Yom Kippur Afternoon Sessions

Thursday, October 2
2:00 pm

Choose from our two afternoon sessions:

Breathwork Session for Release and Renewal, with Jami Hoffman

Breathwork is a self-healing tool available to us all. This breathwork journey will honor the sacred pause of Yom Kippur—letting go of the weight of the past year and opening ourselves up to renewal. The breath will guide us to a place of forgiveness and clarity so that we can lead with an open heart.

Jami is a former ballet dancer whose path reflects a deep appreciation for movement, wellness, and spiritual exploration. In 2001, she discovered yoga and Ayurveda, leading her to India to complete her training as a practitioner. She later earned certifications in hatha yoga, prenatal yoga, herbalism, and most recently breathwork under David Elliott, returning again in 2025 to deepen the work. Her vision is to help others reconnect with themselves, awaken inner potential, and embrace their capacity for self-healing.

Cultivating Ometz Lev: The Strength to Speak Up in an Age of Extreme Fracture and Fear, with Alana Zeitchik

Six of my family members were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, an event so horrifying I could have never imagined it in my worst nightmare. After taking to social media and promising I would scream to the ends of the earth for my family, I immediately became a public advocate here in the US and dedicated my life to bringing them home. I spoke at the UN, made countless media appearances, wrote op-eds, spoke at the March for Israel and leveraged social media to build a community of support. I found myself navigating unbearable grief and crippling fear while stepping into public advocacy on one of the most polarizing issues of our time. In this talk, I will share my family’s harrowing story and my personal journey of becoming an advocate. I will reflect on the challenges I have faced, the things I have learned and what it means to advocate for both your own loved ones and humanity in a moment defined by division, misinformation, and mistrust. This is not only a story of Jewish resilience but also a testament to the difficulty, and necessity, of finding our ometz lev in an age of extreme fracture and fear. 

Alana Zeitchik is an Israeli-American advocate based in Brooklyn, NY. Her advocacy is rooted in personal tragedy: six of her family members were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, which transformed her into a public voice for her family and humanity. She has written for The New York Times, is featuring in the documentary Torn: The Israel-Palestine Poster War, and uses her social media platform to connect with a diverse community across generational and political lines.

More info on all our services and programs at our High Holidays page.