Tisha B’Av 5785/2025
Sunday August 3, 10am – 2pm
RITUAL, REFLECTION, AND EXPLORATION:
A CONTEMPLATIVE ANCIENT MOURNING RITUAL FOR THIS MOMENT
with Rabbi Shifrah Tobacman, Jen Roitman and Zvi Beilin
“You turned my dancing into mourning.” (Eicha 5:15)
“Return us, YHVH, and we will be returned. May our days be renewed.” (Eicha 5:21)
“You turned my mourning into dancing.” Ps. 30:11)
For Tisha B’av, we’ll move together through this powerful day, hold each other in the tenderness and challenge of this time in our country and world, and make space for healing and tikkun. We’ll draw from the deep and resonant structure of the Book of Lamentations, weaving its wisdom together with meditation, ancient and contemporary text, movement, song, and opportunities for individual and group process.
Tisha B’av, the Ninth of Av, is traditionally a time to lament with a fast day and reading from the Book of Lamentations. The book recalls the destruction of the First and Second Temples. This year at this season, we grieve the intense loss and dislocations that we are living through communally and in our world while honoring the potential for something new to emerge.
Tisha B’av Traditions, History, and Resources:
Tickets:
No cost, but pre-registration is highly encouraged!
RABBI SHIFRAH TOBACMAN, M.A., M.P.A is a spiritual leader, teacher, interfaith chaplain, end-of-life doula, and poet. She has a healer’s spirit and a dedication to social, economic, and environmental justice. Rabbi Shifrah was ordained by Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal in 2015, after careers in bodywork, health education, and public health. Since then, she’s served as an Interfaith Chaplain for seniors in the East Bay (Center for Elders’ Independence), and as a congregational rabbi for Tikkun V’Or in Ithaca, New York. She also has a background as a Compassionate Listening facilitator and trainer. She’s the author of Omer/Teshuvah, a collection of poetic reflections designed to carry the practitioner both through the seven weeks of Counting the Omer, and through the seven weeks between Tisha B’av and Rosh Hashanah. She currently serves as a rabbi-at-large in the Bay Area community. Rabbi Shifrah lives in Emeryville, CA with her wife Ruth.
Jen Roitman is a student in the Aleph Rabbinic Ordination Program. She leads a weekly contemplative morning service on zoom and monthly Monday night meditation for Chochmat HaLev. Jen has been practicing Jewish and Vipassana meditation for more than 25 years. She is an End of Life Doula. She is a graduate of Rabbi Shefa Gold’s Kol Zimra Chant Leader Training, and The Sati Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Program.
Zvi Bellin: Originally from Brooklyn, Zvi moved out to the Bay Area about 10 years ago. Professionally, he teaches counseling and has a private psychotherapy practice. Spiritually, he draws from Judaism and Vipassana traditions, with a humble twist from Thich Nhat Hanh. He is drawn to storytelling and connection in diverse communities. Zvi has led therapeutically-oriented mindfulness training and retreats and loves engaging with texts to connect ancient practice to contemporary life. Let’s practice together and make meaningful moments.
COVID Protocols
Our new policy effective May 19th, 2023 is as follows:
Chochmat HaLev, in consultation with our medical advisor and based on community survey results, will discontinue masking requirements for attendance at events. Masks, although not required, are recommended. We understand people will need to make their own decisions about exposure and risk based on their own personal preferences, and health status.
Chochmat HaLev will provide passive ventilation (e.g., open windows and doors under the supervision of security-trained personnel) and other equipment as available.
Chochmat HaLev will include specific guidelines for those attending in person events on our website and in announcements regarding events.
Chochmat HaLev will provide seating adjacent to a window in an end-of-the-row seat to individuals upon request.
DO NOT attend an event at CHL:
- if you are experiencing any potential symptoms of COVID-19 or other illness
- if you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days and have not had a negative antigen test on Day 6 or later
- if you have had a known exposure to COVID-19 in the past 3-5 days
- if a household member has tested positive in the last 10 days and has not had a negative test on Day 6 or later
