Pacific Northwest Retreat 2025
Finding Jewish Joy in Community Connection
May 16th – 18th, 2025
For several years now, we’ve been daydreaming about coming together for more than just a zoom experience or a rare, in-person luncheon or conference meetup. A retreat: a reprieve from obligations, worries, and everything upon our shoulders the rest of the year. Full of connection, nature, and getting the rare chance to care for ourselves as we so deeply care for others.
Well, it’s finally happening, for the first of what we hope will be many a shabbaton together.
Nurture your neshama (soul) in nature and amongst friends.
On May 16-18, 2025 we will highlight Jewish Joy in an experiential journey by celebrating Lag B’Omer in the Pacific Northwest. We will host a delegation at the unique retreat center Rainbow Lodge, just a short drive from Seattle or Portland where we will connect and rejuvenate with our fellow mental healthcare professionals.
In our modern times so many of us find that we crave connection. As Jewish mental healthcare providers we spend our days helping others; at times we need to fill our own cups, and collaborate as a community to find the support, empathy, and connection that we need to continue on our individual journeys. Come join the Jewish Therapist Collective (JTC) for a Shabbaton in the beautiful and inspirational Pacific Northwest where you will find the refuge you need to connect with your community, nurture your spirit, and leverage your strengths to create a positive impact in your daily life.
We can’t wait to be in togetherness with you this May! But until then, and so you can experience a taste of what’s to come, please join us at 6 PM Pacific on February 27th so we can help get you ready and welcome you to join us.
Nestled in the deep forest at the base of Mount Si, Rainbow Lodge provides a serene, secure, and refreshing environment for renewal, connection, healing, and inner-peace. You might find yourself on one of their nature trails, warming up by one of their rock fireplaces, or by a bubbling stream, allowing tranquility to settle in.
Dates/Times: May 16th at 5:00pm through May 18th at 1:45 pm, 2025
Staying At:
Rainbow Lodge
46820 SE Mt Si Road
North Bend, WA 98045
Costs:
Double Occupancy: $613.
Single Occupancy: $900.
Cost for Whole weekend events, no lodging: $400*
Saturday only rate: Lunch/Dinner 9 AM – 8 PM $195*
*Double Occupancy Rates – Roommate choice and/or matches provided.
- Early Registration: Register before March 17th to receive a $54 discount – code is in the registration form.
- Bonus experience: The Sephardic Legacy of Seattle. This will be a day program on Friday for those traveling from out of town and/or simply interested in enrichment. Learn from one of your local colleagues about the Sephardic leadership and influence on its history, including the iconic Seattle Fish Market. More details about this to come.
- Mobility needs and observance-levels supported – please detail on your registration form.
- Transportation needs and concerns? We’ll be coordinating transportation resources from Portland and Seattle based on registration and needs. No one left hanging!
We encourage early registration due to limited space. Secure your spot soon!
JTC has tailored an itinerary for this Shabbaton that honors the holiday of Lag Ba’Omer by celebrating Jewish Joy, renewal, and balances the needs of our unique community of healthcare providers. Our weekend will highlight some of our loved and local professionals with experiential workshops and events that will include yoga, meditation, body awareness, expressive art and drama, and of course exploring the unique nature that will surround us.
| Date | Start Time | Activity |
| Friday | Daytime | The Sephardic Legacy of Seattle: Jewish Legacy from the Fish Market and Beyond! (Add-on Optional Activity) |
| 5:00 PM | Warm Welcome and Orient to the Space | |
| 6:00 PM | Shalom Chaverim: Shabbat Dinner Amongst Friends | |
| 7:00 PM | Spiritual, Sensory, and Small Group Experiences (Shabbat-Friendly) | |
| Saturday | 8:00 AM | Nurturing Shabbat Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM | Gather & Ground: Immersive Teva/Nature Walk Experience | |
| 10:30 AM | Immersive Arts/Creating Experience (with keepsake) | |
| 12:00 PM | A Midday Meal of Lunch | |
| 12:45 PM | Light Through The Clouds: A Lag B Omer Reprieve From Distress; Radical Joy | |
| 3:00 PM | Soothe Body & Breath: Trauma-Informed Yoga & Breathwork With Elizabeth Stumpf | |
| 5:00 PM | The Voice That Calls You: Rest Time. Stations Available to Indulge Curiosity, Play, and Rest | |
| 6:00 PM | Sustaining Supper Together | |
| 7:00 PM | Self Compassion of Teshuva Within & Beyond: Into the Glow of Fire | |
| 9:40 PM | Havdallah: Embodied Sensory Delight | |
| Sunday | 8:00 AM | Nourish the New Week: Breakfast |
| 8:45 AM | Gathering: Belongings & Bearings (pack to go home) | |
| 9:30 AM | Awash with Color: Drama and Experiential Arts Activity with Moranne Aaron-Berel | |
| 11:00 AM | Into The Body: Special Outdoor Activity with Miriam Streicker-Hirt (alternative available) | |
| 12:00 PM | Goodbyes over Breaking Bread | |
| 1:00 PM | The World Within & The World Outside: Venturing Forward Together (closing activity) | |
| 1:45 PM | Farewell, Sweet Chaverim |
Friday
- Daytime – The Sephardic Legacy of Seattle: Jewish Legacy from the Fish Market and Beyond! (Add-on Optional Activity)
- 5:00 PM – Warm Welcome and Orient to the Space
- 6:00 PM – Shalom Chaverim: Shabbat Dinner Amongst Friends
- 7:00 PM – Spiritual, Sensory, and Small Group Experiences (Shabbat-Friendly)
Saturday
- 8:00 AM – Nurturing Shabbat Breakfast
- 9:00 AM – Gather & Ground: Immersive Teva/Nature Walk Experience
- 10:30 AM – Immersive Arts/Creating Experience (with keepsake)
- 12:00 PM – A Midday Meal of Lunch
- 12:45 PM – Light Through The Clouds: A Lag B Omer Reprieve From Distress; Radical Joy
- 3:00 PM – Soothe Body & Breath: Trauma-Informed Yoga & Breathwork With Elizabeth Stumpf
- 5:00 PM – The Voice That Calls You: Rest Time. Stations Available to Indulge Curiosity, Play, and Rest
- 6:00 PM – Sustaining Supper Together
- 7:00 PM – Self Compassion of Teshuva Within & Beyond: Into the Glow of Fire
- 9:40 PM – Havdallah: Embodied Sensory Delight
Sunday
- 8:00 AM – Nourish the New Week: Breakfast
- 8:45 AM – Gathering: Belongings & Bearings (pack to go home)
- 9:30 AM – Awash with Color: Drama and Experiential Arts Activity with Moranne Aaron-Berel.
- 11:00 AM – Into The Body: Special Outdoor Activity with Miriam Streicker-Hirt (alternative available)
- 12:00 PM – Goodbyes over Breaking Bread
- 1:00 PM – The World Within & The World Outside: Venturing Forward Together (closing activity)
- 1:45 PM – Farewell, Sweet Chaverim
JTC has been bringing the Jewish Mental Health Community together for many years to ensure that care providers can always find a safe space for support, collaboration, and connection. The trauma that the Jewish Community at large is experiencing since October 7th has made our community more relevant and important than ever. This unique Shabbaton has been designed by our JTC team to help our community connect while experiencing and reflecting on the importance of Jewish Joy, even during the hardest times, in an incredibly beautiful, peaceful, and serene setting. Lag Ba Omer is a Jewish Holiday of joy that occurs specifically on one day during 49 day long period of mourning called the counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot. It is a reminder that during the hardest times we must sometimes refocus our attention on creating joy for ourselves and those around us. Inspired by Lag Ba Omer, JTC has designed this Shabbaton to help our community connect in joy.
Lag B’Omer encourages us to set down our mourning for a time, shake off the heaviness, and revel in vibrancy. Join us in accepting this invitation, with the community of Jewish colleagues who get it, through a thoughtful itinerary of fire, joy, and connection. Imagine your feet on the earth, exploring and restoring. Register and commit to yourself. You deserve this.