Silent Vipassana retreat
4 Days in Naot Smadar 2026
For the past three years, we have been living in a reality of uncertainty, worry, and loss, with no clear sense of where our country is heading. During such times, one of the things that can support us is finding anchors that help us cultivate peace, calm, and a connection to hope. This retreat is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with what nourishes us, recharge, and rediscover the inner strengths within us.
We invite you to a time of healing, grounding, and connection, cultivated through a deep and extended practice within a group of like-minded people. The retreat is suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners.
The retreat will take place amidst the serene and magical beauty of Neot Semadar and the desert, offering us the opportunity to experience the combination of silent meditation practice and time spent in nature, with comfortable and beautiful accommodations.
Every morning, a yoga class will be offered to choose from, guided by Odalia, a senior Vijnana Yoga teacher.
About the Workshop
Silence offers a meditative space for practice and inner observation, allowing us to strengthen our inner resilience and deepen our connection with ourselves. The desert offers us stillness, beauty, a sky full of stars, and both inner and outer quiet. Participating in a Vipassana retreat is a rare opportunity to disconnect from the complexity of daily life during this challenging period, turn our attention inward, cultivate deep self-awareness, and gain insights into the nature of the mind, suffering, and liberation from suffering. By temporarily stepping away from the noise and pressures of this complex time, we create an ideal environment for inner work, accompanied by the personal and group guidance of two wonderful and experienced teachers.
The retreat will be held in silence and will include teachings and practice of meditation in sitting, standing, and lying positions, along with silent meditative walks in the desert, talks on Buddhist spiritual teachings, small group meetings with the teachers, and individual sessions.
During the retreat, delicious vegetarian and vegan meals will be served by the Neot Semadar kitchen team, with a coffee and tea corner available throughout the day.
A daily yoga class will be offered, with Odalia, a senior Vijnana Yoga teacher.
During the retreat, participants will be asked to deposit their phones. The retreat organizers will provide an emergency phone number for messages from home when needed. The organizing team will assist each participant with any request or support needed in order to arrive at the retreat, let go, practice, and nurture their inner healing.
No previous retreat experience is required.
A carpool list for arrival and departure will be arranged.
We are here for any questions and will be happy to assist you.
Neot Smadar
The retreat takes place in the Naut Samdar hospitality center, which offers the tranquility of the magical beauty of the desert inside beautiful and pampering ecological rooms with green corners, lovingly cared for and a connection to the powerful nature that surrounds the place. The quiet space of the desert together with the beauty of the hospitality center greatly support our ability to put aside the stresses of everyday life and free ourselves to listen and look inward and outward. The beautiful conditions of the place, surrounded by a vast desert, are ideal conditions for an intimate and clear encounter with ourselves, with our deep powers and resources, and with the wellspring of strength, wisdom and love that exists within us. The kibbutz is in a zone of zero alerts. And it has a standby class and an army nearby.
Kibbutz Naut Samdar – Located in the southern Negev above the Arava, the kibbutz was established in 1989 with the intention of creating a learning community where questions about the human condition in the world will be examined in practice through relationships, action and observation. Naut Smeder was established out of a fascinating journey of research and observation, and is tested every day in the common life and joint activities of friends who live permanently and volunteer. The workshop complex is located next to the kibbutz itself in a secluded and quiet area overlooking the magnificent Adom mountains. The trip from Tel Aviv is about three hours without stopping. There will be a list of rides to the workshop to share the ride together.
The retreat teachers
The teachers
The oldest potholes in Israel for mindfulness, Buddhism and freedom. Practicing and teaching for 25 years, a teacher at the ‘Tovna’ association, at the ‘Center for Mind-Body Studies’ and other settings. She lived a celibate life for 7 years and practiced in an ashram for yoga and meditation in the United States. Sandia practiced for long periods in the USA, Europe and the East. Emphasizes the connection between the practice and everyday life, the investigation of the authentic personal experience and the possibility of living an awake life in every moment. Believes that we all have the ability to love, to be compassionate, to be generous and to wake up.
Practicing meditation and yoga and researching the dharma since 1997. She teaches at the Tovna association, the center for mind-body studies and in other settings in Israel and around the world. Years of practice and observation showed her that life itself is a wonderful partner for flexible and alert learning, and that practice and being in nature almost always support us. Odalia is a senior Vijnana yoga teacher with a senior yoga teaching certificate from Wingate College and a student of Orit San Gupta and has had the privilege of studying for extended periods with wonderful teachers of Dharma and the Buddhist tradition. Odalia lives and teaches in the Elah Valley.
TEACHERS’ “DANA” – the Buddhist heart economy. According to Buddhist traditions, teachers do not receive a salary or a fixed income, but allow each student to pay their tuition at the end of the retreat in a way that takes into consideration customary prices for such workshops in western society, as well as your financial abilities and generosity. ‘Dana’ is a term originating in the East, meaning ‘giving’. Giving is an integral part of spiritual practices: when we give ‘dana’, we practice charity and generosity in our lives, articulating the deep bond and solidarity among all living things. From the times of the Buddha and until today, teachers have been offering their teachings to us unconditionally, regardless of gender, class or the financial state of the student. Supporting our teachers expresses the solidarity and nourishing bond between giving and receiving, between teacher and pupil.
‘Neot Smadar’ room selection
The accommodation prices include three nights at Neot Semadar, retreat organization, meals throughout the stay, and VAT (excluding dana donations for the teachers).
A business invoice will be issued for a professional workshop, suitable for self-employed individuals and professionals who require one.
Twin/Double Room:
The accommodation buildings combine local mud construction with a solar energy system. Each room includes air conditioning, a private bathroom and shower, a refrigerator, a hot water dispenser, and two single beds.
Price per person for the entire stay: 2,750 NIS.
Private Room:
The accommodation buildings combine local mud construction with a solar energy system. Each room includes air conditioning, a private bathroom and shower, a refrigerator, a hot water dispenser, and a double bed.
Price: 3,450 NIS.
A special and large yurt cabin for 3 or 5 participants
A spacious, unique, and air-conditioned ecological mud cabin with a large balcony overlooking the desert and the Edom Mountains. The cabin includes a private bathroom and shower, a refrigerator, a hot water dispenser, and single beds.
Price per person for a yurt shared by 3 participants: 2,550 NIS.
Price per person for a yurt shared by 5 participants: 2,150 NIS.
Shared dormitory for 8-10 participants:
A large, air-conditioned 100-square-meter hall for eight participants in mixed-gender sleeping arrangements (women and men). The hall includes mattresses, bed linens, pillows, and blankets. The shared bathrooms and showers are located outside the hall. (A photo of the shower facilities will be sent to registered participants.)
Price per person: 1,750 NIS.
Register for the workshop at the bottom of the page
Payment and registration terms
To register the workshop, click on the registration form and fill it out, and we will send you a link to pay, your place will be reserved for a few days until the payment is closed. You can pay up to 5 interest-free payments until September and after that 4 payments. or by bank transfer.
If you have comments or questions, you are welcome to write at the end of the form and we will get back to you with answers by email.
Cancelation policy
During this period, in the event that the retreat is cancelled by the organizers, the participant will receive an immediate refund, minus registration and cancellation processing fees of 100 NIS per participant, or will have the option to participate on a new date in case the retreat is postponed.
Cancellation policy:
Cancellation up to one month before the retreat: a fee of 250 NIS.
Cancellation between one month and two weeks before the retreat: a fee of 500 NIS.
Cancellation between two weeks and one week before the retreat: a fee of 1,000 NIS.
Cancellation between one week and three days before the retreat: 50% of the total amount will be charged.
Cancellation from three days before the retreat until the beginning of the retreat: the full amount will be charged.
Retreat registration Form
Silent Vipassana retreat “Naot Smadar”
November 25-28 – Wednesday to Saturday 2026
Please fill out the forms and an email with a link to a payment page will be sent to you shortly (according to your room selection). Please note that this form does not guarantee your reservation. Reservations will be finalized upon completion of the payment. Thank you.