Our circle forms bit by bit as we finish prepping for our morning ride. We’ve pumped our tires, checked our brakes, and added or subtracted layers depending on the weather. Our physical comfort more or less assured, we turn to spiritual health. We stand as an intentional community, a group of bicyclists coming together for cycling, community, and Jewish conversation. We take a moment to articulate our intention in gathering as a group of Jewish cyclists, inspired by traditional Jewish blessings and ideas like the Traveler’s Prayer, the blessing for Torah study, and the teaching to find yourself teachers and friends:
“May our ride be safe, our conversations and learning meaningful, and our connections with one another deep and powerful.”
We clink our water bottles together, and with this short opening ritual, we are off on our ride.
Tradition teaches that when asking for the Israelites to make their portable sanctuary in the desert, God said, “And let them build me a sanctuary and I will dwell there. (Ex 25:8).” When a Jewish community comes together intentionally, God is present.
Recent studies show the rate of synagogue membership is dropping, though Jewish identity is stronger than ever. Many people are choosing to come together in powerful ways that are outside of the traditional synagogue structure of the American Jewish community. The majority of American Jews do not pray regularly with a minyan, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking for Jewish community, connection to tradition, or spirituality. As Jewish leaders, we need to help the community coalesce where Jews choose to be, doing what they already love to do.
I founded Chai Cycle in 2023 to do just that. Chai Cycle is a Jewish community that combines recreational bicycling with Jewish text study. Chai Cycle’s roots are in the casual, powerful conversations that unfolded in cycling groups when riders, Jewish and not, learned I am a rabbi. Eventually these riders coalesced into a community of cyclists who find meaning and Jewish connection to God and community through bicycling. Typically, we ride 12-15 miles, stop for a 30-minute Jewish conversation or text study, and then continue for another 10-15 miles. Often, non-riders join us for the conversation, bringing coffee and nosh. Recent topics have included: “What does Judaism say about IVF?,” “Praying with your Feet: Finding the Courage to Speak and Act,” and “Joseph, Climate Change & the Santa Ana Winds: Fire & Liability in Jewish Tradition.”
For some, bicycling as Jewish practice seems “beyond the pale.” But think about it: Why does one go to synagogue or participate in communal life? To see their friends, for spiritual fulfillment, to be stimulated by new ideas, and for the oneg (food/nosh). Check, check, check, and check. When we clink our Chai Cycle water bottles together, filled with life-sustaining sustenance, it is as if we are meeting at the Biblical well, where people gathered for both physical and spiritual sustenance.
Cycling takes one into nature, where the beauty of the natural world can take your breath away. On a recent ride, on a spectacularly clear day, our group rounded a curve and there before us was the San Francisco Bay. The shimmering water was deep blue, the brilliant sky was light blue, and the lush green hills of Marin County framed the background. We let out a collective gasp of “Oh my God” at the beauty, and it was clear that believer or atheist, we had each experienced a moment of awe.
Spiritual, invigorating moments like this are not unusual on a bike. When someone is “in the zone” on a ride, the noise in one’s head falls away, and I would say it is an experience of hitbodedut, of spending time with yourself and with what some will call God. For me, I find myself in connection with my inner voice and spirit guide. In this way, cycling is a powerful pathway to connection with the Divine and the “ah-ha” moments that come with heightened awareness. Quoting Rabbi Evon Yakar, “Cycling isn’t only recreation, rather it is a tool for re-creation.”
The importance of exercise is not foreign to Judaism. The concepts of refuat hanefesh (healing the spirit) and refuat haguf (healing the body) are a part of our liturgy. On Shabbat, we pray for both with our misheberach prayers for healing. And cycling, like many other exertive activities that get one moving and raise the heart rate, accomplishes both.
As our ride ends, we gather again to say goodbye to one another. “Shalom aleichem!” “See you next time!” and “Happy trails to you!’ ring out. We head to our cars smiling with satisfaction that we spent the morning deepening friendships, building community, engaging with Jewish ideas, and proud that we rode a great ride. What more could we ask for? A Chai Cycle regular said it best: “I came for the ride. I come back for the conversation and community.”
So many of us live compartmentalized lives with our secular work lives from 9-5, separated from the spiritual/religious lives we express at home or in the synagogue. Exercise is often in a different box altogether. Infusing and elevating our physical activity with Jewish ideas and practice can lead us to more fulfilling lives and a more integrated way of living.
Rabbi Jamie was ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJRCA) and served as the rabbi at Congregation P’nai Tikvah in Las Vegas. She is a member of OHALAH, the Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assembly.
Rabbi Jamie began her tenure with the Mother Lode Jewish Community in 2023. In addition to serving our community, she is the founder of Chaicycle.org, a Jewish cycling community that combines cycling with Jewish community, text, and ideas. She is also the Director of Development for Hebrew Free Loan, which serves all of Northern California.