Dupree Program Greets Holidays in Silence and Reflection

On the Sunday evening before the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, a crowd of about a hundred people filled the first-floor meeting room of The Dupree Building in Sandy Springs. Instead of the usual hubbub of a gathering like this, there was silence. Eyes were downcast and softly focused on an imaginary spot on the carpeted floor in front of each of them. In the quiet of the room, each focused silently on the rise and fall of their breathing.

At the front of the room, Rabbi Josh Feigelson, who leads the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, a national organization based in New York City, told the group that they might want to think of their spine as more than just another body structure. It might instead remind them of the Biblical ladder that Jacob imagined in the Book of Genesis, “grounded in the earth but ascending up toward heaven. With your posture convey that you’re awake and aware.”

The silence that filled the room and the brief attempt to quiet the mind were an introduction to a new program being introduced by the Institute that seeks to revitalize the practice of Judaism.

Rabbi Feigelson told the gathering that this contemplative practice of turning inward, if done consistently, could create a new relationship with the divine presence.

“The Divine is actually living in us and living through us,” Rabbi Feigelson pointed out. “When we say that we are created in the image of G-d, we’re not just saying that, in our meditation we’re really feeling it.”

For those who signed up for the sold-out event, the meditation, with its promise of more to come, signaled the launch of a 30-day program designed to carry them through the High Holidays to the observance of Sukkot and Simchat Torah that follows.

A cell phone app has been created to provide a daily reminder to reflect silently on a quote from Jewish spiritual teachings, such as the suggestion we set aside time each day to speak with G-d directly.

The app backs up the teaching with a suggestion that we spend three minutes in this “hitbodedut” or holy conversation, and jot down a single surprise that might have emerged from the practice.

The app and the communal program have the support of the Zalik Foundation, which often support Jewish learning programs at The Dupree. The foundation’s senior program officer, Michael Fingerman, told the group the goal was personal growth.

“This short, simple practice can help shift your mindset, open your heart and deepen your gratitude. We hope that you can carry this with you throughout the day. Whatever you learn, we hope it will be something personal that will help anchor you during the spiritual reset that we hope you will experience.”

It was just such a spiritual overhaul that led Rabbi Feigelson to take the reins of the organization in 2020. He had been a Hillel leader at Northwestern University outside Chicago and later served as dean of students at the University of Chicago’s School for Divinity. He initially signed up for a three-year program that the Institute for Rabbis and Cantors to help deepen their Jewish practice. Early in the program, his life changed.

“When I got home from my first retreat with the Institute,” Rabbi Feigelson pointed out, “I felt like this was the most amazing thing I’d ever done. And, if they wind up, offering me the job to run this organization, I’ll take it. And that was almost six years ago.”

Altogether, almost 600 spiritual leaders have gone through the Institute’s long-term program, which claims to be “reshaping the landscape of American Judaism — one ‘mindful moment’ at a time.”

The latest cohort of the clergy leadership program includes Atlanta Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe, who founded Ma’alot, a progressive Jewish community here. This Rosh Hashanah, the group hiked up Arabia Mountain in DeKalb County to hold a sundown service at the mountain’s summit.

Programs like this is what Rabbi Feigelson hopes to encourage here in the months ahead. The Institute provides a daily opportunity for a guided meditation online. It also provides a diverse offering of online courses and programs. This year, it has received important grants from the Jim Joseph Foundation and the Marcus Foundation to grow the Institute.

“We believe G-d is no longer this far away king or emperor who lives up there somewhere on a cloud throwing thunderbolts,” Rabbi Feigelson says. “G-d is actually in every one of us. And when the Divine is actually part of us, all of a sudden, everything we do is an opportunity to be present with a new way of living.”