Refuge in the Ark:
A Jewish Mindfulness RetreatSunday, November 16 – Thursday, November 20, 2025
Garrison Institute, Garrison, NY
When the seas of our lives are especially chaotic, it can be healthy to take temporary refuge in a sheltered place — like Noah did in the biblical ark. Once removed from the storm, we can connect deeply with our life force, reduce reactivity, and restore and strengthen ourselves. After this respite, we’re able to return to our lives with greater clarity and wisdom to respond to the chaos all around us.
The IJS community will create our own ark of calm this fall, and we hope you will join us.
We are thrilled to be returning to the beautiful, serene Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY, for a Jewish mindfulness meditation retreat led by IJS faculty and other experienced, beloved instructors. Over five days, we will focus on deepening our practice through silent meditation enhanced with Jewish teachings, meditation instructions, mindful prayer, and yoga/embodied practice. We will use silence as a tool to deepen our sense of calm, safety, and spiritual development, following Rav Shimon Ben Gamliel’s teaching that “I have found nothing better for a person than silence” (Pirkei Avot 1:17).
Our days will include time for smaller sessions in two tracks — one for those newer to Jewish mindfulness meditation (including those who are new to retreats) and one for those with more experience. These tracks will offer different length meditation periods and tailored instructions. There will also be opportunities to mindfully explore the beautiful grounds and forested trails of the Garrison Institute.
Our instructors will include Rabbi Nancy Flam, co-founding IJS teacher; Senior Core Faculty, Rabbi Miriam Margles; Core Faculty, Rebecca Schisler; and Senior Faculty Fellow, Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell.
This retreat is open to participants of all ages and experience levels. This retreat will be held mostly in social silence, except for opening and closing meals, Q&A, communal prayer, and one-on-one sessions with instructors. See FAQs below for more information.
Retreat Costs and Financial Support
Single Room
$2,000
Single Room –
ADA Accessible
$1,500
Single Room for Health Reasons
$1,500
Double Room
$1,200
We want to ensure that the cost of enrollment is not a barrier to participation. Financial assistance is available upon request.
Sample Daily Schedule
6:15 Wake-up
6:45 Sitting Meditation (or personal prayer)
7:15 Shacharit/ Morning Prayers
8:15 Breakfast
9:15 Tracks 1 and 2: Meditation with instruction
12:00 Lunch
1:45 Sitting Meditation and mincha/afternoon prayers
2:15 Walking Meditation
3:00 Q & A and Sitting Meditation
3:45 Yoga, Embodied Practice or Outdoor Walk
5:00 Sitting Meditation / Mincha / Afternoon Prayers
5:30 Dinner
7:00 Evening Teaching
8:00 Walking Meditation
8:30 Sitting Meditation and Ma’ariv / Evening Prayers
9:00 Lyla tov (Good night!)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this retreat for me?
This retreat is open to beginner and more advanced students alike. We will have two tracks for the morning practice to help support both of these groups. If you have never meditated on a retreat before, you are welcome! Our practice guidance will be both accessible and deep.
We also strive to make this retreat inclusive for all bodies through ensuring the availability of gender neutral bathrooms and chairs without arms. If there are additional ways that we can support your sense of belonging, please reach out to us.
Meditation is contra-indicated to some mental health conditions. If you are not sure whether retreat is for you at this time, please contact us at support@jewishspirituality.org
What is social silence?
Shortly after our opening program and dinner on the first day, we will enter into what we call “social silence.” We see this as a warm, loving silence that helps us be present more fully.
This means that we are inviting you to not speak socially with other participants, check your phone/email, or otherwise “exit” the silence for the duration of each day. This enables you to slow down, sink deeply into the practices, and allows you to truly “re-source” yourself in the spaciousness of the silence. You will have the chance to ask questions of the faculty after instructional periods, in small groups, and during designated Q&A periods throughout the day. We will also be chanting and singing/praying together each day.
How will we be observing Jewish tradition?
While our retreat is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition, you are welcome to participate regardless of your Jewish background. All Hebrew terms will be translated and explained. Our Jewish practice will be egalitarian, contemplative, heart-centered, songful, prayerful, embodied, expansive, and deep.
We will be engaging in prayer as a full group, and there will be time built into the schedule for folks with a personal prayer practice to pray. There will be an opportunity to say the Mourner’s Kaddish every day.
Our retreat will be kosher, according to IJS Kashrut Standards.
Food on Retreat
A sensory highlight of this retreat will be the healthy and delicious gourmet food served by the Garrison Institute. Our menu will be primarily vegetarian — with vegan, dairy, and fish options. We will be kashering the Garrison kitchen and working with their kitchen team to offer kosher food according to IJS Kashrut Standards. When registering, you will have the opportunity to let us know about any dietary restrictions that you may have.
Retreat Faculty
Rabbi Nancy Flam
Co-founding IJS Teacher
Rabbi Nancy Flam is a pioneer in the field of Jewish healing and contemporary spirituality. She co-founded the Jewish Healing Center in 1991, serving as its West Coast Director, also co-founded and was the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s first Executive Director. Rabbi Flam teaches and writes widely about Judaism, healing, spirituality and mindfulness, and served as Series Editor for LifeLights, a Jewish series on challenges in the emotional and spiritual life. She currently works as a consultant and spiritual director.
Rabbi Miriam Margles
Senior Core Faculty
Miriam has a long and rich association with IJS, having taught on various retreats and programs over the years. She joined the Institute as a Senior Core Faculty after over a decade as the rabbi of the Danforth Jewish Circle in Toronto. Her career has included service as a founding faculty member at the Romemu Yeshiva, serving as a fellow with the Rising Song Institute, co-founding the award-winning educational program engaging with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Encounter, and recording her original Jewish music with the Hadar Rising Song ensemble.
Miriam teaches and leads by creating an atmosphere of attentive, brave, playful and open-hearted exploration of Jewish text, prayer and practices, our inner landscapes, resilient connection with others, and relationship with the wider world, all working toward healing, wisdom and liberation. Her work integrates exploration through movement, voice and song and creative writing. She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and the Jerusalem Fellows at the Mandel Leadership Institute. She earned an MTS from Harvard Divinity School and a BFA from York University.
Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell
Senior Faculty Fellow
Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell is a teacher of Jewish mindfulness and text and has spent years leading retreats and immersive experiences for adults in various settings through the National Ramah Commission, Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Jordan is returning to IJS as a Senior Faculty Fellow. In this role, he will lead the planning of a new center for advanced study, practice, and teaching that we aim to develop over the coming years. He will also teach in online courses and on retreats.
In addition to his work with IJS, Jordan is part of the clergy team at Beth David in Toronto.
Jordan was the founding Director of Ramah Beyond and was Director of Camp Ramah in Canada from 2019-2022. Previously, he worked for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS) as a teacher of Jewish Mindfulness and as Director of the Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training. Jordan also taught meditation to rabbis and cantors through IJS’ Clergy Leadership Program. After being ordained in 2008, Jordan served as a congregational rabbi outside of Chicago and co-founded Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning. Jordan is a recipient of the 2014 Covenant Foundation Pomegranate Prize. He and his wife Yael live in Toronto and are the proud and grateful parents of three.
Rebecca Schisler
Core Faculty Member
Rebecca is a meditation teacher, artist, and Jewish educator. A devoted contemplative practitioner, she has led groups and taught classes and retreats with Or HaLev, Awakened Heart Project, Orot, Wilderness Torah, Pardes, and Stanford School of Medicine. She was previously the Director of Student Health & Well-being at Stanford University’s Hillel, and co-authored the Mahloket Matters Schools Curriculum with the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. A student rabbi at ALEPH, Rebecca is passionate about integrating ancestral wisdom traditions with innovative approaches to personal and collective healing and liberation. She teaches Jewish spirituality as an embodied, holistic, and accessible path, with relevant and timely wisdom for all.