Holy Conversation: The Kavannot of the Shabbat Amidah

Thursdays, January 20, 27, February 3, 10, 17, 24 @ 7–8:30 p.m. EST
$216 for 6 sessions

Like the journey of our lives, every prayer and prayer service can be seen as a story, a process of transformation. The rubrics of the prayer service preceding the Amidah reintroduces us to our bodies (The Morning Blessings), to our community (Songs of Praise), and then explores the nature of God (Kriat Shema), until finally, we cross the Red Sea and are ready to have our own one-on-one conversation with God: a holy conversation (however you understand or don’t understand God). If approached with mindfulness and intention, the Amidah can be our spiritual mission statement. Using prompts, short guided mediations, English translations of different denominations and discussion, liturgist Trisha Arlin will guide us through the Shabbat Amidah and the seven “stories” within it, and we will then write our own holy conversations. 

Session One: Avot v’ Emahot – Praying with the Ancestors (immediate and ancient)

Session Two: Gevurah – What is divine power, even if you don’t believe in an intervening God?

Session Three: Kedushah – What is holiness? How is God’s name holy? Does God need praise? What is God?

Session Four: Avodah – How does prayer apply to service to the community, to God, to ourselves?

Session Five: Hoda’ah – To loved ones, leaders, essential workers, health, God (ingratitude, too)

Session Six: Shleimut – Completeness, Peace, Connection, being seen and seeing

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Trisha Arlin is a liturgist, writer, performer and student of prayer in Brooklyn, NY. Trisha has served as a Liturgist, Scholar, and Artist in Residence and taught for venues including the National Havurah Committee’s Summer Institute, Ritualwell.org, Haggadot.com, and for synagogues around the country. She is a builder of Bayit’s Liturgical Arts project. Trisha received a BA in Theater from Antioch College in 1975 and MFA in Film (Screenwriting) in 1997 from Columbia University. In 2009/2010, Trisha was an Arts Fellow at the Drisha Institute. In 2011, she graduated from the sixth cohort of the Davennen Leadership Training Institute (DLTI). Trisha’s liturgy has been used in services, for ritual occasions, and at venues of many denominations nationwide. She is the author of Place Yourself: Words of Poetry and Intention (a collection of liturgy and kavannot). Her work has appeared in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion; Seder Tefillot, Forms of Prayer: Prayers for the High Holydays, (Movement for Reform Judaism); B’chol Levavecha (CCAR Press); Beside Still Waters: A Journey of Comfort and Renewal (Bayit and Ben Yehuda Press); A Poet’s Siddur (Ain’t Got No Press); Studies in Judaism and Pluralism (Ben Yehuda Press) and can be found online at TrishaArlin.com, at Ritualwell.org, opensiddur.org.

About Ritualwell
Ritualwell is the most extensive online resource that curates original Jewish rituals for Jews and fellow seekers. We publish rituals, ceremonies, prayers and poems to mark sacred moments in Jewish life. Through creating and sharing rituals, hosting Ritualwell Immersions (online learning experiences), curating an online Judaica shop and hosting Rabbi Connect, Ritualwell fosters a supportive environment for Jewish creativity, spiritual growth and discovery. Learn more at www.ritualwell.org.

Ritualwell is committed to offering an accessible space to our community members. We commit to:

1. Providing participants with all the session materials ahead of time
2. Providing automated captions on all live sessions
3. Providing subtitles for all recorded sessions
4. Using the chat function and read it aloud during the sessions
5. Asking for participant accessibility needs and doing our best to accommodate them. Please feel welcome to contact us at ritualwell@reconstructingjudaism.org.