“Listen! Israel, Listen! Still the mind’s chatter, quiet the heart’s desire…This One alone is God.” (Rabbi Rami Shapiro)

This class, taught by Rabbi Diane Tiferet Lakein, will invite us to engage with one of our core prayers – “the Sh’ma” – with beginner eyes, ears and mind. Come and taste the rich layers of theology that this One-liner (and the paragraphs that follow) offers those curious and adventurous enough to listen wholeheartedly. In addition to exploring our own unique yearnings, we will learn about the spiritual history of the Sh’ma and experiment with diverse spiritual practices that use this prayer to experience (or, at the very least, approach) Presence.

Spend the month between Purim and Pesach cleansing your spiritual house, while cleaning your material home – which, seen through the lens of the Sh’ma, are perhaps, in fact, one and the same!

Week One: Beginnings – Settling down, settling in

Week Two: Inviting Presence – Experiencing Oneness

Week Three: Awakenings – Setting wisdom upon our hearts

Week Four: Listening up, leaning in – Guarding mouths, marking doorposts

You may take the class at noon on Wednesdays or Thursday evenings. If you sign up for the entire series and need to shift class day/time in any week you will be allowed to do so. Please register separately to take this series on Thursdays.

Cost: $10 members/$12 guests per class; $36/$48 for those registering for the full series

While the classes build on one another, drop-ins are always welcome

Register Below to Receive a Link to this Class on Zoom

Rabbi Diane Tiferet Lakein (she/hers) holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies and International Politics from Princeton University and an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Born in San Francisco, she spent time in Stockholm, Sweden as a child and in Beijing, China as an undergraduate. She moved to Germany in the mid-1990s to conduct ethnographic research on anti-racist responses to rising xenophobia – and discovered her passion for Jewish spirituality and education.

Rabbi Diane received a Masters of Jewish Education from Hebrew College and ordination from ALEPH, the Alliance for Jewish Renewal. She most recently served as Jewish Educator in Cologne, Germany (2011-2014), Rabbinic Intern in Freiburg, Germany (2013-2016) and Rabbi of Chawurah Gescher in Freiburg, Germany and of Migwan in Basel, Switzerland (2017-2019). She joined the Religious School staff and the Spiritual Leadership Team at Nevei Kodesh in 2020.

Rabbi Diane is a member of Haver, the Rabbinic Council of Boulder, Colorado and of the Rocky Mountain Rabbis and Cantors (RMRC), based in Denver. She is also a member of OHALAH, the Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal and the General Rabbinical Council of Germany – Allgemeine Rabbinerkonferenz (ARK ) .

To learn more about Rabbi Diane got to www.rabbiwithin.org