Peer-Led Retreat Calendar

The Seven Sounds of the Ram** – An Ancient Musical Instruments Shabbaton is a Mem Global Peer Led Retreat (retreatology.org) with Daniel Stermac-Stein of The Herd’s Throne (theherdsthrone.ca) and Tamar Goldberg and Tiferet Nashman of Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs (shoresh.ca). Calling Jewish adults (geared toward 20’s and 30’s, though all are welcome, including families,) to join us for an ancient musical instrument making workshop, Jewish learning, and camping, and to top it all off, a musical outdoor Shabbat Bereishit-Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan-Thanksgiving celebration! Get ready to use your hands in a new way and delve into embodied Earth-based Jewish rituals. We plan to make traditional hand drums under Daniel’s expert guidance, and following that, to use a variety of animal parts to work together to create other ancient musical instruments such as those that were played by the Levites in the Temple. Dates: October 8-12, 2026 (this retreat begins in the afternoon on Thursday, ends midday on Thanksgiving Monday) Location: Near Barry’s Bay, ON (a 3.5-4 hour drive from Toronto, carpooling available) Cost: $150 CAD with sliding scale pricing available Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply soon to avoid missing out! The cost of this retreat includes meals and snacks for all the days, materials to make a traditional hand drum that you can take home and work on other instruments, all instruction, camping site, and many other invaluable benefits. Jews of all stripes and colours welcome, including you. We will do our best to honour the diverse traditions within our group, but by default, things will be Ashkenazi shabbat and kashrut observant just based on the organizers’ backgrounds. ** What are the Seven Sounds of the Ram? “Rabbi Yehoshua said: This is what it meant when they said: “When [the ram] is alive it possesses one sound, but when it is dead its sound is sevenfold.” In what way is its sound sevenfold? Its two horns [are made into] two trumpets, its two leg-bones into two flutes, its hide into a drum, its entrails for lyres and its large intestines for harp strings;” (Mishnah Kinnim 3:6)