The National Jewish Retreat, organized by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, held its annual, weeklong retreat last week in Washington, D.C.
Local Jewish leaders from the Greater Washington area who presented at the retreat included Nechama Shemtov, founder of AURA Jewish Women and director of women’s issues and education at American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad); Amb. Stuart E. Eizenstat, an American diplomat and attorney; Hon. Dr. Dov S. Zakheim, a former government official and an expert in defense and foreign policy; Dan Raviv, former CBS correspondent, author and weekly podcast host of The Mossad Files; Sharon Freundel, managing director of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge; and Rebbetzin Sara Bluming, co-director of Chabad of Potomac.
“I believe in the very important work that JLI does and the impact that they’ve made,” said Shemtov. “We’ve used a number of their classes throughout the year, so when I was asked to present, it was a great way to give back.”
The five-day retreat included discussion panels, presentations from Jewish leaders all over the country, workshops, film screenings and gourmet kosher dinners.
Shemtov presented twice at the retreat, moderating a panel on professional transformation stories and their lessons and a talk on the power of words titled “What You Say. What They See. What Happens Next: Jewish Insights into Blessings, the Evil Eye, and the Power of Words.”
“My takeaway [from the panel] is ‘it’s OK to stand out,’” said Shemtov. “As Jews, we’ve always stood out amongst the rest of the world. As religious Jews, we certainly stand out, but if we’re true in our faith in a positive way, we have nothing to be ashamed of and people will understand, embrace us and respect us.”
Raviv gave a presentation on Israeli espionage and the accomplishments of the Mossad.
“Israelis had to be so good at [espionage] from the very beginning,” said Raviv. “In 1948, Israel was such a small country surrounded by enemies, and they had to leverage what special capabilities the Israelis had, and they found that they’re very good at intelligence operations.”
The talk took a deep dive into not only what the accomplishments of the Mossad were in the past but why they were successful.
“We certainly have had feelings of anguish with hostages still being held by Hamas, the murders and the massacre of Oct. 7 and the inability to win the war in Gaza quickly. It’s a real source of pain, but if my audience also recognizes that Israel has achieved great victories against its enemies in Lebanon and Iran, I think you have a sense there that the Israelis can do a lot that is successful, that gets admired all over the world,” said Raviv. “I think the audience, that is perhaps getting used to all the negative stories and the criticism of the last year and a half, might be glad to hear some stories about achievements.”
Every year for the retreat, planners incorporate a large-scale event. This year, the National Jewish Retreat hosted a game show with some of the speakers as contestants. Bluming, winner of the game show, said there were three rounds. The first was answering true or false questions, the second was the buzzer round and, in the third round, each contestant had to come up with a short sermon, and the audience voted on who they thought was the best.
Bluming, who also spoke at the retreat, said teaching the lessons from the Torah was her passion.
“I love teaching. I love connecting with other women and empowering them with the gift of our heritage of Torah,” Bluming said.
Bluming’s talk was called “Wired for More: Unlocking Your Inner Potential.” She explores the concept of judging someone by their soul instead of their flaws.
“I call it doing a spiritual X-ray, looking within and seeing the person for the soul that they are,” Bluming added. “You’re coming to them from a place of compassion versus judgment.”
Shemtov emphasized the importance of an event like the National Jewish Retreat, where people can come from anywhere and learn alongside other Jewish people.
“As my husband [Rabbi Levi Shemtov] has shared repeatedly, the response to antisemitism is a robust and informed semitism,” Shemtov said. “I believe that anything that works towards a more vibrant and educated semitism is important and necessary at this vital time.”
