Gershon Winkler is a widely recognized scholar in the fields of Jewish law, lore, theology, and mysticism. A descendant of a scion of rabbis originating in Judea, Rabbi Winkler has devoted much of the past two decades to writing and teaching about the lesser-promulgated wisdoms of Judaism and to Hebraic scriptural interpretation. He has published fourteen books since 1980, four of which have seen several printings. His most recent works include: The Judeo-Christian Fiction, Kabbalah 365: Daily Fruit from the Tree of Life, and Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism.

Gershon was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and educated in Orthodox Jewish communities both in the United States and Israel. Ordained in Jerusalem by the late Rabbi Eliezer Benseon, Founder and Dean of Yeshivat Bet Yosef-Novoredok, Rabbi Winkler considers himself non-denominational and is a charismatic teacher whose lifestyle is as unconventional as is his mindset. His non-mainstream exploits have won him media recognition, including a Front Page feature in the Wall Street Journal, a segment on the PBS TV series Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, and detailed coverage in Israel’s Ha’aretz, Chayyim Acherim Magazine, as well as The Jerusalem Post. A widely-sought teacher, he has lectured and served as Scholar-in-Residence at colleges and universities, and for ecumenical and Jewish retreats across North and Central America, Europe, and Israel. An expert interpreter of ancient and early-medieval Hebraic and Aramaic texts, Rabbi Winkler has been a guest teacher at Marywood University, Naropa University, Chochmat HaLev Center for Jewish Meditation, The New York Open Center, Rowe Conference Center, Elat Chayyim Jewish Spiritual Center, SEED Graduate Institute, Washington and Lee University, Limmud (UK and LA), State University of New York at Oneonta, Esalen Institute, and HaMakom Center for Jewish Spirituality in the Judean Desert, Israel.

Rabbi Winkler is also the founder and Executive Director of Walking Stick Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to the recovery of aboriginal Judaism. For eight years he served as the rabbi for Congregation Har Shalom in Missoula, Montana, and for just as long as itinerant rabbi for four Jewish communities across West Virginia, including the Hillel Foundation at West Virginia University and two federal prison camps, including the now-famous “Camp Cupcake” in Alderson, West Virginia. A father of four and grandfather of seven, Gershon has for more than 25 years balanced his public life as a renowned teacher with an anonymous home life nestled deep in remote wilderness regions across the U.S.

Miriam Maron, R.N., M.A., holds a BSN from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Registered Nurse with a graduate degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Southern California. A spiritual healer and mentor in private practice, Miriam also teaches intensives on Jewish Kabbalistic and Shamanic healing modalities and has facilitated workshops, services and retreats across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Israel on healing and mind, body, and soul integration. A prolific singer and songwriter, her concerts, as well as her albums “Wings of Light”, “Light out of Darkness”, “Chants of the Sacred Four”, “Mystic Convergence”, “Surrender,” "AngelSong" and “Call from the Narrows,” feature Jewish healing and mystical songs and chants, and have received wide acclaim from interdenominational sources across the globe.

A mother of two, Miriam also performs life-cycle ceremonies and sacred dance, and has taught at numerous educational institutions and retreat centers, including Esalen Institute, Philosophical Research Society, Naropa University, Chochmat Halev Center for Jewish Meditation, Rowe Conference Center, Metivta, SEED Graduate Institute, Marywood University, Integral Yoga Institute, and Elat Chayyim Center for Jewish Spirituality. Her rendition of a traditional Hassidic melody that appea rs on her CD Wings of Light was selected as a major segment of a motion picture soundtrack for the foreign film "Black Prince," a drama based on the illustrious biography of the notorious 19th-century Russian poet, Pushkin. The film won First Prize at the New York Independent Film Festival in 2005. She was also featured in a recently-released DVD “Sacred Rituals”, a documentary by Grammy Nominee Dr. Douglas Lawrence, Chair of the Department of Communications at Marywood University. Her writings on Jewish shamanic healing and chant were published in Moment Magazine and in Evolve.

In Memoriam

White Cloud (a k a Pat Hendrickson) is a member of the Anishnabe (Chippewa) nation. His very radical and often crude life experiences eventually led him to become a Medicine Man, an Elder, and a Sun Dance Chief. Personable, accessible, and very laid back, White Cloud was an experienced Drum Maker and Medicine Shield Maker who invoked ancient as well as contemporary practices in his lifelong endeavor to deepen the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world. We join with hundreds of people of all backgrounds around the globe in grieving his passing. We will miss him deeply.