Where do we stand

After five years in operation, due to the ongoing scourge of the COVID-19 virus, we have continued to hold classes online exclusively. We have had series of classes on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to offer advanced Meditation class as well as an introductory class. We have decided on a format with series of four classes, followed by a question and answer follow-up, plus a separate session of a conversation with one of our members as to how they utilize what they have learned in real life. Our request for membership has allowed us to jump to over 360 members. This motivated us also to increase the educational resources on our website, including YouTube videos of classes and basic meditation techniques. We also are promoting our members’ use of the forum on our website to develop our community. Our weekly posts on the parashah of the week have over 200 subscribed, plus over 300 on Facebook. Our Tal Orot website continues to get over 2500 views per month.

Our Goals for our sixth year

Due to health and safety precautions, we continue with our goals for the year to keep an online presence, whether via Zoom classes or asynchronous materials. We pray that we are able to restart our in-person classes here in Israel, and God-willing, in other countries. But in the meantime, realistically, we hope to

• continue to expand our online classes,
• move to higher quality media,
• cultivate active membership and interaction with the members,
• create a higher tier membership with special classes and more personal interaction,
• continue to develop our website into a full-featured vehicle that can help knit together our members around the world, synchronously and asynchronously, providing them with a flexible and inspiring interactive and inter-relational experience.
• and develop programs for spiritual tourism in Israel.

This year, we will take a break from having weekly divrei Torah posts so that Meir can spend more consistent time writing a book (many many years in the making). We invite our members to send in their takes on Torah and we will be happy to publish them. Let us know if you’re interested in participating.

Long-term goals and dreams

• To develop interconnectivity between our members,
• To develop a Beit Midrash in Tzfat for regular study of Kabbalah in connection with regular in-depth practice of meditation and prayer
• To develop a detailed curriculum for Jewish meditation that can be shared with educational institutions in Israel and around the world.
• To continue developing and expanding a program for training teachers of Jewish meditation.
• To set up a conference on Jewish meditation, and
• To develop an app for Jewish meditation

On a Personal Note

Meeting people of kindred spirits all over the world has been so inspiring and gratifying. We are pleased that we’ve been able to develop a true community of like-minded people online, making the best lemonade possible. Of course, we look forward to the time when we can safely meet again in person, but until then, we are so happy for your support.

שנה טובה ומתוקה!

Shanah Tovah Umetukah! 

Meir and Anne Sendor