Middle Eastern Spirituality

and Peace

Day Workshop: A Jewish Journey –
Opening the Heart through Song, Story, Psalms and Serenity

Facilitators: Chana Sophia Yaffe and Tirtza Singer

Tuesday, March 4

Venue: Meeting Room, Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh.
Time: Registration: 10.30am-11am. Day Workshop: 11am-3.30pm.
Cost: £20/£15 (Concessions). £10 (Students).

Tirtza and Chana Sophia's workshop draws on Jewish music, Hasidic stories, and meditation based on Jewish sources. It is hoped that through the workshop we will come to a place of true joy. The workshop will consist of the following elements:

1) Visualization and Movement using the power of the Hebrew letters.
2) Harp playing, in the tradition of King David, using Psalms as a way to draw down healing.
3) Drumming: elevating the physical according to Jewish sources.
4) How to access joy - secrets from the Chassidic tradition.
5) Jewish Storytelling and Niggun (Melody): The power of Stories and Music from the Hasidic Masters.

This workshop will help us move towards accessing and connecting the Divine blessing into our lives enabling us to see each other with loving eyes and hearts, and reach a place of menuchat hanefesh, peace of mind, enabling us to move towards peace within ourselves, with our families, and our communities, and, of course, for all mankind.

Chana Sophia Yaffe was awarded a degree in education by the elite Gateshead Jewish Training College, and moved to Israel in 1975. After marrying she taught in Horeb High School. As her first album, she produced an anthology of lullabies drawn from Israel's various ethnic and religious communities. "Lullabies from Jerusalem" was selected by the Martha Stewart Home Magazine for its highly coveted recommendation. The Abraham Foundation is one of many charitable organizations to enlist Chana's talents and recordings for their public relations endeavours. Chana Sophia regularly tours in the USA and Europe, participating in programmes of Sufi/Jewish dialogue. She is currently teaching a course "The Power of Hasidic Stories and Melody" at Yakar, in Jerusalem. Chana Sophia's poetry has been published by "Voices." She was featured in the Mishpacha Magazine for their series on outstanding Jewish women today. She lives in Jerusalem with her two children. Her website is www.batkol.com

Tirtza Singer was born and raised in New York City. She graduated from the High School of Music and Art in NYC, and subsequently obtained a BA in early childhood education and an MA in arts and education from Lesley University MA. She also studied piano improvisation and voice at the New England Conservatory in Boston and received Dalcroze certification from the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She pursued advanced studies in music at the Manhattan School of Music.

In the early 1970's, Tirtza performed as a folk singer in Boston and was active on the folk music circuit. Subsequently, she was head of the early childhood music program at the JCC in Stamford CT and at Queensborough Community College in New York City. After becoming a baal teshuvah, she made aliyah to Israel in 1993 and currently lives in Jerusalem with her husband and two daughters. There she has turned her home into an organic holistic healing centre, and a gathering place for women to receive spiritual nourishment, and she teaches women's classes based on the teachings of Dr Alexander Lowen. Her home is also a venue for concerts, and music and religious workshops. Tirtza plays the piano, is a singer and composer, and in recent years has taken up the harp, darbuka (a Middle Eastern drum), and the mandolin. Tirtza regularly performs in Israel, the United States, and Europe. She has released three albums, two based on Jewish themes, and one for children.

Register Now for this Workshop:

Please also download the registration form, which contains all venue and workshop information.

Workshop handout