From Joy to Liberation: A Meditation and Movement Retreat
with Rabbi Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks & Maggidah Cyrise Beatty Schachter
In the days between Purim and Pesakh, we are on a path from Joy to Liberation. Adar is known in Jewish tradition as the month of joy. So much so that when the calendar needs an extra month, it is always another Adar that is added—as if joy itself must be expanded.
From Joy to Liberation unfolds in that spirit, inviting us to explore joy not as a fleeting emotion or frivolous escape, but as a powerful alchemical practice and a pathway to real liberation.
But why cultivate joy so intentionally?
Because joy, in Jewish spiritual wisdom, is not ornamental. It is medicinal.
In a world marked by grief, injustice, and rupture, joy becomes an antidote—a way of living that does not deny tragedy but refuses to be crushed by it. The practice of joy offers real liberation: liberation from despair, from stagnation, from the constrictions of anger, numbness, and depression. By developing our capacity to access joy, we build an inner reservoir we can draw upon when life becomes most demanding. We generate joy not to bypass pain, but to meet it with greater freedom.
During this retreat, we will strengthen and stretch the temple of the body with daily sacred movement; open the heart and purify the mind with chanting and prayer, and get to know our deepest essence as the field of pure awareness, beyond thoughts and feelings, through silent meditation.
We will be immersed in restorative silence with optional learning and discussions in the evenings.
From Joy to Liberation offers what might be called a blessed permission: in the midst of it all—amid uncertainty, heartbreak, and great responsibility—we are going to sing, dance, and connect with our Source.
In doing so, we generate a field capable of dissolving and healing our numbness and despair. We learn not only how to access joy, but how to carry its light with us, bearing it into every field we enter as an act of healing, courage, and love.
Join us Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 13 for this
LODGING & MEALS
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Our retreat host is El Rancho Robles, a historic boutique hotel on a former ranch nestled at the base of the magnificent Santa Catalina Mountains in Oracle, Arizona.
Newly updated guest rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi, A/C, heat, plush linens, comfy beds, coffee makers, microwaves, patios and good vibes! Group vegetarian and pescatarian meals are prepared by the retreat center chefs and served in the communal dining room. A pool and hot tub are accessible on the property. |
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ABOUT PRICING
The cost of the retreat depends on lodging preferences which include:
Double occupancy: $1,826
Single occupancy: $2,026
Commuter rate: $900
This includes four nights of lodging and 3 delicious, vegetarian/pescatarian meals per day, coffee, tea and snacks, along with all programming. (Dinner only on March 9 and breakfast & lunch only on March 13.)
Commuter rate includes:
This includes 3 dinners, 4 lunches, 3 breakfasts, and all programming.
For questions, please email Lisa.
Double occupancy: $1,826
Single occupancy: $2,026
Commuter rate: $900
This includes four nights of lodging and 3 delicious, vegetarian/pescatarian meals per day, coffee, tea and snacks, along with all programming. (Dinner only on March 9 and breakfast & lunch only on March 13.)
Commuter rate includes:
This includes 3 dinners, 4 lunches, 3 breakfasts, and all programming.
For questions, please email Lisa.
More Info about the Retreat Leaders
Rabbi Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks is a spiritual teacher and musician. He has been teaching Jewish spirituality to children and adults since 2000, and founded the online Jewish meditation community, Torah of Awakening, in 2016. He is the author of Kabbalah for Beginners, published by Rockridge Press. Brian is excited to bring the practice out of the Zoom room and into in-person space for this first Days of Awe retreat!
He received rabbinic received rabbinic ordination (s'miha) in the Renewal tradition and lineage of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l through Rabbi David Zaslow and a haimish group of rabbis at Havurah Shir Hadash in Ashland, Oregon in 2023. Prior to that, he received ordinations as Minister of Sacred Music from Reb Zalman z”l (2012), Spiritual Teacher from Shaykh Ibrahim Baba Farajaje (may his secret be sanctified) and Rabbi SaraLeya Schley (2012), certification as Teacher of Jewish Meditation from Dr. Rabbi Avram Davis (2004), and holds a Bachelor in Music from the Eastman School of Music (1991).
Dance the rhythm of your soul with dynamic and heart-centered movement sessions led by Maggidah Cyrise Schachter. Designed to support and deepen your meditation retreat experience, these sessions will combine the earthy roots of folkloric dance, and the raw, liberating energy of hip-hop to help you awaken and experience the Living Presence within your body and your heart. Through guided movement, freestyle expression, and simple breathwork, Cyrise creates a safe, playful, and empowering container where you can release tension, shed emotional layers, and tap into your authentic self. Grounded in somatic awareness, Cyrise invites you to move your meditation beyond stillness and discover what your soul feels like in motion. No dance experience necessary! Just bring your breath, your body, and an open heart.
Cyrise Schachter is an ordained Maggidah, in the lineage of Rav Zalman Schachter z’t’l, and a certified Morah Hitbodedut/Teacher of Jewish Meditation. She has served as Musical Director, Priestess, and Rabbinic Assistant to west coast Jewish Renewal communities for the past 25 years. Cyrise sings and offers concerts with her women’s vocal trio Wild Honey as a song carrier of Eastern European and Celtic folk traditions. Steeped in the culture of the Bay Area from a young age, Hip Hop Dance became a part of her spiritual practice. Cyrise also studied modern dance, African Dance, and bellydance and now teaches a vibrant Hip Hop Class in her small southern Oregon town, keeping her grateful community moving for the past 13 years. Last year she pioneered her online, “Movement Minyan” services, integrating dance and Jewish prayer. Cyrise is thrilled to partner with Torah of Awakening and Rabbi Brian Yosef for this retreat and hopes to bring joyful “moving meditation” as a deep enrichment of his offerings.
Cyrise Schachter is an ordained Maggidah, in the lineage of Rav Zalman Schachter z’t’l, and a certified Morah Hitbodedut/Teacher of Jewish Meditation. She has served as Musical Director, Priestess, and Rabbinic Assistant to west coast Jewish Renewal communities for the past 25 years. Cyrise sings and offers concerts with her women’s vocal trio Wild Honey as a song carrier of Eastern European and Celtic folk traditions. Steeped in the culture of the Bay Area from a young age, Hip Hop Dance became a part of her spiritual practice. Cyrise also studied modern dance, African Dance, and bellydance and now teaches a vibrant Hip Hop Class in her small southern Oregon town, keeping her grateful community moving for the past 13 years. Last year she pioneered her online, “Movement Minyan” services, integrating dance and Jewish prayer. Cyrise is thrilled to partner with Torah of Awakening and Rabbi Brian Yosef for this retreat and hopes to bring joyful “moving meditation” as a deep enrichment of his offerings.
Retreat Structure
שְׁתִיקָה
Sh'tikah: Silence
Sh'tikah: Silence
Silence creates a space for the ordinary movement of mind to subside, for hidden feelings to be felt, and most importantly, to get to know yourself more deeply as the silent and vast field of awareness within which all experience unfolds. Retreats are held mostly in silence, with the exceptions of chanting, teachings from Reb Brian Yosef, Q&A, and some periods of socializing in the evening programming.
תְנוּעָה
Tenu'ah: Sacred Movement
Tenu'ah: Sacred Movement
The body is the temple of consciousness, the vehicle through which we realize our Essence. Taking care of our bodies is not a materialistic chore, but a sacred celebration of life. Maggidah Cyrise will lead us in restortive movements culled from Yoga, Tai Chi, and contemporary sources.
תְּפִלָּה
Tefilah: Chanting & Prayer
Tefilah: Chanting & Prayer
Judaism offers the structure of three daily prayer practices: morning, afternoon and evening. This structure underlies our practice sessions on retreat, which will include accessible versions of the daily prayers (those who don't know Hebrew will be able to easily participate), as well as chanting and singing of wordless niggunim, and silent meditation.
עיון אין
Iyun Ayin – Immersive Spacious Awareness Teachings
Iyun Ayin – Immersive Spacious Awareness Teachings
Brian's teachings are aimed at awakening an experiential connection with the Eternal dimension of the present moment while connecting and grounding this experience in traditional Jewish texts and practices. These teaching sessions are similar to the weekly Iyun Ayin Zoom sessions, and including sharing and Q&A.
Schedule
Monday: Check in will be from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. At 5:00 pm will have a retreat orientation, followed by dinner, evening prayers and meditation.
Daily Activities: Each full day of retreat begins at 7:30 am and ends officially by dinner time at 6:00pm. Optional evening activities will take place after dinner. Full days include three practice periods during the day (including silent meditation, movement, chanting and prayer.) Three delicious vegetarian/pescatarian/kosher meals will be served, with some walking/unstructured time. Days will be in silence, and we will break from silence in the evenings.
Friday: After breakfast and morning practice, we will have a lunch and a closing circle.
Daily Activities: Each full day of retreat begins at 7:30 am and ends officially by dinner time at 6:00pm. Optional evening activities will take place after dinner. Full days include three practice periods during the day (including silent meditation, movement, chanting and prayer.) Three delicious vegetarian/pescatarian/kosher meals will be served, with some walking/unstructured time. Days will be in silence, and we will break from silence in the evenings.
Friday: After breakfast and morning practice, we will have a lunch and a closing circle.