Judaism Outdoors! is a new initiative of Ma'yan Tikvah designed to provide a wide range unique and engaging outdoor programming with a Jewish foundation. Our target audience is a combination of young adults in their 20s and 30s and young families in the Metrowest area, but all ages and all faith backgrounds are invited and welcome to all programs.

Judiasm Outdoors! is funded by community grants and involves partnerships with Jewish and outdoor organizations.  Our desire is to provide outdoor Jewishly oriented opportunities for all who are seeking an alternative experience of Judaism, are interested in Earth-based Judaism, or are searching for a Jewish community but wanting to spend their time outdoors. 

By having programs in the shared environment of nature, it is our goal to create a welcoming environment for anyone searching for a nature-based spiritual home.

Thanks to our funders, most events are free.  

Our community partners are supporting Judiasm Outdoors! by providing leadership, expertise, and publicity.

April

RSVP for April events here 

Drumlin Farm Animal Shabbat

April 6th, 9:30 am | Lincoln

Shabbat Nature-Journaling River Walk

April 6th, 2:00 pm | Sudbury

Pre-Passover Outdoor Family Program

April 7th, 10:00 am | Sudbury

Passover Seder in Interfaith Setting

April 23rd, 6:00 pm | Framingham

Contemplative Walk with Themes of Freedom

April 27th, 10:30 am | Natick

May

RSVP for May events here.

Shabbat Afternoon Hike

May 11th, 2:00 pm | Wayland

Shabbat Outdoors for All Ages

May 18th, 10:00 am | Framingham

Gardening from Our Hearts

May 19th, 10:00 am | Framingham

Rabbi Suri Krieger (she/her) was ordained in 2008 at the pluralistic Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR), New York. Rabbi Suri is equally at home with tradition, liberal theology, and innovation, blending them to make creative yet authentic rituals and ceremonies. She is a rabbi emeritus with B’nai Or, Jewish Renwal of Boston, and previously spent eight years teaching Bible and Judaism at Sacred Heart University. Dynamic, passionate, and authenticity are descriptives most often associated with her presence. With a background in music and drama, Rabbi Suri is equally characterized by another set of descriptives - Ruach (Spirit/Energy), Rhythm, and Reverence!

Rabbi Rebecca Weinstein lives in Wayland with her husband Dan and her two daughters, Leah (4) and Ava (1). She has been the Madricha Ruchanit, Lower School Jewish Life Coordinator at Schechter Boston in Needham for the past six years. Rabbi Rebecca received rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College Rabbinical School in 2018 and her Masters of Jewish education from Hebrew College in 2018. Prior to Schechter, Rabbi Rebecca served as the rabbinic intern at Shir Tikva in Wayland where she led services, facilitated life cycle events, and created young family programming. She also taught at JCDS in Watertown and in several Hillel's, and has also led High Holiday services.

 
Aki Yonekawa moved to Boston in 2016 for a job she no longer has. Much to the chagrin of her family and friends back home in Los Angeles, she has decided to stick around Boston for a while. She has a love for nature and Jewish practice and works in spaces where she gets to combine the two. In the summers, she works at Brandeis Collegiate Institute in Southern California, a month-long residential summer program for 20-29-year-olds that brings together Jewish life and learning, the arts, and communal living. She spends the rest of the year working in a variety of Jewish educational settings. In her free time, she enjoys observing nature through bird watching and nature journaling. She recently rediscovered a love for watercolors and now wants to paint everything she sees.