Wexner Professional Leadership Programs Alumni Institute 2025

For this session, we will use a poetic interpretation by Rabbi Yael Levy, from Directing the Heart: Weekly Mindfulness Teachings and Practices from the Torah (2019), to engage with the parashat hashavua, and then we will engage in a guided meditation practice rooted in the Torah portion.

This session will be modeled on a weekly class I have offered for my congregation for the past four years. No mindfulness/meditation background is necessary! If you're curious about mindfulness practice, and the way it can open up new meaning in traditional texts, this session is for you!

Are you serving as a supervisor for the first time and feel in over your head?  Do you manage a team and struggle to balance your individual responsibilities with your management responsibilities?  Do you have trouble addressing performance problems? Are you uncertain about how to both support your staff and hold them accountable?  Are there professional opportunities that appeal to you that you worry you might not like or be good at because of the management responsibilities required? Do you think of management as a necessary evil rather than a core part of your leadership?  Do you think of b’tzelem elohim, “meeting people where they are”, radical acceptance, dan l’kaf zechut as part of your pastoral, spiritual and/or ritual approach but have never thought about how those concepts and values apply to management and supervision? If so, this session is for you!  In this skill-building session, I will share my management philosophy, provide some helpful tips and techniques and recommend resources for future learning.