Ruach HaYam, in partnership with Congregation Am Tikva, invites you to our sixth annual full day Shabbat retreat for LGBTQ+ Jews and friends and family.
November 10, 2018, from 9:30am to 7:30pm at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA 02139.
PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED PLEASE REGISTER HERE
Eitz Chayim is 15 minutes walk from Central Square. There will be a parking consideration in effect so that you may park within a couple blocks of the synagogue. Eitz Chayim has a ramp entry and accessible and all gender bathrooms.
Refresh your spirit and make new friends in this fabulous day of egalitarian davening, creative and thoughtful workshops,and delicious kosher food!
Ruach HaYam welcomes queer Jews, friends, allies, family, and interfaith connections . We worship without a mechitza, with the music of our voices only, and with our own siddur. Our retreats are warm, meaningful, collaborative, lead to deepening of friendships, and are simply fabulous.
Schedule for Retreat See below for faculty and leader biographies
| Services |
| 9:30 am to Noon. Service Leader Marvin Kabakoff. Song/Chant Leader Maryam Rhys. Gabbai Sarah Pasternak. Darshan Penina Weinberg |
| Lunch Noon to 1:30 pm |
| Workshops |
| 1:45 to 3:00 – Mimi Yasgur. Storytelling and Improvisation: The Gift of Transmission. “Toldot” means “generations,” and this Torah portion focuses on the progeny of our ancestors and the challenges they had in establishing their families and working through family dynamics. What stories do you carry with you from your own history? What stories do you seek to impart as your legacy? Bring your mind, heart, and playfulness as we explore these questions through interactive conversation, movement, and improvisational activities. |
| 3:15 to 3:45 – Time for a 7th inning stretch! Walk or exercise! |
| 4:00 to 5:15 – Rabbi Reb Lea-h Campolo. Colonial Jews of Newport. Have you visited the mansions on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island ? Do you know that Bellevue Avenue was once called Jew Street? Do you know that the Hebrew language was once a requirement for a Yale graduate? How did that come to be? Learn about the generations of Jews before us, particularly the Sephardic colonial Jews of Newport (Lopez, Rodrigues, Seixas). What images do we hold of Jewish immigrants in America? Come and hear a fascinating history that may change how we might think about Jewish life, worship, ethics, and interfaith relationships during the formation of the country. An important class for those who aspire to learn a another slice of American history that was missed. |
| Closing |
| 5:30 – Havdalah – Marvin Kabakov |
| Following Havdalah – Meal/Melave Malka |
Retreat Directors
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 Penina Weinberg, Retreat Director is an independent biblical scholar and the founder of Ruach HaYam. Penina is President Emerita of Congregation Eitz Chayim in Cambridge, MA, where she is a frequent lay leader. Her studying and teaching focus a queer lens on issues of gender, power, and identity in the Hebrew Bible. Penina teaches in Boston area synagogues, and has led many workshops for Nehirim and Keshet. This is her sixth year as Ruach HaYam retreat director. |
 Marvin Kabakoff, Service Leader, graduated from Brandeis and received a Ph.D. in history from Washington University-St. Louis. He is recently retired as an archivist with the National Archives and Records Administration at their regional facility in Waltham, and is an adjunct in the Simmons Library School. Marvin attended a community Hebrew school and Hebrew High School in New Haven, and has been a long-time service leader at Am Tikva. |
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 Sarah Pasternak, Assistant Retreat Director and Gabbai hails from NJ. She graduated from Dartmouth College. After six years in New Hampshire, Sarah is excited by the size and diversity of the Boston Jewish LGBTQ+ community and doesn’t expect that excitement to fade for a little while yet. Sarah serves on the board of Netivot an international LGBTQ+ traditional Jewish community |
Workshop and other Leaders
 Rabbi Reb Lea-h Campolo graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Religion and Philosophy. She went on to rabbinic studies, learning with Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalom z”l, and received smicha in his lineage. She was the founder and spiritual director of Beit HaDorshim in Brookline MA. She currently teaches, speaks, and officiates life cycle events for many occasions. She also holds degrees in building construction and design, and is licensed to assist in surgery at Boston Medical Center where she currently works.
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