"A person must build ladders to climb to the heavens.”
~Piaseczno Rebbe
Ma’alot מַעֲלוֹת, Elevate
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.
What We Do
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.
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.
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, to 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 the inherited wisdom of our ancestors. When we listen to one another, 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 a tradition that speaks to our heart and soul. This is true embodiment of our heritage, and the way the sages have practiced Judaism throughout the centuries.
Who We Are
Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe
Spiritual Leader, Executive Director
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 spiritual leader and executive director since then.
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.
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 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 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.
Still have questions? Reach out to info@maalotatlanta.com