"A person must build ladders to climb to the heavens.”
~Piaseczno Rebbe
Ma’alot is an inclusive spiritual community that elevates individuals and families through transformative practices rooted in nature, music and Jewish wisdom.
We are a diverse community of seekers across Atlanta looking for Jewish experiences that feel authentic, personal and meaningful. Through immersive gatherings we experiment, we remember, and we reimagine powerful Jewish practices that have transformed communities through the centuries.
Vision
A world where Jewish experiences elevate and inspire you.
Mission
Ma’alot is a spiritual community transforming lives through music, nature and Jewish wisdom.
Values (our commitment)
When you experience our Ma’alot community and gatherings, our hope is that:
You will be seen
You will be nourished
You will feel a sense of belonging
Together, we will co-create
We invite you to open your heart and mind with us.
What We Do
Instigate and sustain Jewish rejuvenation through participatory music and spiritual moments in nature
Engage adults in immersive ritual and experiential education which connect them community, Jewish values and ancient traditions.
Build networks for families and bring Jewish life and learning into their homes in personal, meaningful ways.
Is Ma’alot a Synagogue?
Yes and no. We are building a community that provides many of the same services as a synagogue does, but in new ways. We look for ways to experiment with tradition to help us come alive through our rituals and practice, and make decisions about what and how we do Judaism from community conversations and constant feedback on programming. This allows us to design gatherings that serve current needs and to communally discover better ways of practicing our Judaism.
In practice, we are a spiritual community that comes together to observe Shabbat and holidays, celebrate lifecycles, meetup for cultural and social gatherings, provide life-long education, and build spiritual relationships with one another, the Holy One, and your own self.
What “Ma’alot” Means
The Hebrew word Ma’alot means “elevate” and is used in the Book of Psalms to invoke inspiration and spiritual heights through music, nature and divinity. It is commonly paired with shir, song, for an obvious reason: music has always elevated Jewish ritual and sacred inspiration. Ma’alot is dedicated to the tradition of invigorating Judaism through our rich musical heritage and making an accessible, spiritual experience through song for those unfamiliar with Jewish liturgy or tradition.
Music, Nature, and Embodied Wisdom
Each year brings us rituals of celebration and remembrance directly tied to the cycles of the days and the seasons, and harkens back to the revelation our ancestors received journeying through the wilderness. Through outdoor education and rituals that center song and embodiment, Ma’alot offers a new, vibrant way of experiencing Judaism that stretches far beyond the walls of any institution. In order to ascend, we must first develop a firm grounding in where we came from and who we are, and that begins with the connection of adam, the first earthling, and adamah, the earth.
You bring your own Torah to Jewish community. We discover so much when we explore the wisdom of our own experiences in tandem with our inherited wisdom of our ancestors. When we listen to each other, to our past, and to our innermost self, we transform the way we understand our world and our purpose in it. Through this process, we break the stigmas that many of us carry about what Judaism “should” look like, and instead discover what a tradition that speaks to our heart and soul. This is true embodiment of our tradition.
More Questions? Check out our FAQ page.
Who are we?
Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe, Spiritual Leader
Rabbi Ariel is a mother, musician, and spiritual educator. Originally from Philadelphia, Ariel studied religion and music as an undergraduate at Emory University and was ordained at Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, where she focused on Hasidic commentaries and feminist interpretations of Jewish history and ritual. After ordination, Ariel studied Jewish music as a Rising Song Resident and in Philadelphia. She founded Ma’alot in 2021 and has been serving in the roles of rabbi and executive director since then.
To learn more about Ariel, visit her website or read her vision for Jewish community and spiritual life.
Tess, Community Manager
Tess is a sister, daughter, friend, and adept and agile program manager, with work experience spanning the performing arts, Disability Justice, higher education, conservation hydrology, and more. Since graduating with a B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, she has co-founded a nonprofit, Dance for All Bodies, and led the development and implementation of UC Berkeley’s COVID-19 community health program. When she is not organizing for community building, she is baking sourdough bread, swing dancing, and attempting to teach herself to sew.
Members of the Ma’alot Advisory Board and our community partners can be found here.
In the news
Most Jews won’t set foot in a synagogue. That’s why rabbis need to think like entrepreneurs.
Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, June 15, 2021