TorahTrek Guides Track
BREAKING NEWS: The second cohort of the Guides Track, starting in January, 2012, and appropriate for students and others tied to the Academic schedule, is full. If you would like to be on the waiting list, please write us. A third cohort will begin in the Fall of 2012 under a different format, the TorahTrek Intensive. Details will be available in April. Please check back, or subscribe to the e-Journal (in the left side-panel) to receive the latest news on all TorahTrek programs.
The TorahTrek Guides Track is designed for those who feel called to Judaism, wilderness and spirituality as a career or as an important part of their life’s work as a Jewish educator. After an eighteen month immersion in Jewish Wilderness Spirituality training, TorahTrek Guides lead educational programs and outdoor adventures around the world.
Participants gather at four eight-day retreats over an 18-month period beginning in January, 2012. The first three retreats are devoted to Jewish spiritual practice in wilderness: exploring one’s personal connection to God and mitzvot and learning eco-Torah. The fourth retreat centers on pedagogic theory, experiential education, and leadership skills.
The course is taught by TorahTrek Founding Director, Rabbi Mike Comins. To see a video of the current cohort, click here.
Program
During the first three retreats, participants learn the theory and practice of Jewish Wilderness Spirituality following the program outlined in Rabbi Comins’ A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways into Wilderness; Wilderness Ways into Judaism. The practice of hitbodedut, spending time alone for spiritual purpose, gradually increases, culminating in a two-night, three-day solo at the third retreat.
Students immerse themselves in the greatest of spiritual classrooms, the wilderness, and take time to explore and develop their spiritual path. They learn directly from the world’s greatest authority on God, prayer and soul: the natural world. In our multi-tasking lives, to actually receive the time and space to nurture one’s spirit is in and of itself an incredible gift. To do so in wilderness, with a fellowship of committed seekers and the help of experienced teachers and a proven methodology for spiritual growth, makes the TorahTrek Guides Track an experience as unique as it is powerful.
Between retreats participants maintain the community and study with Rabbi Comins and Rabbi Natan Margalit via on-demand video presentations and social media.
The fourth retreat focuses on educational practice and leadership skills. Guides Track participants learn to articulate and translate the art of Jewish spiritual practice in wilderness to students of all ages. TorahTrek Guides are steeped in “awe and wonder” education. They learn cutting-edge, pedagogic theory and technique with an emphasis on spiritual development. Whether teaching in a classroom, facilitating activities in the local park or leading a retreat in deep wilderness, they combine the fruit of their own rich spiritual practice with expertise in Jewish, experiential education.
For further information on the programmatic content of the Guides Track retreats, click here.
Schedule: Guides Track Cohort 2
Retreat 1: Joshua Tree National Park, January 1-8, 2012
Retreat 2: Rose Mountain, outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico, June 3-10, 2012
Retreat 3: Southwestern Desert, Winter, 2012-13
Retreat 4: Leadership Seminar, (tentatively at the) Teton Science School, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, mid-August, 2013.
Those who complete the Guides Track may apply for membership in the TorahTrek Guides Council and become an approved TorahTrek Guide. For information on the Guides Council, click here.
For program details and application, click here.
To see a video of the current cohort,click here.
