Return and possibility this Elul: Celebrating Cohort א and announcing Cohort ב!
by Rabbi Nate DeGroot
I am humbled and excited to share with you two bits of exciting news from The Shalom Center, first with a look back on the magic of our inaugural sacred justice cohort, Cohort א, and second, announcing that applications for our next cohort, Cohort ב, open this Wednesday!
In this season of awakening to both return and possibility, this letter contains both!
First, return.
You may remember that in the spring of 2025, we launched Cohort א, with 20 creative thinkers, unconventional activists, and ritual artists weaving relationship, exploring Jewish post-activism, and crafting public offerings.
From June 2025 through May 2026 we met together monthly on Zoom, gathered for an in-person convening, and developed creative projects all rooted in the intellectual, spiritual, and strategic contours of Jewish sacred justice and post-activism.
New relationships led to new collaborations and unfurling momentum. New ideas led to new fields of study, areas of exploration, and strategic wrestling. And members’ projects, astounding in their richness, diversity, and substance, are an incredible testament first and foremost to the cohort members themselves, as well as the unique cohort model we’re developing in the generative and sacred overlap of activism, art, and spirit-work.
With many thanks to Lippmann Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah for helping us to launch Cohort א, we see the layers of impact that these individuals are having in the world, and the ripples and webs they’re weaving through relationships and their projects, as the core of our impact.
We hope you’ll take a moment to celebrate all that’s come from Cohort א - including project descriptions and more - in our brand new Cohort א Project Report!
Just as Elul, the final month of the Jewish year, which we entered last week, is a time to celebrate endings, it is also a time to celebrate new beginnings. After all, our reflections this month set us up for the wide openness - the possibility - that comes with a brand new year next month.
With that in mind, we are thrilled to announce that applications for Cohort ב will open this Wednesday, August 19th!
Last year, as a pilot program, Cohort א was assembled through personal relationships and informal interest. This year, we’re opening up to a broad and public process, in an effort to assemble the most dynamic, diverse, and enthusiastic cohort possible. We hope you’ll consider applying!
Applications open Wednesday, August 19th.
Together with staff members, board members, Cohort א alumni, and our new Alumni Trust - a small group of committed Cohort א alumni serving as a brain/heart/spirit trust for The Shalom Center - meaningful lessons from Cohort א have been applied in planning this second cohort, strengthening and clarifying the program.
With immense thanks to Righteous Persons Foundation and Fetzer Institute for helping to launch Cohort א and continuing to support Cohort ב, this cohort year will run from November 2026-August 2027. There will be an in-person convening, monthly Zoom meetings, and a project each member will create. In return, members will receive a $1,000 stipend, plus project reimbursement, room, board, and reasonable travel covered for the in-person convening.
If you’ve been eyeing Cohort א all year just waiting for Cohort ב to launch, or if this is the first time you’re hearing about our cohort model, we hope you’ll take the opportunity to learn more about Cohort ב when we send an email right here on Wednesday. In that email, you will find a link to read all about the program, understand the requirements and commitments, and apply should you be interested. Perhaps this could be just the opportunity you’ve been looking for!
And finally, we recognize that not everyone is wanting or able to make the kind of intensive commitment required by a cohort. If you’re someone who’s looking to meaningfully engage with the work of The Shalom Center, but Cohort ב isn’t the right fit for you right now, perhaps you’d like to join us for another key part of our work, online learning, webinars, and classes at the intersection of the sacred and the just.
Register now for our latest webinar, Israel, Antisemitism, and the U.S. Midterm Elections with Cherie Brown, Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, and the 85 community members who have already signed up, eager to go beyond the sound bites on such important, timely, and significant topics as these. We hope to see you there!
With deep gratitude and big blessings for the continued dance between return and possibility this month and beyond,
Rabbi Nate DeGroot