leaders find sustainable ways of leading, restore their own equilibrium, and respond to antisemitism with mindfulness. And in July, we launched our new IJS Community Network to enhance clergy’s ability to bring healing mindfulness practices into their own communities.
Engaging clergy in 2026:
[When I first began the CLP program], I had no release valve for my internal pain. Fast-forward four years later, and IJS has truly transformed my life personally and professionally.
Clergy Leadership Program alum
Hinenu: We are Here
Responding to antisemitism with mindfulness
IJS continues to respond to the alarming rise in antisemitism globally by supporting Jewish leaders to cope with the complex emotional, spiritual, and communal challenges of recent years. In our Mindful Jewish Leadership in the Face of Anti-Semitism program, Rabbi Miriam Margles teaches participants a unique trauma-informed approach so they can respond, rather than react, and begin to heal themselves and our hurting communities.
After successful pilots with clergy in Chicago and Toronto, this year we offered the program as a national online course to help Jewish leaders around the country meet this moment with courage, groundedness, and heart.
In a time when antisemitism seeks to make us small, frightened, and reactive, cultivating a clear mind and an open heart is a radical act. We have the choice, breath by breath, to respond not just with discipline, but with devotion to becoming ever wiser, more agile, and better prepared.
Rabbi Miriam Margles, “Beyond fight or flight: Building spiritual stamina in the face of antisemitism,” eJP February 2026. Read the full article here.
[After this course], when I had to write a letter to my community following the attack on the Michigan synagogue, I was able to more intentionally and effectively ground in my body, speak from a place of embodied compassion and knowing, and speak about steps forward from a place of calm.
Participant, antisemitism course
Hinenu: We are Here
Marbeh Fellowship: Cultivating outstanding mindfulness teachers
In May, with funding from a prestigious Covenant Foundation grant, we launched our new Marbeh fellowship to nurture the next generation of senior Jewish mindfulness teachers. Over the next 30 months, the 24 inaugural fellows will immerse themselves in retreat intensives, ongoing study, mentorship, teaching, writing, and publication—expanding their capacity to guide others and shape the growing field of Jewish spiritual practice grounded in mindfulness.
Fellows range from talented up-and-coming teachers to renowned established leaders. With Marbeh as their incubator, they’ll have the network and platform they need to shape our spiritual Jewish future together.
Marbeh Fellows 2026
For years, the Jewish world has needed a program like IJS’s Marbeh, in which leading Jewish mindfulness teachers can share best practices and deep Torah— and develop new ways to reach Jews who long for a vibrant spiritual life. Now that this program exists and I’m part of it, I can already see the sparks flying, as participants push, inspire, and collaborate with each other. I think we’ll be seeing the ripple effects of Marbeh for generations to come.
Sarah Hurwitz, author, speechwriter, and Marbeh Fellow
Hinenu: We are Here
Transforming lives
IJS’s impact is felt every time a group of people sits together in powerful silence, studies Jewish texts, or reaches across the screen for experiences of deep learning or spiritual connection.
IJS’S IMPACT
IJS has brought me back to my Judaism and teaches me how to live better in this world.
IJS has brought me back to my Judaism and teaches me how to live better in this world.
All this was made possible by the generous support of our community. Thank you to the 1,810 donors who were here for IJS in 2026 so we could be here for everyone.
2026 Financials
We give to IJS because it has helped us engage Jewish wisdom and mindfulness practices in ways that have nourished us deeply. IJS is meeting the needs of such a diverse swath of people who are hungry for spiritual engagement. It helped us on our spiritual journey, and now we’re proud to help it grow to be there for others.
Eleanor Harrison Bregman and Peter Bregman
Growth over the past five years
[IJS] changed my life…
What a remarkable Institute and the gift that doesn’t stop giving!
Rabbi Naamah Kelman
People & Leadership
The people in this community are at the heart of everything we do here at IJS. From our immersive cohort programs to our soulful staff to everyone who joins us online or in person, thank you for being here with us.
Participants in our Intensive Cohort Programs
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Last fall, more than 350 people joined IJS in New York for our Evening of Light to celebrate our 25th anniversary and honor Dorian Goldman and Marvin Israelow, whose vision has guided so much of our work and community. Generous donors contributed $9 million to honor this milestone and invest in IJS’s future.
