A Five Week Online Program | Open to All
June 23 – July 26, 2024
Do you wish you could listen better to other people, especially those you care about?
In our busy, noisy world, it can be hard to do–and even more so in these times of so much tumult, chaos, and polarization. But it doesn’t need to be this way.
Shema: The Practice of Sacred Listening is a five-week program designed to help you be more fully present and less reactive in conversation, especially when challenging emotions, differing values, or judgments arise. Shema, meaning “hear” in Hebrew, will help you listen deeply, with sacred awareness to both yourself and others. You can strengthen your ability to listen for the interconnection you share with all beings, a unity which often lies quietly beneath the louder voices of separation, judgment, and fear.
Here’s What Shema Participants Have to Say
About The Impact of This Course on Their Practice
Shema will help you listen with a more receptive heart and open mind. Through a simple and powerful three-step process, you will improve your ability to skillfully engage the practices of sacred listening and wise response–to yourself, others, and the Divine. You will do this work in the context of a safe and supportive community of other participants. These foundational skills enable you to listen with clarity and compassion, stay present with your own experience, and support others to feel truly seen, heard, and held.
This course is led by Rabbi Myriam Klotz, Rebecca Schisler, and Rabbi Josh Feigelson. Myriam is a pioneer and leader in the field of Spiritual Direction, a practice of listening mindfully to another as you support them in their sacred journey. Rebecca brings her experience as the co-author of Pardes Institute’s Mahloket Matters schools curriculum which integrates Social-Emotional Intelligence, skills for constructive conflict, and Jewish wisdom. Josh is a veteran teacher of listening and facilitation, most notably as founder of the award-winning Ask Big Questions initiative of Hillel International. We are thrilled to offer the IJS community this offering.
Learning and practice is sustained and deepened through:
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- Materials for each live session
- Guided practice instructions
- Weekly reflection questions to support you in processing and integrating key learnings and insights
- The option of working with a practice partner
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The course includes five weekly live practice sessions led by Rabbi Myriam Klotz, Rebecca Schisler, and Rabbi Josh Feigelson. Teaching portions of live sessions will be recorded and available for all participants. These sessions will be held on Mondays from 7:00-8:30 PM ET on June 24, July 1, 8, 15, and 22. Recordings will be made available for those who cannot attend live.
Shema: The Practice of Sacred Listening
Registration Deadline: June 21
Course Tuition
$249
IJS is pleased to offer this course at three tuition levels.
We encourage you to pay at the highest level you can,
which will enable more students to participate.
Click below to pay the full course tuition of $249
Click below for a reduced tuition of $149
Click below for a reduced tuition of $99
Meet your instructors:
Rabbi Myriam Klotz (she/they)
Rebecca Schisler (she/her)
Rabbi Josh Feigelson (he/him)
Rabbi Josh Feigelson, PhD has served as President & CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality since February 2020. He received ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in 2005, and served for six years as the Hillel Rabbi at Northwestern University, where he also earned a doctorate in Religious Studies. In 2011, Josh helped found and served as Executive Director of Ask Big Questions, an initiative of Hillel International, which won the inaugural Lippman-Kanfer Prize for Applied Jewish Wisdom. Most recently he served as Dean of Students at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is the author of Eternal Questions: Reflections, Conversations, and Jewish Mindfulness Practices for the Weekly Torah Portion (Ben Yehuda Press, 2022) and the host of “Soulful Jewish Living: Mindful Practices for Every Day,” a podcast co-produced by Unpacked and IJS. Josh lives with his wife Natalie and their three sons in Skokie, IL.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
IJS bases its work upon seven core values. These include:
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Diversity and Integrity (Shivim Panim): We recognize that all Jews, within their particular identities, inherit and contribute to a shared, living Torah. We respect the integrity of diverse spiritual traditions and seek to deepen our Jewish practice by learning from their wisdom.
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Inclusion and Equity (Tzedek u’Mishpat): Our practice helps us grow in awareness of our biases, limitations, and intersecting identities and privileges. We aspire to support every person in nurturing their expression of spiritual life.
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As we work to become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, we invite feedback/suggestions you may have regarding ways that we can make participation in the program more accessible, welcoming, and affirming of your humanity. Please email us at [email protected].
About the Institute for Jewish Spirituality
Since 1999, IJS has been a leader in teaching traditional and contemporary Jewish spiritual practices that cultivate mindfulness so that each of us might act with enriched wisdom, clarity, and compassion. These practices, grounded in Jewish values and thought, enable participants to develop important skills while strengthening leadership capacities, deepening their inner lives, and connecting more meaningfully with others, Judaism, and the sacred.