Journey-Powered Judaism
Our Mission
Lech-Lecha לך-לך facilitates empowering outdoor adventures and communal journeys that catalyze personal development and spiritual growth, connection with the wonder of Hashem’s creation, meaningful interpersonal relationships, and joyful community deeply rooted in Torah and a holistic approach to Jewish life and practice.
Lech-Lecha לך-לך facilitates empowering outdoor adventures and communal journeys that catalyze personal development and spiritual growth, connection with the wonder of Hashem’s creation, meaningful interpersonal relationships, and joyful community deeply rooted in Torah and a holistic approach to Jewish life and practice.
Our Vision
Lech-Lecha לך-לך envisions a vibrant community of outdoor adventurers embarking on a Jewish future animated by our heritage and inspired by the ecological synergy of Hashem’s creation. We see an empowered generation courageously building lives and communities committed to growth and wholeness.
Lech-Lecha לך-לך envisions a vibrant community of outdoor adventurers embarking on a Jewish future animated by our heritage and inspired by the ecological synergy of Hashem’s creation. We see an empowered generation courageously building lives and communities committed to growth and wholeness.
Our Pillars
Breaking out to break in to personal and social change
The first step is back, out of our daily norms and routines, in order to access our inner vitality. Natural settings, forests and streams, allow us to release and realign. Beyond the city streets, we break out of the four walls in which our tradition is often encountered in order to discover the personal relationship and wisdom we hold within.
Ultimately, inner transformation effects our homes, our communities, and our societies. Lech-Lecha's adventures seek to inspire social change by renewing personal energy, creativity, and alignment.
Ultimately, inner transformation effects our homes, our communities, and our societies. Lech-Lecha's adventures seek to inspire social change by renewing personal energy, creativity, and alignment.
Mutual Empowerment & pluralism
With 20-30 years under our belts, we each have skills and experiences to share. We gather as a team of seekers, each of us contributing to our communal growth and discovery, facilitating based on our skills and experiences.
In each of us bringing our personal practice, we inspire one another to shine greater vibrance into our individual journeys and relationships with our ancestral heritage. All adventures are Kosher and Shomer Shabbat, honoring individual practice and fully supporting observance of mitzvot.
We believe that every Jewish person can have and would benefit from having a deep connection to our tradition and our people. We believe that every Jewish person can live and would benefit from living an empowered and engaged Jewish journey of curiosity, discovery, learning, and practice. We seek to foster this connection and enliven this journey with love and openness.
Lech-Lecha also values creating a space that invites and respects traditional observance of Torah and Mitzvot. In addition to seeking to meet the needs of traditionally observant participants, we believe that there is a power and wonder to experiencing traditional Jewish observance especially as it comes to life in the wilderness, uniquely facilitating communal and spiritual connection.
Therefore, no matter who the participants are, all communal contexts of Lech-Lecha experiences formally observe Shabbat and Kashrut, offer time for traditional prayer, and cater programming to fall within halachic bounds, and individuals are invited - but never forced - to lean into the communal aspects of our trek.
The journey is the destination. In other words, we don't pressure for any particular outcome or enforce any personal practice – the Lech-Lecha experience aims to inspire, empower, & deepen each participant's own unique – and joyful! – Jewish journey. This is a big part of what Journey-Powered Judaism means. We hope to meet you on the trail!
In each of us bringing our personal practice, we inspire one another to shine greater vibrance into our individual journeys and relationships with our ancestral heritage. All adventures are Kosher and Shomer Shabbat, honoring individual practice and fully supporting observance of mitzvot.
We believe that every Jewish person can have and would benefit from having a deep connection to our tradition and our people. We believe that every Jewish person can live and would benefit from living an empowered and engaged Jewish journey of curiosity, discovery, learning, and practice. We seek to foster this connection and enliven this journey with love and openness.
Lech-Lecha also values creating a space that invites and respects traditional observance of Torah and Mitzvot. In addition to seeking to meet the needs of traditionally observant participants, we believe that there is a power and wonder to experiencing traditional Jewish observance especially as it comes to life in the wilderness, uniquely facilitating communal and spiritual connection.
Therefore, no matter who the participants are, all communal contexts of Lech-Lecha experiences formally observe Shabbat and Kashrut, offer time for traditional prayer, and cater programming to fall within halachic bounds, and individuals are invited - but never forced - to lean into the communal aspects of our trek.
The journey is the destination. In other words, we don't pressure for any particular outcome or enforce any personal practice – the Lech-Lecha experience aims to inspire, empower, & deepen each participant's own unique – and joyful! – Jewish journey. This is a big part of what Journey-Powered Judaism means. We hope to meet you on the trail!
Connection
Our journey builds genuine and lasting connections. We journey with a small group of peers, 10-15 per adventure, and come out bonded on the other end. Our community is a supportive network of peers seeking to challenge one another to grow and embrace one another for who we are.
PEER-LED & SMALL GROUP
We'll have facilitators at each retreat who will take a leadership role in organizing and designing our adventure. These retreats, though, are ours. We'll learn from and share with one another. Our facilitators will create a framework that supports our process as a group, weaving each of our contributions into a wholesome journey.
Each retreat will have between 8-15 participants.
Each retreat will have between 8-15 participants.
Meet Our Team
Lech-Lecha Trek Leaders
Simon Itaaliander is thrilled to be joining Lech-Lecha for the first time as a trek-leader this summer. I'm from Atlanta, GA and have bounced around the world a bit before landing in my current home: New York City. I teach 8th grade at a local Jewish Day School and partake in my own treks from time to time. During the year I'm a city guy, but in the summer I love nothing more than getting on the trails, covering some miles, and enhancing my Jewish spirituality through nature.
Binah Bodkin is obsessed with Judaism, the woods and the way words help us heal. She facilitates healing through poetry classes and shiatsu massage therapy. She has performed freestyle poetry from Hawaii to Jerusalem. She recently climbed Mt. Jefferson and is only mildly afraid of heights. She finds Jewish practice to be highly experiential and enjoys sharing that medicine with others. She is always up for spontaneous improv scenes and finds playing characters is generally more fun-- and often more revealing-- than playing ourselves. She recently wrote her first play. Catch her around the Boston area, or visiting Crown Heights.
Rikki Grossman lives in NYC and graduated this spring with her Master's in Social Work from NYU and is a Certified Wilderness First Responder (WFR). She loves going on adventures, finding new beautiful places to explore, and connecting to the Jewish community and people! She also has a special talent of solving multiple forms of Rubik's cubes and loves boxing, so don't mess!
Rikki Grossman lives in NYC and graduated this spring with her Master's in Social Work from NYU and is a Certified Wilderness First Responder (WFR). She loves going on adventures, finding new beautiful places to explore, and connecting to the Jewish community and people! She also has a special talent of solving multiple forms of Rubik's cubes and loves boxing, so don't mess!
Sophia Katz has been leading trips with Lech-Lecha since the summer of 2021. She is currently completing her Masters in Mental Health Counseling at Prescott College, with a specialization in Adventure Therapy. She currently works at OHEL health homes, providing psychiatric support for adults with mental illnesses.
At every opportunity, Sophia enjoys traveling and traversing the beautiful vast wilderness! Sophia has a deep passion for the natural world, and its power to shift our perspectives and inspire growth in a uniquely impactful way. And it’s downright awesome.
Raffi Levi is a rabbinical student at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in Riverdale, NY. He grew up in Southfield Michigan. Outside of his studies, he loves to spend his time fermenting, playing guitar, writing songs, sewing, baking bread and spending time with the glorious outdoors. He loves humor and goofiness, deep discussion, and deep listening. He also has ADHD and loves being a Neurodivergent Jew. Last summer, Raffi worked as a Culinary Arts Educator at Eden Village Camp, where food is gathered directly from their farm to appreciate the beauty and sacredness of eating with holistic, ecological, and spiritual intention. Currently, Raffi lives on the Upper West Side with his wife Daphne and several plants.
Ronen Schatsky was born and raised in NYC but feel most at home exploring the outdoors, from New York's own Harriman State Park to the Alaskan wilderness. In 2016 I successfully thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and am currently training for a summit attempt of Mount Rainier. As much as I love the outdoors, I'm even more passionate about helping other people find purpose pushing themselves in nature, and look forward to doing so with Lech-Lecha!
Arielle Aronoff is an outdoor educator and Masters of Social Work student. She seeks to create an environment in which our natural inclination for exploration, curiosity, and connection can be engaged while developing a meaningful relationship to Jewish tradition, the land, and each other.
Alex Voynow brings his experience as an outdoor educator, Jewish community leader, and men’s work facilitator to this special retreat. He has been involved with men’s work for the past five years, and has spent the last year creating and facilitating transformative men’s spaces. Alex believes that through cultivating vulnerable, courageous, and supportive relationships among men, we can learn and practice what it means to show up in wholeness to our friendships, our partnerships, our communities, and to the Earth. Alex is a wilderness first responder, free diver, and dancer, and enjoys backpacking in old-growth forests, cooking, making ice cream, and cuddling with his cat, Garbanzo.
BGOLD ben Ruach, Yisroel Ya'acov, Bryan Goldfeder, is a Jewish artist and educator based in Boulder, Colorado. He has many years of experience leading biking and backpacking trips in the Rockies, and has hosted two Mussar in the Mountains retreats during his time as a Moishe House resident . He currently creates functional art and Judaica out of his recycled glass studio, BGOLDglass.
An avid lover of all things wild, Miri Kaiser has been working in outdoor education for the past 10 years leading workshops and hiking trips for children, teens, and adults. She received her certificate in adventure therapy from Wingate College and is a Wilderness First Responder. Miri loves to forage wild edibles and other people's leftovers. She is currently living in Vermont, where her time is split between working in wilderness therapy and ceramic art.
Lech-Lecha Year-Round Team
Nadav Slovin
Founder and Executive Director
Nadav is a passionate seeker and educator. On his journey toward purposeful living, Nadav adventured through thick forests, abundant farms, diverse modes of spiritual practice, and into the richness of Jewish text and tradition. While studying for his BA in Philosophy at McGill University and subsequently receiving his degree in education from Herzog College in Israel, Nadav led countless outdoor adventures and farming immersives with Camp Ramah in the Rockies, Justifi, and Teva to name a few. The powerful intersection between wilderness and Jewish practice inspired Nadav to found Lech-Lecha in 2019 and he has found great joy in facilitating genuine encounters with self and others, creation and Hashem ever since. To inquire about any of our programs or events, feel free to email him directly at [email protected]
Founder and Executive Director
Nadav is a passionate seeker and educator. On his journey toward purposeful living, Nadav adventured through thick forests, abundant farms, diverse modes of spiritual practice, and into the richness of Jewish text and tradition. While studying for his BA in Philosophy at McGill University and subsequently receiving his degree in education from Herzog College in Israel, Nadav led countless outdoor adventures and farming immersives with Camp Ramah in the Rockies, Justifi, and Teva to name a few. The powerful intersection between wilderness and Jewish practice inspired Nadav to found Lech-Lecha in 2019 and he has found great joy in facilitating genuine encounters with self and others, creation and Hashem ever since. To inquire about any of our programs or events, feel free to email him directly at [email protected]
Sashya Clark
Director of Outreach and Engagement
Sashya is a strategic partner and creative from the Midwest, who has spent many years serving various organizations during growth and transition, including a recent rebrand of her local synagogue's religious school. As a perennial understudy of life and nature, she is consistently captivated by encountering G-d hiding among the bushes of circumstance. An avid reader, she currently spends most days trying to keep up with the Daf Yomi, and her three boys, writing, strengthening the local Jewish community, and fishing Iowa's Driftless Area trout streams with her Bashert, Ben. She is excited to join Lech-Lecha in this happy pairing of adventure and meaningful Jewish connection! You can reach her at [email protected]
Director of Outreach and Engagement
Sashya is a strategic partner and creative from the Midwest, who has spent many years serving various organizations during growth and transition, including a recent rebrand of her local synagogue's religious school. As a perennial understudy of life and nature, she is consistently captivated by encountering G-d hiding among the bushes of circumstance. An avid reader, she currently spends most days trying to keep up with the Daf Yomi, and her three boys, writing, strengthening the local Jewish community, and fishing Iowa's Driftless Area trout streams with her Bashert, Ben. She is excited to join Lech-Lecha in this happy pairing of adventure and meaningful Jewish connection! You can reach her at [email protected]
Yadin Goldman
Social Media & Digital Marketing Specialist
Yadin joins Lech-Lecha with a decade of experience in content creation and digital marketing. As a photographer, videographer, editor, writer, teacher, and actor, he always seeks out new and creative ways to share meaningful stories with the world. Some of his favorite things include drinking good coffee, cooking pierogi with his grandma's recipe, and spending time in nature with his wife and tiny dog, Remy. With wanderlust and a passion for Jewish exploration, Yadin is excited to be part of the Lech-Lecha journey! You can connect with him at [email protected]
Social Media & Digital Marketing Specialist
Yadin joins Lech-Lecha with a decade of experience in content creation and digital marketing. As a photographer, videographer, editor, writer, teacher, and actor, he always seeks out new and creative ways to share meaningful stories with the world. Some of his favorite things include drinking good coffee, cooking pierogi with his grandma's recipe, and spending time in nature with his wife and tiny dog, Remy. With wanderlust and a passion for Jewish exploration, Yadin is excited to be part of the Lech-Lecha journey! You can connect with him at [email protected]
Daniel Margolis
Fundraising Specialist
Daniel is a jack of all trades. He obtained his B.A. in Arts and Political Science at Brooklyn College, and a Masters of Science and Nonprofit Management at Northeaster University. He has worked as a professional fundraiser, technical writer, journalist, program manager, campaign manager - and more. He's excited to work with Lech-Lecha, because of his longstanding awe for the natural world. To discuss supporting our work, email [email protected]
Fundraising Specialist
Daniel is a jack of all trades. He obtained his B.A. in Arts and Political Science at Brooklyn College, and a Masters of Science and Nonprofit Management at Northeaster University. He has worked as a professional fundraiser, technical writer, journalist, program manager, campaign manager - and more. He's excited to work with Lech-Lecha, because of his longstanding awe for the natural world. To discuss supporting our work, email [email protected]
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