Mindful Fall Holidays

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot

September 9 – 23, 2026

Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell and Guest Teachers

3 consecutive Wednesday evenings, September 9 – 23, 2026

Rosh Hashanah, Wed Sept 9, 7:30-8:30pm ET

Yom Kippur , Wed Sept 16, 7:30-8:30pm ET

Sukkot, Wed Sept 23, 7:30-8:30pm ET

Course at a Glance

Enhance your holiday experience through a Jewish mindfulness lens. In this new, rolling series of workshops on the Jewish holidays, we will learn about the traditional and contemporary rituals and practices associated with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Accessible to all backgrounds with no Hebrew required, this course will help you transform traditional practices into accessible tools for spiritual growth, self-reflection, and presence.

Course Overview

“There is a season for everything…” (Eccl. 3:1)

Jewish tradition affirms that our system of holidays is an opportunity for spiritual growth and cultivation. In this new, rolling series of workshops on the Jewish holidays, we will learn about the traditional and contemporary rituals and practices associated with each holiday, and ways to invest each ritual with mindfulness and meaning.

- - Rosh Hashanah: How do we wake up to our lives? What controls us? How do we change direction and recalibrate how we are living?
  - Yom Kippur: A time for deep truth, love, and courage as we face our mortality and seek forgiveness.
  - Sukkot: In a world of change and imperfection, let us inhabit our lives as they are and rejoice.

Click Here to Register Now

Learn More About this Course from Jordan:

Curriculum

Rosh Hashanah is the “head” of the Jewish year. It is a time of shining a bright light on who we are and how we have lived and acted this past year. Jewish wisdom encourages this inner examination as part of a process of teshuvah, returning and recalibrating our lives to be more in sync with our highest sense for who we can be. In our session, we will touch upon the major themes and practices of the holiday from a mindfulness perspective, breathing new life into ancient forms.

Yom Kippur is understood to be the peak of holiness in our year calendar. It is a time of forgiveness – of self and others – and a time for refocusing on the core truths of our lives in the context of our mortality. In this session, we will unpack some of the primary themes and practices of the day, opening them up in a way so that Yom Kippur becomes a way of growing as a human being and not merely a time of religious observance.

Sukkot is, in many ways, the culmination of the High Holy Day season. It is also the most easily embodied of holidays, in which we build and then dwell in huts (sukkot) that are both protective and open. We also gather four species of plants and wave them, connecting with the natural world and the Divine as we seek to receive blessings for the new year. Sukkot is called “the time of our rejoicing”, a time of feeling the joy of life’s blessings, even as we dwell in leaky huts.

Here’s what participants have said about our programs and faculty:

The retreat was well-organized and directed (Jordan did a great job) and the theme beautifully woven into all the instructions, talks, prayers and songs. For such a large retreat, the announcements were kept succint and not overdone–I’ve experienced the opposite on a retreat or two in the past and this was most welcome!

This retreat was transformative. The instructors’ genuine concern for each of us, their ability to treat us with unconditional positive regard, a long with their knowledge and spirituality enabled me to grow within the safety and nurturing refuge in the ark.

Also, the teachers, the rabbis, the leaders – everyone was so brilliant, had such meaningful teachings, observations – even when I thought I couldn’t take in any more, there was more that I gratefully took in. And a special thanks to Jordan, who had to negotiate all the notes on the board and address them in his humorous yet sincere fashion from the bima! The slamming doors! Thanks to you all.

Register Now

IJS is pleased to offer this course at three tuition levels.
Participants can register for our full year of mindful holidays at a discounted rate!
We encourage you to pay at the highest level you can, which will enable more students to participate.

Abundance Level

$149

Basic Level

$79

Mindful Holidays Bundle

$184

Sign up for a full year of mindful holidays at a discounted price! This bundle includes: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Tu B’shvat, Purim, Pesach, and Shavuot.

Meet Your Instructors:

Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell

Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell is Senior Core Faculty at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS), where he teaches Jewish mindfulness and text and directs cohort and retreat programs. Jordan began working for IJS as rabbinical student intern in 2005, and was on staff from 2011-2017, as a teacher of Jewish Mindfulness, leading retreats, and as Director of the Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training. Jordan also taught meditation to rabbis and cantors through IJS’ Clergy Leadership Program.

Currently at IJS, Jordan focuses on teaching Jewish mindfulness and text, planning and directing retreats, and leading the development of a new training program for advanced teachers of Jewish mindfulness.Jordan will also continue to share his expertise through online courses and on retreats, fostering mindful engagement with Jewish wisdom and tradition.