Tomorrow morning I'm off to Boulder, Colorado for the eighth annual Ohalah conference (at the really spiffy-looking Hotel Boulderado). The word Ohalah is an acronym for "Agudat HaRabbanim L'Hithadshut HaYahadut," which translates to "Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal." In addition to rabbis, the gathering will also include Renewal rabbinic pastors and cantors, students in all three of those disciplines, and other Renewal-minded Jewish professionals.

I'm looking tremendously forward to the experience. Though I met many current and prospective smicha (ordination) students at Elat Chayyim last summer, this will be my first chance to spend time with everyone all together, and to meet many of the folks who have received smicha through Aleph. This will also be my first chance to see a smicha ceremony -- I imagine that will be a powerful thing to witness.

I won't be blogging this conference the way I did the URJ Biennial. The Renewal analogue to the Biennial is Kallah; Ohalah seems more like a guild gathering or family reunion. This gathering is designed to be a way for Renewal rabbis and students to connect, and isn't meant to be a public phenomenon in the same way the Biennial is. That said, though I won't be liveblogging, I may eventually write about some of the things I learn, or some of my reactions and responses to the heady intellectual and spiritual atmosphere I expect to encounter, so stay tuned.

Since I'll be away, blogging will likely be light over the coming week. Thanks for understanding; see y'all on the other side!

Technorati tags: religion, Judaism, JewishRenewal.