Simchat Torah at Isabella Freedman

Name: Simchat Torah at Isabella Freedman
Start: 2026-10-02T00:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-10-05T23:59:59-04:00
Location: Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center

October 2 - October 5

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

We will be hosting two separate retreats: Sukkahfest over the start of Sukkot (September 25-28, 2026) and Simchat Torah (October 2-5, 2026).

Rejoice in Torah Surrounded by the Berkshires!

Our Simchat Torah retreat is back at Isabella Freedman this year! Join us for a weekend of high-quality organic kosher farm-to-table meals, spirited davening, and joyous hakafot (processions and dancing with the Torah).

Retreat Details

About Simchat Torah

Let’s celebrate Simchat Torah together, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Berkshires in Autumn! Mornings are filled with meaningful spirited prayer led by inspiring leaders amongst the tall trees and sparkling lake. Afternoons and evenings are packed with leisure activities, classes and fun, including special programs for children. We offer the highest quality organic kosher meals to Jews of all denominations and backgrounds.

Davening Options:

Orthodox Mechitza minyan led by Rabbi Evan Crane and our Master of Ceremonies (MC) Rabbi David Kalb of Ohr Torah Stone’s Jewish Learning Center.
Traditional Egalitarian minyan with davening led by Rabbi Aviva Richman, Rabbi Tzemah Yoreh, with assistance from Tzvi Kalb!
Teachings from Rabbanit Talia Weisberg.

See a Sample Schedule from Pervious Year’s Program

Davening and Ritual

Our MC Rabbi David Kalb and Rabbi Evan Crane will host a spirited Orthodox Mechitza minyan.

We will also feature a Traditional Egalitarian minyan with davening led by Rabbi Aviva Richman, Rabbi Tzemah Yoreh, with assistance from Tzvi Kalb!

2026 Teachers and Educators

More teachers announced soon!

Deborah Yasinsky

Deborah Yasinsky is a NYC-based multi-disciplinary artist, curator, and educator. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including at Galerie Lucida, Governors Island, Coral Gables Museum, and Dominican University. A recipient of the City Artist Corps Grant, her art delves into themes of childhood, memory, nostalgia, identity, and environmentalism. Deborah’s practice investigates the dynamic between childhood and parenting, often using recycled, non-traditional materials, including fabrics that reflect her early training in textile design. Her works tell stories of childhood, frequently portraying fragmented memories and experiences. The figures in her pieces are often set within natural landscapes, surrounded by flora and fauna that evoke her childhood explorations of Inwood, NYC, its parks, the Hudson River, and local public spaces. Her work draws inspiration from medieval manuscripts, Victorian motifs, and symbolism. Deborah incorporates painting, drawing, assemblage, ceramics, and animation into her practice. As an educator, Deborah has worked with the Hudson River Museum, 92Y, Stepping Stones Museum for Children, and ArtsWestchester. She has curated exhibitions at Bronx Art Space, Bronx Council on the Arts, Lehman College Art Gallery, and Wave Hill. Deborah is currently the Assistant Director, Curator of Education at Lehman College Art Gallery, and an Adjunct Lecturer at Lehman College, CUNY.

Rabbanit Talia Weisberg

Rabbanit Talia Weisberg is a connector, passionate about facilitating rich Jewish experiences and helping people make informed Jewish decisions. She received semicha from Yeshivat Maharat and earned an AB in religion at Harvard University and is currently pursuing a PhD in religion at Boston University. She is a co-founder and spiritual leader of Kehillat Lev Chochma, a new Modern Orthodox community in Cambridge, MA, and serves as a learning guide at Lehrhaus Tavern and House of Learning. In 2013, she was named as one of the Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36” young visionaries reshaping and broadening the Jewish community. She and her husband Rabbi Evan Crane have served on the faculty at Isabella Freedman for Pesach and Simchat Torah in the past, and they are excited to be back this fall.

Rabbi Aviva Richman

Rabbi Aviva Richman is a Rosh Yeshiva at the Hadar Institute and has been on the faculty since 2010. A graduate of Oberlin College, she studied in the Pardes Kollel and the Drisha Scholars’ Circle and was ordained by Rabbi Danny Landes. She completed a doctorate in Talmud at NYU. Interests include Talmud, Halakhah, Midrash and gender, and also a healthy dose of nigunim.

Rabbi David Kalb

Rabbi David Kalb is the Rabbi of Ohr Torah Stone’s Jewish Learning Center where he is responsible for the creative, educational, spiritual and programmatic direction of the organization. Rabbi Kalb served on the educational advisory board of the WNET/BBC documentary ‘The Story of the Jews.’ He was adjunct faculty at Touro College. He has lectured at many institutions including the Chautauqua – Everett Jewish Life Center, Samuel Bronfman Foundation, the Wexner Alumni of Metro North New Jersey, the Skirball Center, 92nd Street Y, JCC of Manhattan, Limmud NY, Limmud UK, Florence Melton School, Abyssinian Baptist Church Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building in Harlem, and the Hudson River Museum in Westchester. Rabbi Kalb received his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat and Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat HaMivtar

Rabbi Evan Crane

Rabbi Evan Crane is an accomplished Jewish leader who is passionate about building community. He is an experienced baal tefillah and baal kriah who believes in facilitating davening that is participatory and meaningful. Originally from the Boston area, Evan is an alum of MIT and the Sloan School of Management. He learned at Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah and received semicha from Rabbi Chaim Brovender. He is a co-founder and part of the rabbinic team of Kehillat Lev Chochma, a new Modern Orthodox community in Cambridge, MA. Professionally, he works on the business side of the biotech industry. He and his wife, Rabbanit Talia Weisberg, have been on the faculty for many holiday retreats at Isabella Freedman, and they are looking forward to returning for Simchat Torah!

Rabbi Raffi Levi

Rabbi Raffi Levi (he/him) graduated YCT class of 2025. He is a chazzan, activist, and nature enthusiast. During the course of rabbinical school, he has worked as a chazzan in various settings, a mashgiach, an activist for Neurodiversity, Food Justice, and Climate Justice, a Trek Leader, Culinary Educator, and Wilderness First Responder (WFR). Raffi has interned on campus at Queens College Hillel as well as at synagogues in Riverdale, NY under R’ Dina Najman, and in Baltimore, MD under R’ Etan Mintz. Raffi’s vision in life is to infuse all parts of our lives and all things we experience with Kedusha; seeing the spark of Hashem in everything and everyone.

Rabbi Tzemah Yoreh

Tzemah Yoreh is one of the intellectual leaders of Jewish humanism and the head of the City Congregation in New York City — one of the oldest and most distinctive humanist Jewish communities in the world. He attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he obtained his Ph.D. in biblical literature in 2004, and went on to earn a second Ph.D. in Ancient Wisdom Literature from the University of Toronto, driven not by career ambition but by the simple joy of studying ancient text. That joy has never left him.

2026 Lodging & Pricing

All prices below are per person and include lodging, meals, and all programming. If selecting a multiple occupancy room and you are not registering as part of a group, you will have a roommate during the retreat. You can request a specific roommate below or we will assign someone.

All participants must register, including children and infants. Children under 12 have their own registration categories but will be put in the same room as their parents. There is an option to add an adjoining room for an additional charge.

Please note: We will be hosting two separate retreats: Sukkahfest (September 25-28) over the start of Sukkot and Simchat Torah over Simchat Torah weekend. The option to stay on site during Chol HaMoed is not available. Shabbat is included for both Holiday retreats.

Standard – $965
Double adult occupancy in our May, Weinberg, Scheuer, and Pine buildings. All rooms have private bathrooms. Rooms have a mix of queen and twin beds and a mini-fridge.

Standard – Single Occupancy: $1,540
Single occupancy in our May, Weinberg, Scheuer, and Pine building. Rooms have private bathrooms, with a mix of queen and twin beds. Each Standard room has a mini fridge. If you are attending as one adult with children 12 and under, use this option for the adult and the separate registration categories for the children.

Basic: $725
Double adult occupancy in Blue Heron, Cedar or Maple. All basic rooms have a shared bathroom with one other room, and have either one queen bed, two twin beds or a mix of queen and twin beds. All basic rooms have a mini fridge as well.

Basic – Single Occupancy: $1,160
Single occupancy in our Blue Heron, Cedar or Maple buildings. Mix of queen and twin beds, with bathrooms shared between two rooms. All basic rooms have a shared bathroom with one other room, and have either one queen bed, two twin beds or a mix of queen and twin beds. All basic rooms have a mini fridge as well. If you are attending as one adult with children 12 and under, use this option for the adult and the separate registration categories for the children.

Dormitory: $495
Double occupancy in our Elm building or Triple occupancy in our Kaufman building. Shared bathrooms between two rooms and shared showered between multiple rooms

Child (5-12): $195
All children must be registered. All children will automatically be registered for Camp Teva, our kids’ program. Camp will take place in the mornings and afternoons on all retreat days except the departure day.

Toddlers (2-4 years old): $95
All children, including toddlers, must be registered. Toddlers will be automatically registered for Gan, our childcare program, which will take place on all mornings of the retreat except the departure day.

Infant (under 2 years old): $0
All children, including infants, must be registered.

Commuter: $395
Includes all meals and programming. Does not include any overnight lodging.

Camper: $395
Bring your own tent, sleeping bag, and towel. Includes all meals, programming, and access to bathrooms and hot showers.

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

Kids Activities

Camp Teva offers engaging programming for children ages 2-12. Adamah’s values of cultivating vibrant Jewish life in deep connection with the earth through joy, love, and hope are exemplified in all of our activities. At our holiday retreats, children will have the opportunity to explore the land, forest and farm. All activities are shabbat and holiday friendly. Activities include meeting the chickens, hiking to the magnificent overlook, forest games, nature art, field games, and more!

Gan Teva (ages 2-4) is scheduled each morning of the retreat and Camp Teva (ages 5-12) is held in the mornings and afternoons.

Classes and other sessions will be posted in soon.

Registration Now Open

Details

Start: October 2
End: October 5
Event Categories: Featured, Holidays, Isabella Freedman, Retreats
Event Tags:High Holidays

Venue

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