Grantee Work: Fall 2023
AMMUD
THE TORAH OF GATHERING JOC FELLOWSHIP: Weekly on Wednesdays from September 20 - October 25, 2023 at 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm ET | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm CT | 9:00 am-10:30 am PT.
Ammud: The Jews of Color Torah Academy is partnering with Pardes North America on The Torah of Gathering JOC Fellowship, for a virtual cohort to bond with other JOCs and learn tools to build community, centered in Torah. So much of Jewish life happens in the context of community, yet how often do our gatherings lack the warmth, inspiration and sense of purpose that we crave? In this 6-week fellowship experience, you will learn what Jewish tradition has to say about how to build community with intentionality. Grounded in The Art of Gathering, we will explore a Torah portion from each of the Five Books of Moses and connect back to values in Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering. Together we will gain practical tools in order to create gatherings that lead to connection and belonging.
Applications are open until September 11th at midnight PT. Apply at
CLAP AND SYNAGOGUES RISING
DISABILITY CENTERED HEALING SERVICE AT KEHILA COMMUNITY SYNAGOGUE, Yom Kippur Afternoon, September 25th, 4:30-5:30 pm
The Healing service will be led by Rabbi Elliot Kukla and Beth Dickinson, with contributions from Kehilla members. We will gather to mourn the pain of ableism and celebrate the joy of our resilience, as well as praying for healing and hope for our bodyminds, spirits, communities, and this wounded planet. This service will use a Disability Justice approach, which is intersectional and sees racial justice as inextricably tied to healing. Everyone (from all backgrounds, and all abilities) is welcome! This will be a multi-access service offered over zoom and in person. The prayers will be interpreted into ASL and closed captioned. There will also be small group discussions over Zoom with options to participate using chat, ASL, or by voice; the in-person discussion groups will be by voice only. You can register for sliding-scale (down to free) tickets here.
Please be in touch with info@kehillasynagogue.org with any access questions.
EGALITARIAN SEPHARDI MIZRAHI COMMUNITY OF NEW YORK
EGALITARIAN SEPHARDI HIGH HOLIDAYS SERVICES AND WORKSHOPS, August 30-September 25, 2023, Brooklyn, NY
Services will be delivered in Maghrebi and Yerushalmi nusahim, led by Laura Elkeslassy and friends.
Buy your tickets here before they sell out! Please note that tickets are being offered on a sliding scale, with a suggested cost of $36 per service. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you are able, please consider buying a ticket for $72 per service in order to sponsor another community member. Please consider contributing to us to sustain the longevity of our work together! Click "additional donation" when you purchase your ticket.
About the offerings:
We are offering Egalitarian Selichot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur services for the fourth year in a row in Sefardi/Mizrahi traditional Nusahim. Our community provides a spiritual space that welcomes all Sephardim & Mizrahim regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or politics. This community offers a space where folks who are often marginalized from traditional Sephardi spaces can be their full selves: centering women and queer&trans leaders and liberatory politics, and our ancestors’ Sephardi religious traditions.
The services are participatory. If you’d like to learn the Maghrebi Nusach, there will be workshops offered throughout the month of Elul. If you’d like to offer songs in other Sephardi/Mizrahi Nusachim or participate in service leadership (through song, word of torah, shofar or other honors) you are more than welcome to do so! Please reach out to Laura to discuss how to integrate your offering to the service.
These offerings are supported by IfNotNow's BIJOCSM Leadership, JFREJ’s Mizrahi & Sephardi caucus, and Jewish Voice for Peace’s BIJOCSM Network.
So get your tickets and support us! Read on for the full scoop!
In Person in Brooklyn, NY- What & When:
Friday Sept 15: Rosh Hashanah Arvit. Doors open: 6:00pm. Start time: 6:45pm.
Sunday Sept 24: Yom Kippur Kol nidrei. Doors open: 6:00pm. Start time: 6:30pm.
Monday Sept 25: Yom Kippur Neila. Doors Open: 5:30pm. Start time: 5:45pm.
All services will take place at the Social Hall of Congregation Beth Elohim, 274 Garfield Place, Brooklyn NY 11215.
Safety: Please take a rapid COVID test the day of or a PCR test the day before attending services. Masks required. If you feel sick, keep the community safe by staying home.
Virtual, Everywhere - Details:
Yes there's more! Leading up to the holiday services, we will be offering the following spaces for spiritual and educational nourishment:
We will be offering 2 virtual workshops to prepare for High Holidays. Want to learn the songs in advance and get spiritually ready for High holiday through voice? We got you! Laura Elkeslassy will offer liturgy workshops through the month of Elul. Virtual workshops will take place on Monday September 11 8pm at EST, for Rosh Hashana (zoom registration here), and on Tuesday September 19 at 8pm EST for Yom Kippur (zoom registration here).
JEWISH STUDIO PROJECT
YOM KIPPUR 5784: THE ART OF FORGIVENESS, September 24-25, 2023, in person only
Join Rabbi Adina Allen and the Jewish Studio Project for a two-day, hands-on art making Yom Kippur. Together we will transform the JCC space into a vibrant art studio and dive into creative process (through art-making, text discussion and music) to explore the theme of forgiveness in our lives and community. Yom Kippur is a time for change, undoing, and releasing. Forgiveness is not something that happens in our minds, but something that needs to be worked through us, brought to light, better understood. Art-making as a somatic ritual process will provide you with time and space to understand and bring to light the depths of your inherent knowing. Space is limited! Register here
HAVE YOU MADE ART ABOUT IT YET? SUKKOT WITH RABBI ADINA ALLEN, October 5, 2023, 9:00 am - 10:30 am PT/12:00 pm - 1:30 pm ET
Known as z’man simchateinu - in this season of joy, impermanence, and ephemerality, we venture out from our homes to create temporary dwellings known as sukkot as a way to reconnect to the living world. Using the Jewish Studio Process - a unique methodology combining practices from the field of art therapy with a reimagined approach to Jewish learning and spirituality - we’ll reweave ourselves back into relationship with the more-than-human world and open to the beauty and abundance awaiting us right where we are. Register here
CREATING WITH THE NEW MOON: ROSH CHODESH CHESHVAN WITH BEC RICHMAN, October 15, 2023, 10:00 am - 11:30 am PT/1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET
Ground yourself in the power of the new moon! As the tiny crescent becomes visible in the night sky, Rosh Chodesh offers us an opportunity to refresh our dreams and desires. Register here
CREATIVE REST WITH MARA JUNE, October 19, 2023, 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm PT/6:00 pm - 7:15 pm ET
Nourish your creativity to sustain yourself in the work of collective liberation. Come relax into reverie, replenish and unwind in Creative Rest with Ophir Haberer! Together we will explore Arab Jewish cultural technology and tradition in creating a culture of care, beauty, hospitality, and abundance, and how that translates in specific Jewish rituals. Register here
JEWTINA Y CO.
JEWTINA Y CO'S HIGH HOLIDAY RESOURCES.
CELEBRATING LATIN-JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD, Tuesday, October 12th, 2023, 4:30-6:00 pm PT
Join us for a virtual panel dedicated to exploring the intersections of Latin and Jewish heritage during Latin Heritage Month. Moderated by Analucía Lopezrevoredo, Founder and Executive Director of Jewtina y Co., this interactive discussion features diverse panelists sharing personal stories and insights. Discover the richness of Latin-Jewish identity and the connections that unite us. Don't miss this enlightening celebration of Latin-Jewish culture, heritage, and community.
This event is in partnership with the Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco.
EXHIBIT ON LATIN-JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD, September 15th-October 15th, 2023
Celebrate Latin-Jewish peoplehood at the Contemporary Jewish Museum during Latin Heritage Month. The Museum will feature stories of Latin-Jewish individuals from across the United States through a collection of compelling video narratives. Don't miss this enlightening celebration that highlights the contributions and narratives of Latin-Jews, forging connections that span continents and generations.
KESHER PITTSBURGH
KESHER PITTSBURGH HIGH HOLIDAYS 5784: September 15-25, 2023
Now in our eighth year, Kesher Pittsburgh’s Rosh Hashanah will welcome 5784 with warmth, music, connection and celebration. Whether you are joining us for the first time, or you’ve been with us from the start, there is space for you in our circle.
New this year, we are offering Rosh Hashanah Day 2 with a morning Tashlich ritual, kayaking, and bagel brunch for families. Join us at 10:00am for this outdoor celebration.
Kol Nidrei, the opening service on erev Yom Kippur, is intended to help us soften our hearts and open to the possibility of being transformed by teshuvah.
Yom Kippur day will offer a variety of modalities through which we can reflect, connect, and make teshuvah (return)
Since Kesher Pittsburgh does not have membership fees, your financial support is critical to sustaining our community throughout the year. Your contribution not only enables the creation of our High Holiday gatherings, it ensures that we can continue to offer programming throughout the year.
This year, we are suggesting three different levels of minimum contribution for High Holiday attendance. This will help us to become more financially sustainable and also makes certain that no one is EVER turned away due to lack of funds.
SACRED ACTION BRINGING CONTEMPLATIVE JEWISH PRACTICE TO JUSTICE WORK: Mondays October 2, 9, 16, 30, November 6, 13, 2023 at 3:00 - 4:30 pm PT / 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm ET on Zoom
Or HaLev in partnership with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality & Pardes North America present a six-session series that will address:
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Finding stillness amidst the intensity of the work,
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Navigating the tension between compassion and accountability in fights against injustice and oppression,
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Clarifying our motivations for action, and
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Abiding in not-knowing while acting with conviction.
ON SOLID GROUND: FUNDAMENTALS OF JUDAISM: October 15, 2023 - September 15, 2024
On Solid Ground: Fundamentals of Judaism is an exploration of the foundations of Judaism through a feminist lens, providing us a stable place from which to learn, study, practice, lead, create, ritualize and diverge. This class will include inquiries into traditional/historical practice in comparison and contrast to Priestess practice. This class is intended for anyone who wants to learn the basics of Jewish practice, history and tradition (including folx who are considering conversion) as well as anyone who is keen to reconsider the basics from an anti-oppressionist perspective.
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KOL TZEDEK
KOL TZEDEK HIGH HOLIDAYS 5784: September 15-25, 2023 in Philadelphia
5784 will be a year of big change and possibility for Kol Tzedek, both a member of Rise Up grantee Synagogues Rising, and further affiliated through Kol Tzedek's Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari's project Illuminated Hilchot Teshuvah.
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Hilchot Teshuva: Daily Elul Learning with Rabbis Ari Lev and Mónica
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Weekly Elul morning Selichot service in the Sefardi tradition with Rabbi Mónica
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Family services for ages 5 and under and their families on the mornings of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in person
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Camp Shanah Tovah for ages 5-12 on the mornings of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and on Kol Nidrei, including kids services, learning, and play, in person
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Engaging, songful, multivocal services, both online and in-person including the harmonies of Rabbi Mónica, Student Rabbi Koach Frazier, & KT Music Specialist Aly Halpert
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Participatory Torah services with the opportunity to be called to the Torah for aliyot
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Reflective vorts from community members throughout the ten days on the themes of Olam Haba: Dreams of the World to Come
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Water ice oneg on Erev Rosh Hashanah
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An afternoon of meaningful community-led workshops on Yom Kippur
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Community break-fast following Neilah and Havdalah on Yom Kippur
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An interactive public art installation of the Azazel goat
THE LUNAR COLLECTIVE
ASIAN JEWISH CREATIVITY RETREAT, October 13-15, 2023, Los Angeles, CA
Join the LUNAR Collective in processing our Asian Jewish identities through art, writing, music, and ritual at the first ever Asian Jewish Creativity Retreat! Held in Los Angeles on Oct 13-15, this immersive weekend event is open to Asian American Jews ages 21+ in Los Angeles. Thank you to Moishe House and NuRoots for sponsoring this retreat.
NEFESH
NEFESH HIGH HOLIDAYS 5784: September 15-25, 2023 in Los Angeles
Come walk with Nefesh through these sacred days as we leave the fiction of individualism into days of interdependence. Nefesh welcomes you.
Erev Rosh Hashanah and Erev Shabbat – Fri, Sept 15 – 5pm Potluck | 6:30pm Service
Rosh Hashanah Morning and Shabbat – Sat, Sept 16 – 9am Service | 12pm Picnic
Tashlich in partnership with SIJCC – Sun, Sept 17 – 5pm Ritual & Picnic
Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) – Sun, Sept 24 – 6:30pm Service
Yom Kippur Urban Retreat – Mon, Sept 25
Morning Service – 9am
Forgiveness Circles, Movement with Amie, Sound Bath with Craig & Lea + special workshops – 1-4:30pm
Family Service – 2:30pm
Yizkor & Neilah Services – 4:30pm
More information and registration link for HHD 5784: link here
Point of contact for communications: Sonya Mendoza smendoza@nefeshla.org.
OR HALEV
UNDER A ROOF OF STARS: REJOICING IN VULNERABILITY AND CONNECTION: October 5, 2023
30 minute meditations delivered to your inbox each day of Sukkot with one hour-long live session on October 5
SACRED ACTION: Mondays October 2, 9, 16, 30, November 6, 13, 2023 at 3:00 - 4:30 pm PT / 6:00 pm -7:30 pm ET // on Zoom
Following the success of Sacred Action's previous round, join us on this unique and impactful Jewish Mindfulness series exploring the interaction of Jewish Meditation, Activism, and Justice Work.
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