Dear Seekers,

Welcome to Beit Kohenet! Even in this time when our hearts are feeling broken, we are here to welcome you to this space of reverence and enchantment. 

Beit Kohenet (“Priestess House”) is a house of Jewish mystical, earth-based, feminist seeking. In Hebrew, a beit midrash (“house of seeking”) is a place of study. The word “kohenet,” priestess, invokes spiritual leaders of the Bible and beyond who work outside gender hierarchies and mainstream norms. Beit Kohenet lifts up the vast wealth of Jewish tradition at the edges, exploring the knowledge and ritual practice of women and other Jews whose spiritual adventures outside the norm can continue to inspire us. We celebrate the traditions of mystics who opened themselves to the sacred feminine and perceived divine entwinement with creation. We make space—online and also in person—for learning, prayer, ritual practice, sacred art, folk magic and community gathering, in order to infuse contemporary Jewish life with aliveness, liberation, wonder and reverence.

If you crave meeting the Shabbat bride in the field or praying along with a whole forest, if you’re curious about Jewish meditation and visualization, if you’re drawn to ritualcraft or ritual art, or if you want to join Miriam the prophetess in her drumming, visions and dance, Beit Kohenet seeks to offer you resources for your practice. Here you’ll encounter traditions of mystical union, spirit protection, healing, dreamwork, sacred creativity, elemental honoring, ancestor connection and nondual understanding: earth-based mystical traditions that interact with the world of spirit and the world of embodied reality in profound and intimate ways. You can pray or study Torah with us, attend holiday retreats online or in person, join our artists’ collective or song circle, meet up to discuss your mystical experiences, explore texts and ritual traditions, or plumb the deep well of your own spiritual identity.  In our Mystics’ Room, you can find articles and listen to interviews with scholars, ritualists, artists and activists doing similar work. We hope that as Beit Kohenet grows, there will be more types of learning and gathering to come.

Two decades ago, few Jews used the word “priestess.” Now, since the work of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute (2005-2023) and other feminist and/or earth-based organizations, there are new ways to connect to Jewish spiritual tradition that arise from these powerful but often overlooked methodologies and sources. Our goal is to support those who are creating these new models of feminist, earth-based and/or mystical practice and leadership. Our programs are open to those of all genders and ethnic and religious backgrounds (except where programs are limited to specific communities/audiences as noted). If you have questions, our staff, board, and volunteers are here to assist you and you can find contact information on our website.

Welcome—we hope you will explore our house of seeking and find opportunities that are right for you. 

With blessing,
Rabbi Jill Hammer
Director of Learning and Ritual, Beit Kohenet