I served as staff at Kirva’s recent Spiritual Immersive and was invited to share a short practice during the lead-up to Rosh Hashanah. Kirva’s social justice approach to mussar, an ancient Jewish ethical practice, is a valued collaborative partner with Jews of Color Sanctuary. The five days we spent together at Pearlstone strengthened our practice, reinforced bonds, and built community as we used mussar to align our actions with our values. Learn how to bring Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out into your community. Meanwhile, I hope this practice enriches your preparations for the High Holy Days.
Affinity space supports deepening what we do in such spaces through the nature of being among peers in ways that can foster connection, insight, and healing. Affinity space has a long history across cultural traditions, including Judaism. Affinity by gender, age, trade, skill level are so common, we may no longer see them as such. Our time in affinity enhances when we are together.
Learning is a foundational activity that has experienced perhaps every kind of affinity filter that can be imagined. My inquisitive nature fuels a love for learning, and my love for learning embraces my curiosity. I pour all of this love into the sessions I facilitate, seeing these moments as opportunities to celebrate the learn/teach balance in each person, idea, and question. The chance to learn in female and nonbinary people of color space is among the rarest of learning affinity space I get to inhabit, either as learner or teacher.
This is why I am delighted to once again be leading text study for Jewish women and non-binary folks of color for the Mayyim Hayyim Let Justice Well Up text study series supported by the Miriam Fund. Six sessions will be offered on second Wednesdays, starting February 14, through June with a special closing siyum on July 3. We will bring in the wisdom of water, ritual, and more as we explore justice through the power of our perspective as Jewish women and non-binary folks of color. Our cultural communities have rich foundations of female and tum tum ancestral wisdom that has birthed and nurtured our communities. That is the legacy we are rippling into.
Register for one session or all six, but don’t miss this opportunity to learn together in this rare affinity space that I believe will feed our souls in ways that truly enrich the other spaces we inhabit. All you need is yourself, some creative practice materials at hand, and an openness to allow the text to tap into your innate wisdom that already connects you with Torah through your lived experiences. Get ready to fall in love with text study, and please share this with the women and non-binary folks of color you are in solidarity with. Collectively, we will make this space what we need it to be. I’m excited to learn together again!
Jews of Color Sanctuary 