"A person must build ladders to climb to the heavens.”
~Piaseczno Rebbe
Ma’alot
מַעֲלוֹת
Sacred Ascent. Holy Becoming.
Mission
Ma’alot is an Atlanta-based Jewish nonprofit that elevates mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing through music, nature, Jewish wisdom, and community connection.
Vision
A future where Jewish life is a source of wellness—rooted in relationship, embodiment, and shared, sustainable leadership—and accessible to all who seek connection and meaning.
For the past five years, Ma’alot has been at the forefront of a new movement in the Jewish South —one that unites spiritual practice, creativity, and community care. We’ve hosted family programs, neighborhood meals, musical services in gardens, holiday gatherings, and grassroots Circles — reaching thousands of participants across Atlanta.
Through these experiences, we’ve learned that transformation happens when we embody Jewish wisdom — when text, music, movement, and mindfulness brings us a step closer to personal wellness and awakens our selves to the wisdom of our ancestors.
What We Do
Our Core Offerings
Wisdom Circles
Facilitated groups of 12–16 participants integrating Jewish wisdom with personal growth. Circles cultivate trust, resilience, and leadership, creating brave, restorative spaces where people are seen and supported.
Mindful Shabbat Gatherings
Creative, musical, and embodied celebrations of sacred time — in homes, gardens, and parks. From Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbat Yoga to family-friendly services, these gatherings bring hundreds into joyful connection.
Immersive Experiences & Retreats
Retreats and High Holidays that weave meditation, creativity, and Jewish tradition in nature — restoring balance, belonging, and the possibility of revelation.
Climbing through Music, Nature, and Embodied Wisdom
Each year brings rituals of celebration and remembrance, tied to the cycles of the days and the seasons, that hark back to the revelation our ancestors received while journeying through the wilderness. Through outdoor education and rituals centered on song and embodiment, Ma'alot offers a vibrant way of experiencing Judaism that reaches beyond the walls of any single institution. 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, to adamah, the earth. Making music with our bodies and immersing ourselves in the natural world restores a connection we’ve lost as diasporic Jews, generations removed from land.
You are a descendant of that wandering, and because of your own explorations into a wider world, you bring a unique Torah to Jewish life and community. We discover so much when we explore the wisdom of our own experience in tandem with the inherited wisdom of our ancestors. By listening to one another, to our past, and to our innermost selves, we transform the way we understand our world and our purpose in it. Through this process we break the stigmas many of us carry about what Judaism "should" look like, and instead uplift a tradition that speaks to our heart and soul.
This is the embodiment of our heritage — the way the sages have practiced Judaism throughout the centuries.
Who We Are
Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe
Founder & Spiritual Leader
Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe is a mother, musician, spiritual educator, and the founder of Ma’alot. Originally from Philadelphia, she studied religion and music at Emory University before receiving rabbinic ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, where her learning centered on Hasidic thought, feminist interpretations of Jewish history and ritual, and the spiritual possibilities of Jewish communal life.
After ordination, Ariel deepened her study of Jewish music as a Rising Song Resident in Philadelphia. She founded Ma’alot in 2021 to create a Jewish community rooted in music, nature, spiritual practice, and meaningful human connection. Through her teaching and leadership, she helps people encounter Jewish wisdom as a living resource for healing, belonging, and becoming more fully themselves.
To learn more about Ariel, read teachings she’s shared with Ma’alot, visit her personal website or read her vision for Jewish community and spiritual life.
Eytan Davidson
Interim Managing Director
Eytan Davidson is serving as Ma’alot’s Interim Managing Director, bringing a steady, thoughtful presence to the organization during this season of transition. He brings over two decades of leadership experience across the nonprofit and public sectors, with a focus on strategy, communications, and organizational strength.
Eytan has held senior leadership roles including Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, Vice President of Communications and Policy at Purpose Built Communities, and Director of Communications for the Atlanta BeltLine. He is currently a Partner at Open River Strategies, where he supports mission-driven organizations in navigating complex challenges with clarity, strong governance, and sustainable systems.
Alongside his professional work, Eytan is a musician who plays locally with the band Her Majesty’s Request. He lives in Oakhurst with his wife, Monique, and their family.
Danni Dezell
Programs & Community Engagement Manager
Danni Dezell leads Ma’alot’s programs and community engagement, bringing over twelve years of experience as an educator to the role. You might recognize her from leading Ma’alot’s queer programs over the past few years.
Ma’alot supported Danni in reconnecting with Judaism and building friendships during her two years as a Builder; she personally understands Ma’alot’s importance within Atlanta’s Jewish landscape. Danni holds a deeply rooted conviction that engaging with local community is the answer to the loneliness and polarization we are facing now. When there was an opportunity to step up and take an active role with Ma’alot, he was called to pour back into the organization and community.
Danni lives with her wife in the East Atlanta area and loves to read, watch movies, and cook.
Brieanne Withrow
Operations Manager
Brieanne Withrow loves a spreadsheet. She brings nine years of administrative and operations experience to Ma’alot, supporting the vision and mission from the back-end on a part-time basis. She has previously worked in both small, family business environments and the national non-profit space. A preference for the former and a fundamental belief in the necessity of intersectional, communal spaces brought her to Ma’alot with it’s small and mighty team.
Brieanne lives in East Lake with her spouse, three cats and a very pink gecko. When she’s not glued to her laptop, you can find her in the garden or watching birds out the window.
How We Approach Belonging, Community and Difference
In the face of polarization, we prioritize community connection.
At Ma’alot, our work is rooted in building spaces of spiritual wellness, relational depth, and human dignity. As we navigate an increasingly polarized world, we support Jews in reaching toward one another’s humanity and strengthening communal belonging.
Our intention is to protect the integrity of our spaces and support people in staying connected through complexity. At the heart of our approach:
We prioritize dignity— honoring the humanity of each person — and hold a clear commitment to non-dehumanization, not tolerating language or actions that deny dignity or threaten safety
We elevate relationship — choosing connection over division
We embrace complexity — making space for nuance, growth, and lived experience, and relying on compassion as we navigate difference
We cultivate shared language — helping people communicate across difference with clarity, care, and accountability
We believe in the promise of humanity, welcoming individuals and partners who are committed to approaching others with care and respect
We see community strengthened when people are able to show up in their full moral and emotional complexity, rather than feeling reduced to a single identity or viewpoint.
Through this work, we come to see that we have far more in common than different — and that it is this shared ground, tended with care, that allows the community to take root and grow.
May we have the courage to show up in our full humanity. May we listen with openness, speak with care, and stay in relationship even when it is hard. And may we continue to build a Jewish life rooted in dignity, accountability, and shared humanity — choosing connection, again and again, across difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Hebrew word Ma’alot can be translated as ascents, steps, elevations. It invites us to imagine life as an upward journey—one of continual learning, healing and becoming. An ascent does not always move in a straight line, but each step brings us toward greater awareness, deeper connection, and a more expansive way of living.
Shir ha’Ma’alot, songs found in the Book of Psalms, invoke inspiration and spiritual heights through music, nature and divinity. Shir, song, has always elevated Jewish ritual and sacred inspiration. Ma’alot is dedicated to the tradition of invigorating the soul through Judaism’s rich musical heritage and making accessible, spiritual experiences through song for all levels of Jewish knowledge. Ma’alot founded the Niggun Collective, a now independent collection of seekers who gather at neighborhood homes to sing wordless, traditional melodies.
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Ma’alot is a spiritual home, the essence of what a synagogue offers, but without many of the expectations and offerings that institutional Jewish life holds. We 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 feedback. We care about the holistic wellbeing of Atlanta’s Jewish community and strategically partner to prioritize our community’s growth, continually doing outreach and opening more eyes to what Jewish spirituality can offer. This allows us to experiment with intensive gatherings that serve deep needs and to uncover meaningful, impactful ways of practicing Judaism.
We come together to feel the magic of Shabbat, build relationships through circles, and dedicate ourselves to deep learning immersion to strengthen our relationships with each other, the Holy One, and our own selves.
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Not at all! Most of our programs are open to anyone interested in engaging with our community, and we warmly welcome you to join us. If it's your first time attending our programs and have questions, reach out to Danni, our Programs and Engagement Manager.
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Our programs span various locations across in-town Atlanta and Decatur. You might find us in a local coffee shop, a designated venue, or even within the cozy setting of a community member’s home.
Each event typically specifies the neighborhood where it will be held. In the interest of safety and security, exact location details for an upcoming program are shared 24-48 hours beforehand. If you haven't received the location information by then, there's no need to worry.
Still have questions? Reach out to info@maalotatlanta.com