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Jory Hanselman

Jory Hanselman

2023 Impact Report: A Year in Review

In 2023, the BaMidbar team worked tirelessly to ensure that Jewish youth, despite adversities, have the confidence, skills, and support to thrive. Our 2023 Impact Report, highlights some of our recent successes in these areas.

2022 In Review

View this email in your browser What a Year! [Image Description] Three staff members joyously laughing  As the BaMidbar team reflects on the last year, we are so proud of our impact. Your unwavering support ensures that Jewish youth and…

We’re Hiring

We’re Hiring! Are you interested in joining a dedicated team of professionals to help build a Jewish community that actively supports young people in cultivating mental health and wellness? Do you know someone who can help propel BaMidbar to its…

Giving Tuesday 2022

View this email in your browser Image Description: Boston-based Wellness Fellows stand in a circle holding webbing as they discuss shlemut, whole-health wellness. This #GivingTuesday, will you help build a Jewish community that actively supports its members in cultivating mental health and…

November 2022 Newsletter

November 2022 Newsletter Learn about upcoming programs, BaMidbar in the media, and more! Mental, Emotional, and Social Health for Experiential Educators  Teen Wellness Fellowship in Los Angeles  BaMidbar at Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Leaders Assembly in Atlanta, GA December 4-6 BaMidbar at…

September 2022 Newsletter

Launching Teen Wellness Fellowship in Los Angeles Do you know an LA-based teen interested in learning about mental health through a Jewish lens, building personal resilience and community, strengthening their resume, and getting paid in the process? If yes, the…

August 2022 Newsletter

WHAT A SUMMER! Over the past 40 days, students embarked on a journey of self-discovery, hope, and healing in the Colorado wilderness. Students explored questions of meaning, values, and purpose, built skills, practiced healthy emotional expression, climbed mountains, and built…

Words From the Wilderness | Entry #2

  Words From the Wilderness | Entry #2 By Arielle Aronoff, Lead Field Guide We hiked through fields of purple lupine, magenta fireweed, creamy pearly whites, yellow sunflowers, and lush green grass. The aspens, straight and tall, clouds dot the…

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Shana Tova from BaMidbar

As we prepare for the Days of Awe, days of deep introspection and self-reflection, we face a challenging task. Despite the challenges we face, last week’s Torah portion reminds us that we can do it; we are capable. From all…

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Our Path Moving Forward

In early March, BaMidbar hosted its first Experiential Educator Course, attended by Jewish community professionals looking to expand their mental health literacy and explore facilitation through the lens of social and emotional growth experiences. The program was a huge success,…

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August Newsletter: From Zoom Fatigue to Digital Simcha

“How to use experiential education principles in online facilitation“ As we settle into a world of virtual interaction, video conferencing, and Zoom fatigue, professionals are struggling with creative and engaging online facilitation. This two-session course will explore how we translate…

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Update on Summer Programming at BaMidbar

The BaMidbar team has been closely monitoring developments related to COVID-19 since the onset of this global pandemic. We have examined countless possible scenarios and contingency plans. We have tracked national guidelines and worked closely with local medical experts, state…

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BaMidbar Spring & Summer Programming Update

Student health and safety is BaMidbar’s top priority. During the off-season our team spends countless hours preparing for emergencies and working with a variety of public health officials to ensure a safe and healthy experience for our participants. In March,…

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 What If We Didn’t Do Passover? 

By: Emily Heeren My sister sat down at the dining room table across from me. “So, hear me out,” she said, “and I’m only like 50% joking, but what if we just didn’t do Pesach this year?” Isn’t this particular week –…

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Introducing BaMidbar’s Field Team

As BaMidbar prepares for an intensive three weeks of staff training, we are excited to introduce our field team, who serve as mentors and guides for students in our program.  Through applying therapeutic concepts, teaching technical and fundamental skills, integrating…

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The Role of a Field Guide at BaMidbar

By Jory Hanselman February 27th, 12:18 AM, from the journal of a BaMidbar Field Guide: “Why on earth do I choose to do this?   People have normal jobs. I could be working a 9-5 office job someplace and be…

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Shabbat Zachor

By Jacob Chatinover “Forgetfulness leads to exile, in Memory is the secret to redemption.” –Baal Shem Tov As field staff, I have often talked about the ways communal memory in Judaism impacts the stories we tell ourselves and the scope…

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Tu B’Shvat at BaMidbar

By Eliana Willis With snow on the ground and students and staff bundled up in warm clothing, it is hard to imagine that spring is just around the corner. But all around us, the trees are quietly awakening from the…

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8 Days of Hanukkah at BaMidbar

See what we’ve been up to for each of the eight days of Hanukkah!   Day 1: Backcountry Hanukiya Students constructed their own hanukiyah to light Hanukkah candles in the field for the eight nights of Hanukkah. Day 2: Dreidel,…

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הכרת תודה – Gratitude

By Zack Slavkin The days continue to lose light earlier and earlier as we head in to our Rocky Mountain winter. In this time, it is important to find the small things in the day to be thankful for. When…

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Group Juggle Will Save Us All!

By Nick Magel-Haberek, MS, MSW, LCSW Adventure therapy is something that I feel quite passionate about.  For me, it’s not enough to do it all day at BaMidbar. I’m also going home and writing about it, refining my work, and…

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Our First Shabbat

By Jory Hanselman This week, BaMidbar staff and students embarked on a journey, as year-round programming launched on Thursday, October 18th.  This week’s parsha, or Torah portion, also begins with a journey.  At God’s command, Abraham sets forth from the…

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Simcha and Sukkot in the Wilderness

By Gabi Wasserman We are currently on the threshold of celebrating Sukkot, the only pilgrimage festival referred to as Zman Simchateinu, “the time of our rejoicing.”  During Sukkot we partake in the mitzvah of leaving our permanent homes of comfort…

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A Call To Action

By Rabbi Anat Moskowitz Rebbe Nachman of Breslov taught: As often as you can, take a trip out to the fields to pray. All the grasses will join you. They will enter your prayers and give you strength to sing…

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Between the Beit Midrash and the Woods

By Dave Yedid Now that summer is here, I feel both inspired and exhausted as I reflect on my first year of rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary. These past nine months have passed largely at 122nd and Broadway,…

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The Diary of a Field Guide

By Danit Cohen Lead Field Guide, Winter & Spring 2018 February 27, 10:18pm “It’s so cold here. My feet are wet and I am wearing every single layer in my bag, and still I can’t get ahold of the shivering.…

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Meet Nick: A Q&A on Adventure-Based Therapy

I sat down with our Clinical Therapist, Nick Magle-Haberek to learn about what it is like to be an Adventure-Based Therapist and his practice at BaMidbar. So Nick- Tell me a little bit about yourself: My name is Nick Magle-Haberek.…

By The Numbers

BaMidbar by the Numbers

A look at the numbers from this past season. For all inquiries please contact our Clinical Director, Charles Elias CharlesE@BaMidbarTherapy.org or by calling 720-835-2937.

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Reflections on BaMidbar’s Inaugural Season

Dear BaMidbar Community, 18 weeks ago, BaMidbar’s first students arrived at the Ramah in the Rockies ranch, and just one week ago, the last students of our inaugural season graduated. Over the last five months, students and staff embarked on…

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What is your Torah? Shavuot at BaMidbar

Shavuot celebrates the receiving of Torah on Mount Sinai, and coincides with the wheat harvest in ancient Israel.  At BaMidbar, Shavuot will be an opportunity to think about insight and revelation, and the changes of the seasons and ourselves. Leading…

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Lavender Lattes with Moshe: A Glance at Parshat Emor

By Hindy Finman Since 1949 May has been Mental Health Awareness Month.  This blog questions the Torah’s perspective on advocating for the needs of others.  To learn how to Emor, speak up for those who are struggling please email Info@BaMidbarTherapy.org. This weeks…

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Passover at BaMidbar: From Slavery to Freedom

This Passover, our students embarked on a physical and metaphorical journey, from Mitzrayim, the narrow place, to Eretz Yisrael, the Promised Land.  Read below to learn more about Passover at BaMidbar. Day 1: What’s your Mitzrayim? Mitzrayim means Egypt, but…

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Meet Marisa: Q&A from the field

We chatted with Marisa to learn more about her passion for wilderness, what it means to be a field therapist and to get a glimpse of field life. Let’s start with a short introduction. Hi, I am Marisa Horn and…

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A Dash of Drash- Podcast with Rabbi Marc Soloway

This weeks episode of the podcast “A Dash of Drash,” Rabbi Marc Soloway and BaMidbar Director Jory Hanselman discuss the physical, metaphorical, and spiritual journey taking place at BaMidbar. Thank you Rabbi Marc for the opportunity to share Torah and joy this Pesach on…

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This 13 year-old Gets It!

At the end of the Passover narrative, G-d speaks to Moses and imparts various commandments. One of these commandments emphasizes the importance of the seder-וְהִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא V’Hegadita l’vincha bayom hahu,“and you shall tell your children on that day” (Exodus:13:8), alluding to the importance of…

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A Week In Pictures

What does a week at BaMidbar look like? To answer- let us show you. Our week begins with Kavanah Group, where participants and staff set goals for the week. Then it is time to pack up and head out on masa (excursions). Weekdays…

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Purim, Joy Without Drinking

By Miriam Green, Rabbinic Intern A couple of weeks ago, in my Facebook feed, I started receiving invitations to Purim parties.  Some highlighted costume themes, others Megillah readings; they all seemed fun, but nothing out of the ordinary – until…

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February Newsletter

During the month of January our team of clinicians, field guides, spiritual counselors, volunteers, and lay leaders came together for trainings on the topics of our mission and values, program curriculum, wilderness skills, clinical modalities, and an understanding of the…

Be A Nachshon

By Jory Hanselman In 2014, Ramah in the Rockies began to ask the question: Where else can we have a profound effect on the American Jewish Community? Our ranch sits dormant nine months out of the year – how can…

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Meet Our Clinical Team

BaMidbar is excited to introduce our Clinical Team Charles Elias, LCSW, MAC, LAC, CCPS II, SAP Clinical Director CharlesE@BaMibdarTherapy.org Charles is a native of London, England, and became an American citizen in 2002.  He has been a resident of Golden,…

A Space for Prayer in the Wilderness

By Hindy Finman Exhausted and dirty, I boarded my flight home. As I sat down I was overcome with a sense of gratitude and happiness. This was the type of simcha, joy, that consumes so much of you it becomes part…

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Dreams Become Reality

A short eighteen months ago, Ramah in the Rockies made the commitment to create the nation’s first Jewish wilderness therapy program. In January 2018, this dream becomes reality as BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy Program welcomes its first students! Over the last…

Abraham: The World’s First Wilderness Therapy Student

As featured in The Forward: By: Jory Hanselman On Friday night, October 27th, 2017,  BaMidbar’s Director Jory Hanselman spoke at Mishkan Chicago’s services. The Forward featured a portion of Jory’s drash on Scribe, the Forward’s curated contributor network. “Why are there so many journeys…

Within Our Reach

As we prepare for the Days of Awe, the task before us is not insignificant. Nor is it easy. Yet, we are capable. And, as this week’s Torah portion tells us, we have the tools to face this. This is…

Spiritual Counseling Redefined

This summer, I spent a week at Beit T’Shuvah, learning best practices in the Jewish world of recovery and getting a chance to see their spiritual counseling program firsthand.  In Beit T’Shuvah’s integrative treatment model, each student works with a therapist,…

Finding Wholeness in Unexpected Places

By Rabbi Mark Goodman Depending on your perspective, Moses was either a flawless paragon of moral virtue, or an ill-tempered foster child with a tendency toward angry reactions. Abraham was either a true servant of the Lord, boundless in faith,…

A Month at Ramah in the Rockies

I just returned from a month at Ramah in the Rockies, overlapping with tzevet (staff) training, and the first few weeks of chalutzim (campers) on the property.  After a month at camp, it’s hard to not be both inspired and…

The Hero’s Journey

At the recent Independent Educational Consultant Association conference, I attended a session discussing Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.”  In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell asserts that many important stories and myths from around the world share a common structure.…

A Letter from the Director

Thank You! Over one year ago, Ramah in the Rockies’ staff and key community stakeholders joined together to discuss the need for a Jewish response to addiction and mental health conditions.  This past Wednesday night, over 30 stakeholders from the…

Please Join Us on April 26th!

It has been over a year since Ramah in the Rockies committed to creating a Jewish response to addiction and mental health challenges in Colorado. A failure to launch, trauma-related issues, and addiction are as common in the American Jewish…

A Jewish Framework

We’re hiring a Spiritual Counselor/Rabbi in Residence! As I’ve been working on the position description for our Spiritual Counselor / Rabbi in Residence role, many people have asked me to further explain what makes our program distinctly Jewish.  Outside of…

Outcomes Part 2: Skill Development

It’s been awhile since our latest blog past, as we’ve been busy building content for our soon-to-launch website.  Stay tuned, as we’re preparing to send out a number of exciting updates in the coming weeks! At BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy, we…

Outcomes at BaMidbar: Part 1

In a blog post in early December, I discussed the role outcomes will play in our program development process.  As a mission-driven program, it is essential we have a vision of what change we hope to make in the world,…

“For if they fall…”

In approaching program development, I knew that many of our tasks would be framed by the “existential questions” we needed to answer. These questions cover a broad swath of territory – from defining our target demographic to the nature of…

So, what’s this all about?

The most basic (and common) question that I hear is, “What is wilderness therapy?” In a nutshell, Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) programs use wilderness and adventure-based experiences as a vehicle to promote the therapeutic growth of participants, in a process…