Dear Friends,
An extraordinary opportunity has come my way which I would like to share with you.
This past June, I was approached by Dr. Hune Margulies, the Director of the Martin Buber Institute for Dialogical Ecology in New York, and asked to lead a week long retreat at an ecological lodge in Ecuador, featuring a daily schedule of prayer, meditation and Torah study, hiking through the considerable natural wonders of the Quito region of Ecuador, and an intense cultural and spiritual interaction with local Indigenous communities.
The trip which will run from December 21 to December 28, will feature the following activities.
➢ A morning round of prayer, meditation and Torah study led by me
➢ Tour and hike through a regional large cloud forest
➢ Tour and hike through a regional water fall
➢ Visit to the old city of Quito (declared a resource of humanity by the UNESCO)
➢ Visit to the Otavalo Indigenous market (largest outdoor arts and crafts market in Ecuador)
➢ Visit and communal meal at an Indigenous community.
➢ Day of community service at a regional Indigenous community
➢ Meeting and practices with local Indigenous sages
➢ Folkloric Dance classes. Indigenous music and dance presentation.
➢ Indigenous arts and crafts workshop
➢ Hikes to view-sites and special meditation spots in the landscape
Quite a spectacular week, don’t you think?; a rare opportunity to deepen our sense of our own connection to both Judaism and the planet and to enter into a deep, spiritual sharing with the indigenous peoples of Ecuador. Here are some more of the details:
1. Location of the trip: Republic of Ecuador. 7 days at a high-end Ecological lodge near the city of Quito. The site and the region include access to water falls, cloud forests and magnificent hikes and landscapes. The lodge is located near the old city of Quito, declared a UNESCO cultural resource of humanity.
2. Lodging: High quality ecological lodge. Double room occupancy. 3. Meals: 3 daily meals and snacks.
4. Transfers and transportation: All program-related transfers and transportation included. Transfers to and from Quito International airport.
5. Flights: Round trip flight from San Francisco to Quito included.
6. Cost: $2,857.00 per person. Cost includes all the above. (international round trip air fare and all program related ground costs). It does not include passport taxes and airport fees.
The only fly in the ointment at the moment is that I was quite ill early in the summer (I’m perfectly fine now, thank you) and as a result, we lost considerable time in launching this trip, so we are operating on a pretty tight time line. If you’d like to join us, we’d need you to make a decision pretty quickly. Please confirm your participation by no later than October 18.
You can obtain more information about this trip and register for it as well, at our website, http://rabbialanlewretreatandtour.blogspot.com
I very much hope that you can join us on this extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It promises to be a week of unusual pleasure and spiritual depth.
Shalom U’Vrachah—Peace and Blessings,
Rabbi Alan Lew
Ps: For more information and questions please call our organizers. Ground Operations provided through Community Development Partners for the Americas. Hune Margulies, Ph.D., President. www.culture-and-ecology.com. 914-439-7731. For more information on the Martin Buber Institute for Dialogical Ecology please visit www.MBIDE.org
