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Shavuot at Isabella Freedman

Name: Shavuot at Isabella Freedman
Start: 2026-05-21T15:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-05-24T11:00:00-04:00
Location: Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center

May 21 @ 3:00 pm - May 24 @ 11:00 am EDT

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center (Falls Village, CT) + Google Map

Experience Revelation in the Mountains

Celebrate this Shavuot holiday at our majestic retreat center in the Connecticut Berkshires two hours from New York City. Enjoy kosher farm-to-table meals with different rooming options including camping (bring your own tent) on our beautiful grounds.

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. Get on the waitlist here.

Shavuot is the time when the community gathers around the mountain, and makes pilgrimage to a holy place, for the ultimate transformative experience.

– Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi זצ׳ל

Retreat Details

Program Highlights

Join us as we celebrate Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah) in the Berkshires! Where else to celebrate our harvest than next to our Adamah Farm, with 20 acres of fields, orchards, and pasture that grow much of the food that guests at Isabella Freedman enjoy every retreat? Enjoy engaging classes, moving tefillah, deep Torah learning with our guest leadership from our partnerships with Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT)! We will also offer yoga classes, as well as kayaking on our very own Lake Miriam. We will offer two minyanim, one an Orthodox Partnership minyan, and the other a Renewal minyan.

Tikkun Leil Shavuot

Our all-night learning will be full of Torah learning, and join us by the lake for a niggun bonfire!

Bikkurim Parade

The Mishna tells us that Shavuot is a time to gather our bikkurim, the first fruits of our harvest, and bring them as gifts to the Temple in Jerusalem. Join us as we reenact this ancient pilgrimage to celebrate our local first fruits of rye, mustard greens, spring garlic, and more.

Adamah Programs

Join our Adamah Farm staff on night walks, guided hikes, farm tours, a walk through Chestnutlandia, and more.

2026 Davening & Ritual

A Renewal minyan led by Rabbi Yosef Goldman, cofounder of Kedmah, and Eliana Light, Founder of the Light Lab.

An Orthodox Partnership minyan led by graduates of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) Rabbi Tadhg Cleary, Rabbi Gabriel Kretzmer Seed, and Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff.

📅 See a sample schedule of activities from last year’s program here.

Lodging & Pricing

Standard Room (Private bathroom):

$970 per adult in double occupancy
$1,585 per adult in single occupancy

Basic Room (Shared full bathroom for two rooms):

$770 per adult in double occupancy
$1,255 per adult in single occupancy

Family Style (shared half bathroom between two rooms)

$505 per adult

Camping

$430 (bring your own tent)

Commuter

$430 (one-day option coming soon)

Child sharing a room with parent(s):

Child 5-12 years old: $230
Toddler 2-4 years old: $115
Infant under 2 years old: $0 but must be registered

Scholarships

We believe retreats are important experiences to be shared, and inclusiveness is one of our core values. We strive to ensure that our retreats are as financially accessible as possible. If our current prices are not affordable for you or your family, we invite you to apply for a scholarship before registering.

Scholarship Application

2026 Teachers and Educators

Eliana Light

Eliana is a musician, prayer leader, and educator with 10+ years of experience making the urgent spiritual wisdom of t’fillah accessible and meaningful for all ages. Since graduating from JTS with a masters in experiential education, she has song-led in synagogues, started minyanim, taught at conferences and graduate schools, written curricula, toured as an artist-in-residence, founded the Light Lab-a center for t’fillah education, hosted the Light Lab podcast, and put out four albums of original Jewish music!

Marni Loffman

Marni Loffman is a composer, vocalist, educator, facilitator and ritualist. Marni's musical work weaves together the sounds of a multi-denominational Jewish-American religious upbringing, of Ashkenazi ancestry, and of cultural influences growing up the United States such as American folk, pop, jazz and neo-soul. Marni's music explores diasporic identity, doubt, grief and healing through combining rabbinic and liturgical poetry and prose with original lyrics.

Rabbi Gabe Kretzmer-Seed

Rabbi Gabe Kretzmer-Seed serves as a Jewish and administrative chaplain in the NYC Department of Correction where he has been working since 2018 providing spiritual care and Jewish education to those in custody and staff alike. Prior to that, he completed a CPE Residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan where he focused on palliative care, oncology and behavioral health. In 2021, he was named one of the 36 under 36 by the New York Jewish Week for his work in the jails during the COVID-19 pandemic. He received semikha from YCT, and MA degrees in Talmud and Jewish Education from JTS. He lives in Riverdale, NY with his wife and daughter.

Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff

Rabbi Resnikoff trained at YCT, graduated in 2014, and joined the faculty immediately thereafter. As Director of Community Learning (2014-2022), he spearheaded YCT’s groundbreaking effort to raise the priority level of the climate crisis in the Orthodox and larger Jewish community. In the summer of 2022, after eight years on the faculty, he took over the deanship making him responsible for the academic administration of the yeshiva. As a member of the YCT Advanced Kollel he has worked intensively on dementia, eldercare, and mental illness in Jewish Law. He is the author of the most comprehensive Jewish legal treatment of the climate crisis to date and is researching a book on the same subject as a recipient of the Memorial Foundation Advanced Torah Fellowship.

Rabbi Yosef Goldman

Rabbi Yosef Goldman is a renowned composer, vocalist, educator, ritual artist and prayer leader who bridges ancient Jewish traditions with contemporary spiritual creativity. His original music is sung in communities, synagogues, and camps across the U.S. and Israel. He teaches and leads prayer in spiritually vibrant communities across every movement in Jewish life. He is cofounder of Kedmah, an ensemble celebrating the sacred music of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews.

Sarah-Beth Neville

Sarah-Beth will be ordained in 2027 by Yeshivat Maharat in New York, the first yeshiva in North America to ordain women as Orthodox clergy. She currently also studies with the Hadar Institute, NYC. She previously spent two years immersed in Torah study at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. She is passionate about teaching Torah as a path toward greater self-understanding and more compassionate relationships. She is also drawn to creating spaces where people can explore Jewish song, prayer, and spiritual practice with openness and depth. A devoted lover of Jewish music, Sarah-Beth sings in communities and initiatives across New York City. Following her ordination, she hopes to return to her hometown of London, UK, to serve as a rabbi and build inclusive, spiritual Jewish community.

Kids Activities

Isabella Freedman’s youth programming is an outdoor-focused, collaborative, and exciting experience for all who choose to join. Grounded in the natural world, our program provides the opportunity for children ages 2-12 to find a place to learn, grow, and enjoy the beautiful outdoors at Camp Adamah.

Camp Adamah, Ages 5-12

Camp Teva provides many hands-on and nature-based experiential activities. Some examples include hikes, outdoor games, drama/improv, and farm-related adventures on the Adamah farm. We provide morning and afternoon programming except on arrival and departure days, with times based on the davening and meal schedules. The afternoon session is divided into separate divisions by age.

Gan Adamah, Ages 2-4

Parents and guardians can choose to drop off their children or stay with them. Gan Adamah provides a safe and engaging space to play, explore, sing, and move. Children younger than two may attend, but parents/guardians must stay. Programming is provided in the morning except on arrival and departure days, and times are based on the davening schedule.

Teetering on the Edge: Shimon ben Shetach and the 80 Witches of Ashkelon

We examine two apparently unrelated Aggadatot about the early Tanna Shimon ben Shetach and the tumultuous period of the Hasmonean dynasty. Unprompted, Rashi draws a causal connection between them, revealing tragic consequences and raising profound questions about competing values when systems of justice are pushed to breaking point.

Headless Chickens and other Talmudic Shenanigans
Let’s learn some Halacha! What do headless chickens have to do with murder, adding herbs to hot food and motion sensors on Shabbat?

“Between the Sanctity of Shabbat and the Sanctity of Yom Tov You have Separated”
When Shabbat and Yom Tov collide and diverge, new worlds of Halacha and Machshava (Jewish thought) are created. What can the juxtaposition teach us about holiness in time?

Building a Temple in Time
The Shalosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals) called upon the ancient Israelites to transport themselves to the physical location of the Mikdash (Temple in Jerusalem). In this Shiur, we explore how the tapestry of themes and laws of these festivals recall and recreate the Temple for us wherever and wherever we may be.

For more information about accommodations, dining, transportation, and campus amenities, please visit our Guest Information and FAQ page.

Guest Information & FAQs

Details

Start: May 21 @ 3:00 pm EDT
End: May 24 @ 11:00 am EDT
Event Categories: Featured, Holidays, Isabella Freedman, Retreats

Venue

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
116 Johnson Rd
Falls Village, CT 06031 United States
Phone +18608245991