Choose your track:

You are warmly welcome to join us for one or both of the JEWITXH offerings this Fall:

  • Online Learning Crucible (all genders)

  • In-Person Shabbaton Retreats in Sebastopol (womxn, trans and non-binary folx)

Wed 6:30-8PM PST* with guest teachers Batya Levine & Rena Branson

This group is tailored for beginners and advanced students alike- the benefits of teaching on Zoom. Perhaps you just want to get a couple tunes in your bones, or maybe you want to facilitate Shabbats for friends and loved ones. Either way, this group will hold your creative Jewitxhy process whichever you’re wanting to go.

  • 9 sessions with your cohort for guided musical instruction with special guest teachers

  • A container to learn the basic prayers, songs, Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah flow as well as witchy songs for Samhain and the Solstice 

  • A JEWITXH songbook with chords of the songs that work in tandem with the songs we’ll learn in class and video tutorials. The book includes chords for the guitar, uke, baritone uke, piano, music theory and transposition guides and a section for notes

  • An online resource of video tutorials and audios to learn

  • Access to learning 3-part harmonies for many of the songs split into parts for easy learning/ teaching your community 

  • A designated WhatsApp container to cultivate community

  • Support for writing your own prayers into music

  • We will be meeting on Wednesdays from 6:30-8pm PST. All groups will be recorded for future access. If you are local and wish to join in person, you are invited to the Singtuary in Sebastopol to sing with us!

    Oct 7, 14, 28

    Nov 4, 11, 18

    Dec 2*, 9, 16

    *Batya Levine will be guest teaching on Dec 2 and we will be starting class at 2pm. All groups will be recorded.

  • Anyone who is wanting to cultivate their Jewitxhy song garden. From folks who just like to sing-along to folks who facilitate and hold musical space, this group meets you where you are to widen your song capacity. You do not have to be Jewish or Witchy to join this Cohort!

  • I believe in equitable sliding scale tuition. I offer this group sliding scale between $300-$900 with additional scholarships as needed.

    Work trade: $300 in exchange for supporting either: the Zoom rooms, the online library, taking notes, sending emails to students, etc.

    General tuition: $600

    Mentorship: $900 (comes with 3 30-minute sessions to deepen in your own song practice).

    My desire is to make this work as accessible as possible. I have a limited number of scholarship spots available if you're needing more financial support.

3 Shabbat Retreats Oct, Nov & Dec at the Singtuary in Sebastopol, California

A journey for 13 participants, this Shabbaton will invite you into rest, nourishment, community, play, prayer and (potentially) ecstatic experiences singing and welcoming in Shabbat! You will arrive at the Singtuary in Sebastopol on Friday afternoon/ evening and set up your nest (many will choose to camp on the land, some will prefer to sleep in the Singtuary and we have 2 private rooms for an additional fee). We will start together connecting with the land and our intentions and prayers, and then share a potluck Shabbat Meal with blessings, candles, challah and wine (or grape juice) and Lauren’s Famous Shabbat Chicken™. After we’ll move to the Singtuary to continue an evening of singing, prayer, play, improvisation, meditation, and all things to welcome in the Spirit of Shabbat where music is the medicine.

On Saturday morning we’ll enjoy a Bonnie’s bagel + lox brunch with eggs and fruit, with morning movement and song. Each Shabbaton we will be exploring different aspects of singing and creation.

After ample singing and learning harmony, we will rest and connect with our spirits and nervous systems and spend time in nature and potentially writing and receiving songs and sharing.

Then we’ll get ready for a potluck dinner and celebrate Havdalah closing the Shabbat portal. Folks can choose to go home after Havdalah or stay the night and leave Sunday morning if so desired.

  • Arrival:

    Folks will arrive at the Singtuary in Sebastopol between 3-5 on Friday (please let me know if you have to arrive later)

    Departure:

    Folks will depart Saturday evening after Havdalah (around 8ish) or stay til Sunday morning.

    • Oct 2-3

    • Nov 13-14

    • Dec 12-13

  • Womxn, trans, and enby folks who are wishing to cultivate their Jewitchy song garden and cultivate community in a nourishing retreat with other like-minded folk. You want to pray, play, find ecstatic moments and irreverence, and give your nervous system the gift of rest. You do not have to be Jewish or a Witch to join us- just know a lot of the songs will be centered around that!

  • I believe in equitable sliding scale tuition. I offer this group sliding scale between $1500-$2500 with additional scholarships as needed and includes the Online Crucible container.

    Work trade: $1500- $2000

    General tuition: $2000

    Mentorship: $2500 (comes with 3 one-on-one sessions

    I have a limited number of scholarship spots available if you're needing more financial support.

    This covers all 3 retreats and the online course and requisite materials, as well as some food during our retreat window and Saturday brunch.

  • I never expected to go through such a profound emotional and spiritual process with Lauren, on top of the musical transformation I signed up for - which was itself surprisingly deep and life-changing. Lauren is a good witch - and I am immensely grateful for the gift of being guided by her.

    Stav

  • I just wanted to say a huge huge thank you for this retreat weekend. I feel like I've remembered all of the joys of music without any of the traumas that come along with old school classical training. I've never met a musician/music teacher who is so gentle and loving of whatever comes out of the voice box as you. It's a new type of liberation I didn't know I needed, but now that I have it, it feels like FREEDOM. Thank you!

    Selysa

  • Working with Lauren is like arriving home to wholehearted love, divine flow, and deep presence. In her seamless facilitation, I am invited to listen and express my soul song. I felt welcomed and included and loved. It was pure joy. I am rewoven into the healing of my heart-voice.

    Meredith Heller

Guest teachers

Co-director of Let My People Sing!, Guest teacher Dec 2, 2PM PST

Batya Levine

Batya Levine (they/them) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, musician, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. They believe in the liberatory power of song to untie what is bound within us, and sustain us as we build a more just and beautiful world. Batya is a Co-Founder and the Co-Director of Let My People Sing! Batya offers song, ritual, and workshops in a variety of communities, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith/trust). Batya is also a lover of the ocean, queer dance parties, and puns.

Rena Branson (they/them) is a Jewish composer, ritual leader, and educator who uplifts personal and collective healing through song. They founded A Queer Nigun Project (aqueernigunproject.org), which organizes singing events for LGBTQIA+ folks and sends audio content to people in the Jewish community who are incarcerated. Rena writes new tunes for liturgy and teaches traditional Hasidic melodies, expanding access to their power for all seekers. They serve as the Cantorial Soloist at Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir in Philadelphia and also work with private clients as a Reiki practitioner. Rena has also worked on the Cultural Organizing Team at Linke Fligl, a queer Jewish farm and resource redistribution project.

Founder of A Queer Nigun Project, Guest Teacher TBD

Rena Branson

Cost + Tuition

  • I believe in equitable sliding scale tuition. I offer this group sliding scale between $300-$900 with additional scholarships as needed.

    Work trade: $300 in exchange for supporting either: the Zoom rooms, the online library, taking notes, sending emails to students, etc.

    General tuition: $600

    Mentorship: $900 (comes with 3 30-minute sessions to deepen in your own song practice).

    My desire is to make this work as accessible as possible. I have a limited number of scholarship spots available if you're needing more financial support.

  • I believe in equitable sliding scale tuition. I offer this group sliding scale between $1500-$2500 with additional scholarships as needed and includes the Online Crucible container.

    Work trade: $1500- $2000

    General tuition: $2000

    Mentorship: $2500 (comes with 3 one-on-one sessions

    I have a limited number of scholarship spots available if you're needing more financial support.

    This covers all 3 retreats and the online course and requisite materials, as well as some food during our retreat window and Saturday brunch.

A portion of the proceeds of JEWITXH will be donated to the Sogorea Te Land Trust and The Middle East Children’s Alliance

Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people.

The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment and education. In the Middle East, MECA provides humanitarian aid, partners with community organizations to run projects for children, and supports income-generation projects. In the US and internationally, MECA raises awareness about the lives of children in the region and encourages meaningful action.

If this sounds like a good time, please fill out this form and Lauren will contact you (likely by text).

COVID 19 & General Health Awareness: 

If you have any symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID within 7 days we will be practicing community care and asking you to not to join us. Additionally, if you have any symptoms of any kind we will ask you to refrain from joining in person.