11th-13th October Hazel Hill Woods, Salisbury, Wiltshire

“The book of life and the book of death are one book. The opposite of life is not death. The opposite of life is Empire.” - Kohenet Val Schlosberg

On Yom Kippur we enter a powerful portal where we offer a collective prayer for life. This prayer has never been more urgent. We invite you to join us on retreat in the woods for Yom Kippur 5785 to drop in deeper to this powerful moment in time, to incubate our prayers for the year ahead & to honour the beloved dead at our backs in soul-ful, song-ful community & nature-connected contemplation.

This will be a creative, embodied, experiential take on the traditional High Holy Day liturgy and practice grounded in the Kohenet tradition. Services will be held by Kohenet Rachel Rose Reid, Kohenet Sara Moon, Samson Hart & others TBC. There will be prayer time and more structured learning sessions alongside much space to wander, reflect, meditate, sing and be in silence!
This retreat is open to all those who identify as Jewish, including those who might not feel 'Jewish enough'. We know this can be complicated - please do get in touch if you want to check in about this! 

This retreat is being co-organised & held by Miknaf Ha'aretz & Yelala.

Yelala is a constellation of projects founded and co-created by Kohenet Yael Tischler and Kohenet Rachel Rose Reid, weaving rituals, learning experiences, song circles and more. Yelala helps those who come into their circle connect with their women/femme/folk Jewish ancestors, as well as the Earth and the Divine Feminine in Jewish tradition.

Miknaf Ha'aretz organises to heal, repair and transform Jewish belonging & connection to land. We are cultivating earth-based, radical, diasporist jewish community in the UK through immersive, courses, retreats & events exploring nature-connection, food & land justice & regenerative farming. We insist on uplifting Jewish safety, belonging and re-connection to land through a politics of solidarity and collective liberation.   

Find out more about Miknaf & Yelala

About the Venue

The address is: Hazel Hill Wood, Grimstead Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP5 1AU
Hazel Hill Wood is located just 7 miles east of Salisbury between the picturesque villages of Farley and East Grimstead. Less than an hour's drive from Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Winchester, Andover, Basingstoke and Newbury. 

Hazel Hill Wood covers 70 acres and is an ancient woodland site, meaning that the land has been wooded for centuries. Hazel Hill Wood is now carefully managed as a conservation woodland and has been designated as a Local Wildlife Site.

There are several accommodation buildings and outdoor gathering spaces, including a campfire circle, roundhouse and a large picnic table.  There is comfortable indoor accomodation and camping options for those who prefer. It is an off-grid site meaning most of our energy and waste comes from the land and returns to the land. There are indoor showers and toilets (the showers are solar heated and the toilets are composting). Read more about the venue here.

Access

It's our first time using the site and we're in conversation with the venue to get more info around what's possible. There is an accessible bedroom with an accessible bathroom next door, and if needed the external door to that can be locked so that it becomes an en-suite. There are toilets at the centre of the block and step-free access to all rooms. The ramp and patio doors of the main building allow step-free access. However, the toilet there is not step-free. And please be aware that it is a woodland site & there is some uneven ground to get between buildings.  We'd like to try and accommodate for access needs as we can so do do get in touch to check in about this.

All programming is also included.

This retreat is being supported by Moishe House and we are trying to keep it as low-cost as possible. That being said, our gathering has high expenses and the funding does not cover our total costs. We will be offering places on a sliding scale and ask that you pay what you can afford, bearing in mind this sliding scale is already offered at a significant discounted rate. Your generosity will support participation for those unable to pay in full. We have limited supported places *for now*, until we can gage if there are enough funds to offer more. Please get in touch if finances are a barrier and you might need a furthur reduced rate.

There will also be an opportunity to donate more after the retreat.

Supported: £150 (limited places)

Standard: £200

Supporter: £250

Super Supporter: £300

Once we have confirmed your place, please make full payment to secure your place. Note, you can cancel your place within 2 weeks of the retreat for a full refund but after that it is non-refundable.  Need to pay installments? Just let us know.