Iyar Jewish Healing Retreat: Healing in the Spiral
Summer 2025, Iyar 5785: Boulder, Colorado
Jenna Zadaka and Mitten led a sacred Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) Iyar retreat . The month of Iyar is the Hebrew month of healing through the radiance of plants and Sefirot (divine energies). This retreat integrated the teachings of the Tree of Life with plants, ritual, song, learning, and healing in community. Collaborative facilitators included Elana Brody for Song-Medicine, and Rachael Bonaiuto for Dance Medicine.
The retreat included:
Tree of Life teaching and meditation integrating the winds of Tiferet and the grounding of Yesod.
Passing of summer herbs and journaling to clarify personal healing intentions.
Plant-based Healing circles where participants practiced channeling the Divine Name above and below, embodying the flow of spiritual energy through the body.
Malchut-inspired dance, Song-Medicine with Elana Brody, and a shared potluck to integrate the day’s work and honor the collective experience.
The secret of healing… is the spiral. 🌀
In Kabbalah, there are three realms of healing:
• Linear healing — self-motivation, engagement, knowing when to step forward
• Circular healing — allowing, receiving support and nurturing
• Spiral healing — the balanced, fluid integration of both the line (masculine) and the circle (feminine)
Like a Spiral Staircase, divine energy flows to us in two directions — from above to below, and from below to above.
Our Iyar ceremony drew down healing from above (Sefirot & the Divine Name) as well as below (Angelic forces, plants, sisterhood). We heard the rushing river below and the thunder above—intensifying our prayers. ⚡️⛈️
Our Moon Medicine circles weave together earth-based healing with deep Kabbalistic wisdom—creating a spiral path toward embodied wholeness.
We soaked up the healing in Iyar through song medicine with Elana Brody, embodied meditation and plant healing, Malchut dance, community, and the loving-kindness of the earth. And of course, the Divine—because all healing originates in the sacred words:
“Ani Hashem Rofecha” — I am Divine, Your Healer.
✨ What does your fully healed and whole self look like? ✨
