Nishmat Hayyim: Jewish Meditation

Nishmat Hayyim (Breath of Life) is the TBZ meditation project. Reb Moshe and experienced meditation teachers from our congregation, as well as guest teachers, lead weekly meditation groups and monthly Shabbat afternoon retreats in our sanctuary and annual daylong and weekend retreats at other locations. They also integrate contemplative Jewish practices into our services and community life. Contemplative prayer offers boundless opportunities to connect with the Divine within us and to bring this practice out into our community and the world. Committee meetings are held 6-8 times per year to plan retreats, arrange for visiting teachers, and develop more access to contemplative practice experiences for the community. We need help maintaining our ongoing and new sitting groups and retreats, and particularly in developing ways to support contemplative practice for members of the community who have not been able to make use of the structures set up so far. Having developed a variety of programs and a core group of committed practitioners, we would like to expand the opportunities for practice in a Jewish context.

If you would like to be involved in our wonderful work, please contact nishmathayyim@tbzbrookline.org. For more information about the 2017 -18 programs, please click here.

Nishmat Hayyim at TBZ is a resource for Jewish contemplative practices in the Boston area and throughout New England. Teachings and practices draw on a rich tradition of Jewish texts, basic meditation techniques, and the humanity of daily life. Through weekly meditation classes, contemplative Shabbats and retreats, Nishmat Hayyim offers systematic meditation training within a Jewish context.

A regular meditation group offers students the support to develop and sustain an individual practice as well as to integrate meditation into other parts of their Judaism and daily life. Individual instruction and spiritual guidance is also offered.

Lectures and special events with leading teachers from the U.S. and Israel offer a wide variety of Jewish teachings and practices: from the Sfirot to Chassidut, from contemplative prayer and chanting to meditation in everyday life.

As a resource to the Jewish community of New England, Nishmat Hayyim at TBZ offers programs for synagogues, schools, elders’ communities, and other institutions. As well, training programs support Rabbis and lay leaders with contemplative programs in their home communities.

All programs are open and accessible to people from all backgrounds, from secular to halachically observant.

Jewish Meditation Q & A

Reb Moshe’s Metta Practice

Self-Emptying Prayer