About

Melacha U’Vracha is a 5-day family-friendly experiential immersion into Jewish skills and wisdom designed around the framework of Melachot: sacred ancestral crafts for creating holiness on Earth.

Participants dive into three full days of hands-on workshops and then pause for Shabbat, exploring a reality where sacred work (melacha מְלָאכָה) is in service to sacred rest (menucha מְנוּחָה). This is our namesake: The work, Melacha, blesses us, U’Vracha.

We gather to...

Build community, learning how to work together to grow our capacity to adapt to uncertain futures
Remember the intergenerational nature of the human village, prioritizing the wellbeing of our children and elders
Connect to ancestors, restoring lost and broken lineages that embed us in history and place
Anchor in a distinctively diasporic expression of thriving Jewish community, resisting and undoing assimilation
Deepen interdependence with one another and the beyond-human world, reveling in the gifts given by nature every day
Practice ritual in alignment with our values, expressing a Judaism that is redemptive and healing

What are Melachot?

This gathering is rooted in the framework of the 39 Melachot: sacred arts that were part of setting up and maintaining the Mishkan (tabernacle) the portable earthly dwelling place for the divine that ancient Israelites carried with them through the desert.

These 39 activities - which include processing animal skins, building structures, making fire, spinning wool, weaving, tying knots, and more - populate the “work of the week” and are prohibited from practicing during holy time (ie. the Sabbath and holidays).

These crafts teach us how to be in relationship to the holy and how to tend the sacred within and without.

Why Melachot?

Earth skills, in our modern world, have ceased to represent melacha - the work of the week - and now serve as a guide post, leading us back towards intimacy and connection with nature and with each other.

Melacha, in the technological age, serves as a subversive and revolutionary counter point of slowness and connection to an otherwise automated and extractive world.

Imbued with the spirit of sabbatical principles of honoring creation and slowing to the pace of relationship, ancestral crafts are an antidote so many people want and need to reconnect to their spirit, community, and to re-materialize their relationship to the material world.

What will we learn?

Possible topics may include:

Animal processing: Shechita (kosher slaughter) hide tanning, klaf (parchment) making, sewing with buckskin, trapping and hunting
Safrut : Scribal arts, oak gall ink, cutting a kulmus (feather quill)
Shabbat: Threshing / winnowing / grinding wheat, making challah, fermenting wine, ritual items made by hand
Fiber arts: Processing wool, spinning, weaving, wet & dry felting, natural dyeing (t’chelet)
Fire making: Bow drill and hand drill, flint and steel, Shabbat & havdalah candle making
Cordage: Tying knots, processing plants to make cordage, tying tsit tsit (fringes)
Wood work: Whittling spoons, carving bowls, carving mezuzahs (amulets)
Ritual items: Shofar making, kiddush cups, weaving a tallis (prayer shawl)
Jewish Earth Connection: Shmita principles, Jewish calendar and harvest cycles, teachings on water and rain cycles, plant identification, animal tracking, bird language, etc.
Relationship with our animal kin: animal tracking, bird language
Herbalism: Wild medicinals harvest, herbal medicine making
Basketry: weaving baskets with a variety of materials
Building: Natural building, shelter construction

and more!

Who is this for?

All ages and skill levels are welcome and desired!

We seek to build a container for a multicultural, multiracial, multigenerational, pluralistic, gender expansive, accessible, earth-rooted community in the Jewish diaspora. We seek to honor the gorgeous diversity of Jewish identity, tradition, and knowledge.

We believe that deepening into relationship with the rich skills and traditions of our people in a community that has diversity of all kinds, including religious and political, has the ability to humanize all of us, create resiliency, and weave a culture of belonging and evolving. The vibrancy of this diversity is a central part of Melacha U'Vracha gatherings.

Ask yourself:

Do I want to be a part of a Jewish community? One that is rooted in Earth connection?
Am I willing to be in a pluralistic community with diverse religious and political beliefs rooted in curiosity, kindness, and respect?

If the answer is yes to both, we encourage you to apply!

Frequently Asked Questions

How much to attend?

Tickets Purchased Before June 1st, 2025:

Adult ticket price (age 16+) : $300 - $400 sliding scale
Child ticket price (age 7-15): $150
There are a limited number of scholarships and work-trade positions available (see registration for more details)

After June 1st, Adult ticket prices will be $400 - $500 sliding scale.

Families are welcome!

We are seeking to build an intergenerational space which means families are welcome!
- We aim to co-create a beautiful Youth Village for the first time this year and are hoping to start small and grow over time. If you'd like to help us grow this part of the gathering, please reach out!
- Family support will include a family camping area and workshops for young people in the mornings.
- Parents will be responsible for their own childcare and supervision during the afternoon workshop blocks and evenings but are welcome to bring their children to adult workshops, with instructor approval. We may be able to offer partial afternoon family support, to be determined.
Workshops and Childcare:
- 3-6 year olds will have a morning workshop session — parental/adult accompaniment required
- 7-11 year olds will have morning sessions with full childcare — no parental/guardian accompaniment needed
- 12-18 year olds are welcome to participate in adult workshops
- Some instructors will be happy to have children join with adults — you can ask upon arrival.
All children should be registered. If you've already registered, please register again and include any young people coming with you.
Children's ticket prices:
- Children ages 6 and under come free.
- Children ages 7 -14 are half price.
- Young adults ages 15 + are full price.
Reach out to melachauvracha@gmail.com if you'd like to help organize or offer youth programming or if you have any questions regarding childcare and youth accessibility!

Lodging

Camping is included in the cost of admission and is limited to tents and tarps. Please practice Leave No Trace camping.
A limited number of indoor sleeping arrangements are available for elders and those with access needs. Please note on your registration form if this is a need.

Food

Delicious organic breakfasts and dinners will be provided daily.
Participants should bring food for themselves for lunch that will last without refrigeration.
Our Kitchen will be fully kosher and vegetarian except for Shabbat, when we will eat meat from our Schechita workshops
We will be able to accommodate vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dietary needs.

Where will we be?

We will be hosted on a beautiful parcel of private land in the hills of southern Vermont. Location details will be shared upon registration.

Accessibility

We are working to grow our capacity to support accessibility at Melacha U'Vracha. We recognize that at this time, this event and its location are not fully accessible. We hope to improve this with each year.

Please reach out if you have questions about whether this gathering can meet your access needs. Here is some initial information about access:

Physical space:

The gathering will be held entirely outdoors in the woods and meadows on uneven ground
Classroom spaces will be rustic and in a centralized location with some walking required
Bathrooms are composting toilets
In the past, we've built an Eruv on the property, please reach out and let us know if this is something you need.

Food:

Kitchen will be fully kosher and dairy-free
We can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and other food allergies

Lodging:

A limited number of indoor sleeping arrangements are available for elders and those with access needs. Please note on your registration form if this is a need.

Financial:

All tickets are offered on a sliding scale. We have some scholarship and work-trade tickets available. Requests can be made on our registration form.

COVID 19:

COVID testing is recommended before arriving, but not required.
The gathering is entirely outdoors, masks are not required

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