The Centre for Spiritual Well-Being is a shift in the way we approach personal and community well-being at Beth Tzedec.

Under the leadership of Rabbis Steven Wernick and Robyn Fryer Bodzin, we’re doing this by focusing on the ancient idea of shlaymoot. Explored by rabbis and scholars for generations, it refers to the peace and contentment that comes from caring for your mental, emotional and physical health, along with your relationship to the values and beliefs that give life purpose.

Those values and beliefs are particularly important today, because we are living in a time of historic paradigm shifts impacting the very nature of the human experience. We are the most connected, yet personally isolated generation in history. Climate change, the global marketplace and technology are rapidly impacting how we work, how we socialize, how we communicate, how we behave and even how we think.

In this shift, there is anxiety, pain, uncertainty and insecurity. The Beth Tzedec Centre for Spiritual Well-Being will create a community of shared Jewish language and practices to reconnect us to ourselves, to each other and to the sacred in new and traditional ways.

What Does a Culture Shift Look Like?

Expanding Current Programs –

• Growing opportunities for Jewish meditation for all members
• Magnifying the impact of our hesed programs, such as Kadima and Out of the Cold
• Making learning opportunities more relevant and accessible to everyone

Offering New Opportunities –

• Establishing support groups for those touched by addiction, mental illness, and loss
• Creating more opportunities for spiritual engagement outside of regular services
• Developing programs and events with a holistic view of well-being, including mind, body and spirit

Forging New Relationships –

• Launching small groups of members around shared passions, interests, and goals
• Reaching out to those who may have been marginalized or ignored in the past
• Partnering with other congregations and organizations with proven skills in the field of spiritual wellness

How Can You Help?