North America Kabbalah Retreat 2008

Children at the Retreat and the Children's Program

The retreat schedule is jam packed with activates for participants. We do not encourage you to bring children unless it is absolutely impossible to make other arrangements for their care. The children's program is for those who would be unable to join us otherwise.

The children's program is only for children between the ages 5 and 12. It will be available only during the lessons, workshops and seminars. Otherwise, it is the parent's responsibility to watch them at all other times.

No programs will be provided for teens 13 and older. They are responsible for their own activities and may participate in all retreat activities and study along with the adults if they have a desire to do so.

Children under the age of four, inclusive, will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

Children must sleep at the hotel with one or both parents. They will take their meals along with the parents.

Hotel Room Reservations

Lodging and payment arrangements are the participants' responsibility.

A special discount rate is available for retreat participants. Rooms are reserved on a per-room, per-night basis. Up to three people (whether adults or children) can stay in a room, thereby reducing the cost per person. Room rates per night (taxes are extra) are as following:

Single or double occupancy - $89 ($44.50 per person if double)

Triple occupancy - $99 ($33 per person, with a folding bed for the third person)

You can arrange for your own roommate or a roommate will be assigned to you. When reserving your room, please indicate your preferences in the Comment box.

When reserving the room, you will be asked to provide a valid credit card and the whole $89 will be placed as a hold on your card. This is only a deposit to hold the room. The credit cards will not be charged until check-out, at which time the total cost can be split across all occupants.

To make your room reservation, please call 800-822-3535. Make sure to ask for a room in the Chalet and request the Bnei Baruch St. Louis group rate.

Airport Transportation

All pick up and drop off at the airport is arranged for you and is included in the congress price. The hotel shuttle will be running regularly Friday November between 10:00 am and 10:00 pm . On Sunday, there will be regularly scheduled shuttles departing to the airport from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm .

St. Louis has only one airport, with two terminals. One terminal is reserved only for SouthWest Airlines and the main terminal is for all other airlines. The shuttle service will be from the main terminal. If you arrive at the SouthWest terminal, proceed to take an airport shuttle to the main terminal.

The gathering point is by the Burger King in the main terminal. You will be greeted by a Retreat welcoming party and directed to the hotel shuttle.

The airport is located 20 minutes from the hotel.

Further transportation information will be emailed to all registered participants as we get closer to the retreat date

Registration Process

The registration for the retreat consists of two steps:

1. You need to register and pay for the retreat at this link:

You will receive a confirmation email once you fill out the form and submit it. Retreat price and other information are provided below.

2. You need to book your room directly with the hotel. Lodging and payment arrangements are your responsibility. See detailed instructions under ‘Hotel Reservation' below.

We will be announcing and emailing detailed travel information as we get closer to the retreat date.

Lessons Translation and Radios

Rav Michael Laitman's lessons will be given in Hebrew with synchronized translation into English, Spanish and Russian. All other seminars and workshops will be conducted in English with synchronized translation into Spanish and Russian. The translation will be broadcast over a FM radio signal. Participants will need a FM radio to hear the translation.

Radios with batteries will be sold at the retreat for $12. However, participants are asked to bring their own FM radios and batteries for their convenience.

Venue and Driving Directions

The Retreat will be held at the Sheraton Westport hotel - Lakeside Chalet not the Plaza Tower

Who Can Attend

The retreat is open to any student that is currently studying with Bnei Baruch either with the online Education Center (you must be registered on edu.kabbalah.info (which has since become KabU) or on their own through www.kab.tv or www.kabacademy.com ; or is a member of an existing Bnei Baruch virtual or physical group. This means everyone in the World Kli).

Students currently enrolled in the Fall 2008 Education Center semester will be provided with special instructions and a virtual preparatory seminar. Details and the date of this seminar will be announced, at a later date, during classes, posted on the student forum, and emailed to all registered students.

Retreat Price

Retreat price, excluding lodging, is US $210 per adult and US $150 for children aged 12 and under. This price covers:

• all lessons and activities

• six meals (Friday night, three on Saturday, and two on Sunday) and all drinks during the retreat

• transportation from and to the airport

• study materials and welcome package

• children's program (limited, see details below)

Schedule and Activities

The retreat will start at 4:00 pm on Friday November 14th. The best time to arrive is 1:00 pm to allow adequate time for registration and room check-in. Hotel room check-in is 3:00 pm .

The final event of the congress will end at 1:00 pm on Sunday November 16th. The best time to book your flight out is approximately 4:00 pm , if available; otherwise any departure time is suitable. Note that hotel room check-out is at noon .

The exact retreat schedule has not been finalized yet. It will be filled with the activities listed below and will run during the following times:

Friday - 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm

Saturday - 8:00 am to 11:00 pm

Sunday - 8:00 am to 1:00 pm

• Four lessons with Rav Michael Laitman

• Group meals (Kabbalistic style)

• Cultural and entertainment programs, both evenings

• Workshops and seminars

• Free time to socialize with friends and for rest

To get full benefit of the retreat, students are encouraged not plan any other personal activities during the above times. The schedule is packed with activities and will require your constant presence at the retreat location. Plenty of personal rest time will be allocated.

The Experience

For thousands of years the Kabbalists taught that the love of another is the sole means of attaining the Upper Force. To succeed in reaching such relations between us, a fundamental change in our grasp of reality should take place. At the very heart of the process lies the need to transform the egoistic nature with which we were born, to the quality of giving to the other. In doing so we gain the experience of a new spiritual reality.

The subject and main goal of the upcoming congress is unity among friends. We chose this subject out of the need to create that spiritual vessel called Arvut. To attain this goal friends are assembled from the world over who are yearning for the unity among friends according to the condition "one man, one heart," as is explained in the article of Baal Sulam called "Arvut."

All the lessons and activities during the congress (workshops, seminars, meals, songs and cultural evenings) will focus on the subject of the connection between us. This will enable us to reach the quality of love and giving, meaning the actual realization of the law "love your friend as yourself."