The Jewish Embodiment Project
Retreats 2025
Our next retreat:
Elul: Body As Home - September 4-7
Kerhonkson, NY
Elul Retreat
This retreat is rooted in the energy of Elul — the final month of the Jewish year, a time for introspection, return, and renewal. As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we’ll explore how the season of reflection can live in our bodies, our movements, our relationships, and our spirits.
While the full schedule is still unfolding, here’s what you can expect:
Embodied explorations of Elul through guided movement sessions that draw on a variety of practices — all held in a Jewish spiritual framework.
Spacious, soulful learning on the themes of Elul and the High Holidays: teshuvah (return), forgiveness, awe, and renewal.
Ecstatic dance journeys to move your prayers, shake loose old patterns, and awaken joy.
A guided mikvah immersion in a natural freshwater source — to cleanse, reset, and mark this sacred threshold.
Curated meals by our private chef to nourish body and spirit, and build intentional community around the table.
Daily journaling prompts to support personal reflection, inner inquiry, and preparation for the year ahead.
A full Shabbat experience to slow down, disconnect, and enter sacred time together.
Ample free time to rest, roam the land, and let the teachings integrate in your own rhythm.
This retreat is for anyone longing to enter the High Holiday season with intention, community, and deep embodiment.
Want more detail? Check out the schedule from our last retreat for an example of how the weekend might flow.
The Retreat Journey
Meet the Team
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Lawrence Dreyfuss
FOUNDER
Lawrence Dreyfuss founded The Jewish Embodiment Project in 2023 after studying Jewish texts at Hebrew College in Boston. He has DJed Ecstatic Dance events across the globe under the name DJ Oatmeal.
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Avital Kranz
MOVEMENT
Avital Kranz is a trained Dance/Movement Therapist based between Israel and South Florida (also an honorary part-time Brooklynite). She believes in the intuitive wisdoms embedded within each of us, and aims to create safe and nurturing spaces to explore the self through therapeutic dance, and to unearth the healing powers within. Rooted in the body-mind-soul connection, she guides group and one-on-one sessions and uses movement and mindfulness principles to build somatic awareness. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Expressive Arts Therapies at Lesley University, in order further the research field about holistic healing in the dance/movement community and beyond.
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Steven Shikhel
CULINARY EXPERT
Steven Shikhel, PhD, is a classically trained biological scientist, chef, and the founder of CHAUHAUS, a culinary concept that celebrates the intersection of food, art, and community. CHAUHAUS is known for crafting experiential and experimental cuisine for immersive events, and home-cooked meals that are warm, grounding, and perfectly aligned. CHAUHAUS’ goal is to churn the creative cycle by bringing individuals together who otherwise would never have met to dine over a unique culinary experience. The food facilitates conversation and creates a place where folks can learn, be heard, and chow down.
The Retreat Space:
Arts on Site
Residency and Retreat Center
This is our third time returning to Arts on Site located in Kerhonksen Kerhonkson, NY. The center is located on 20 acres of property surrounded by Minnewaska State Park. There's lots of access to the outdoors, with hiking available from the property.
Accommodations are rustic and take place in shared yurts, and bell tents, Each space includes clean linens, pillows, and warm blankets.
The Price
For each attendee, the retreat experience is valued at over $800. But, thanks to a generous grant, we are able to offer you this experience for only $400.
*Scholarships are also available on a limited basis.
Purim Retreat
Level 1: March 13-16
Explore how we can hold both darkness and light within the vessel of our own beings. The weekend culminates with a masquerade dance as we swirl between polarities of knowing and unknowing, chaos and clarity.
The Retreat Arc
Summer Tamuz Retreat
Level 1: July 10-13
A weekend of deep remembering within our own beings. The summer is a time for feeling the fruits of our beings spring forth. Together, we’ll explore our first reference point, our own bodies, and, from this anchor, we’ll explore what it means to live as physical beings in relation to Jewish wisdom.
Elul Retreat
Level 2: September 4-7
PRIORITY GIVE to those who have attended a level 1 Retreat but all are welcome to apply.
Prepare for the high holidays by turning back to your own self. We’ll build on the trust and physical language created in the level one retreats to explore how we can relate to other beings, other reflections of the divine, as we move through space and toward 5786.
The Jewish Embodiment Project is thrilled to offer a three-retreat series throughout 2025. Over the course of the year, we will dive deeply into the wisdom of Jewish mysticism, explore the connections between spirituality and our bodies, and cultivate a Jewish community rooted in vulnerability and authenticity.
This is more than just a retreat—it’s an opportunity to be supported within a Jewish framework for profound transformation. Inspired by the overwhelming response to last year’s sold-out retreat, we recognized a pressing need for spaces that embrace our full, messy humanity within a Jewish context. By doing so, we aim to redefine what is possible.
Through these retreats, we aspire to grow our Kehillah (community) into one that is honest about our present realities and courageously optimistic about dreaming up the world as we envision it.
Who Should Attend:
Level 1 retreats are open to all who are interested in Jewish spirituality, movement, and meditation. No prior experience is necessary—just a willingness to explore and connect. No prior knowledge of Jewish practices is required.
Our level 2 retreat will only be open to those that you have attended level 1.
“This retreat was such a special community experience! I had such an amazing time and released so much that was no longer serving me. The yoga opened up my lungs and heart and grounded me. The food, the setting, the learning, and the human connection were so nourishing. I'm so grateful for all that I took home from the experience”
— Feedback from a past retreat participant.
Our sponsor -
This retreat was made possible through a generous gift from Moishe House. We are grateful for their support in making this happen. Learn more at https://www.moishehouse.org
FAQs
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You do not have to be Jewish to attend. This retreat is open to anyone interested in engaging with Jewish approaches to spirituality.
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We aim to keep the event small with 25 people total (or less). By creating an intimate container, we hope to create a safe space for us to go deep together.
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The retreat will not be strictly kosher, but everything will be vegetarian. Please share any allergies and dietary restrictions on the sign-up form.
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Yes, we’d love to hear from you and discuss how we can fit your offering into the flow of the weekend. Please contact us with your ideas.
avarembodied@gmail.com -
There are various options including tent camping, indoor dorm-style rooms, and indoor private rooms.
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We will send out a packing list closer to the start of the retreat.
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We’ve worked hard to keep this event as affordable as possible. That said, if $400 is simply not accessible, please email us at avarembodied@gmail.com.
We have a limited number of scholarships available.
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The schedule will include a mix of structured activities and free time. We will start each day with yoga and meditation, followed by workshops and dance. Shabbat will be a special time for rest and reflection (more information on this to come).
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Participants must be at least 21 years old.
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Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel. Cancellations made more than 30 days in advance will receive a full refund. Cancellations made within 30 days of the event will receive a 50% refund. We can not honor refunds within 2 weeks of the events.
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No required reading or preparation is needed, but we will provide some optional materials and resources to help you get the most out of the retreat.
In addition, if you don’t already have a meditation practice, we encourage you to try meditating for 5-10 minutes each day leading up to the event. If you’re new to meditation, we recommend apps such as Headspace or Insight Time. While this is not required, it will help prepare your mind for the experience.
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Kierhonksen is accessible by car, and bus and train. We often have plenty of options to carpool,
By BusTrailways Bus runs many times a day from Port Authority NYC to New Paltz. From there we can have someone pick you up.
We will send detailed directions and transportation options upon registration. Carpooling options may also be available. -
You can get in touch with us at avarembodied@gmail.com