In the Spirit: Women pampered at Chabad ‘spa day’

HIGHLAND MILLS, NY — Women chatted, sipped freshly made vegetable juice from plastic cups and glanced over their schedules in the hallways of the historic Rushmore Estate.

“I’m going to try Tai Chi,” said Shari Meshulam, a Highland Mills resident. “I do yoga, but I never tried Tai Chi and thought it would be interesting.”

Then came the choice of study.

Meshulam chose the lecture titled “Proclaiming oneness in a differentiated world,” by Bracha Meshchaninov, a French-born Jewish woman who lectures to women about religious issues.

Sunday was a day of pampering for several dozen women at the Jewish Women’s Circle Grand Event hosted by the Chabad of Orange County. Nadine Pulver, the owner of the 50-acre estate, has hosted many events for the Chabad, but none as sumptuous.

The event featured a day’s worth of relaxation, as well as spiritual and intellectual contemplation. Facial massages, Mary Kay makeovers and plans for a walking meditation along a private lake mixed with teachings on the Torah, a grand dinner and a keynote address titled “Beauty of the Beast: an inspirational and thought-provoking analysis of beauty, the media, the power of women, and the bounty inwardness has to offer.”

Chana Burston, who heads the Chabad with her husband Pesach, said she started the Jewish Women’s Circle as a way to create community among Jewish women in this sprawling region. The couple established the Chabad four years ago.

“The idea (for the spa) is to be pampered both physically and spiritually,” Burston said. “If you take care of your body, then it’s easier to take care of your spirituality.”