neySHEV means "let's sit."
neySHEV was founded by artist and educator Aviva Chernick as an intentional community that gathers weekly, and for intensive retreats, to practice mindfulness through guided and silent meditation, movement, and song.
neySHEV is an embodied practice guided by the heart-based wisdom of Torah. Practice involves nurturing awareness of what is unfolding in the present moment, awakening to arising thoughts, feelings, and sensations, and witnessing how they live in our bodies. We do this with the essential companions of compassion, curiosity, and lovingkindness.
Kavanot / Intentions
Teachers

Photo by Dahlia Katz
Aviva Chernick
Guest Teachers

Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell

Risa Alyson Cooper

Koach Baruch Frazier
Koach Baruch (KB) Frazier is a transformer, heartbeat of movements, healer, musician and cofounder of the Tzedek Lab, a network of practitioners working at the intersection of dismantling racism, antisemitism and white supremacy. A collaborative leader, rooted in tradition, curiosity and love, Koach strives to dismantle racism, actualize liberation and transform lives both sonically and spiritually. Koach lives with their wife, LaJuana in Philadelphia where he is a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Sheniz Janmohamed

Ari Kaplan

Rabbi Miriam Margles
Miriam has been serving as the Rabbi of Toronto's Danforth Jewish Circle since 2010, an unaffiliated, progressive, inclusive, song-filled community. She has been teaching with the Institute of Jewish Spirituality since 2005 and is a member of the inaugural faculty of Romemu Yeshiva in New York, a program of intensive spiritual study and practice integrating rigorous text study, deep prayer, and Jewish mindfulness-based practices. Her original compositions of music for prayer are sung by communities throughout North American, Israel and Europe. She is also the co-founder of Encounter, dedicated to strengthening the Jewish people to be constructive agents of change in transforming the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Rabbi Dorothy Richman
Dorothy Richman serves as the rabbi of Makor Or: Jewish Meditation Center and is a founding faculty member of the Romemu Yeshiva. She released an album of original songs, Something of Mine, largely based on texts from the Jewish tradition, available on BandCamp.

Geoff Siskind

Andi Yumansky

From its inception, neySHEV has been generously supported by Rabbi Aaron Levy and Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism. Through hosting our initial sits at the Makom space in downtown Toronto to providing outreach to help us grow to sponsoring our programming during the first months of neySHEV online, and now through hosting our zoom space, Makom’s presence and partnering in this community has been integral to its thriving. We continue to be grateful for this nurturing relationship.