Isabella Freedman Center Offers a Variety of Options for Exploring Jewish Ideas

by Daniel E. Levenson

May 11, 2009

There are few places in the northeastern United States with the diversity and depth of programming that the Isabella Freedman Center has to offer.  Located in Falls Village, Connecticut, the center has evolved over the last century into a place where people can come to explore nearly every aspect of Jewish identity, from Torah study sessions with some of today’s leading thinkers, to developing a practice in Jewish meditation, to exploring the intersection of Jewish value and environmentalism. This last issue is one in which the Center has emerged as a leader, with the founding of the Teva Learning Center in 1994, which for the past 15 years has engaged with students from day schools, as well as congregations and community groups, to, according to the program website, immerse “… participants in the natural world and providing structured activities which sensitize them to nature's rhythms, we help them develop a more meaningful relationship with nature and their own Jewish practices.”

Another noteworthy program at the Isabella Freedman Center is the Elat Hayyim Center for Jewish spirituality. Lee Moore, who directs the center, recently explained that the programs they offer are designed to be inclusive, welcoming Jews from many different backgrounds who have a desire to connect with Jewish tradition through a variety of paths, from meditation to music to mystical practices. She described it as a place where individuals can come and find new ways to explore Jewish ideas and practice, in an environment that fosters community and connection.

Moore noted that Elat Hayyim will have a number of exciting programs this coming spring and summer, including a Shavuot program with Rabbi Zalman Schechter-Shlomi , as well as a course focusing on Moses with Dr. Aviva Zornberg, entitled “Moses the Man: Mirrors and Shadows,” which will feature an examination of the figure of Moses by making use of, according to the written description of the class “…midrashic, psychoanalytic and literary material …”

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2009.