Tag: Jews of Color

TRACES OF HISTORY

Posted on by jocsantuary in Workshop
cover & inside cover of self-portrait book

Last week for me began in Atlanta at a Full Disclosure Facilitator training led by Barbara Rosenblit and Sheila Miller who were sharing their process of artistic storytelling as a way to create connection, honor community, and preserve history. This collaborative experience with Jewish Women’s Archive’s Story Aperture application was rich and engaging. The three-day training gave me the gift of a full day of creative process which is precious, even for someone who is constantly involved in creative work. I was excited to meet two Jewish Women’s Archive colleagues, CEO Judith Rosenbaum and Program Director Betsy More, for the first time in-person! And, this was also a rare moment at an event not specifically designated for Jewish people of color where, among ten amazing participants, I had the pleasure of spending time with Victoria Raggs of Atlanta Jews of Color Council and Shula Mola, a Beit Israel scholar preserving the histories of Ethiopian Jews in Israel from the historic Jewish village of Enkash.

Victoria Raggs, Erica Riddick, Shula Mola (l-r)

The word pentimento, which Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines as “a reappearance in a painting of an original drawn or painted element which was eventually painted over by the artist” was introduced through the title of the presenters’ book, Pentimento-Revealing Women’s Stories. The concept of pentimento makes me think of how Jewish people of color have been obscured from a narrative that continues to be white-washed so pervasively it has colored the imaginations of people of color. I appreciate having another tool in my toolbox to support the endeavor of revealing stories that have always been there.

I was intrigued when I first received the list of materials to bring with me to the training… five self-portraits of me with encouragement for playful experiment (perhaps my two favorite words in succession), words that speak to a personal philosophy, three-dimensional items to embellish the piece, and an object to introduce myself. Many women continued their introductions into their self-portrait piece which was a wood box in the shape of a book with a hinged lid.  My project followed suit in a way. I had introduced myself through my love of libraries, noting a particular fondness for dictionaries. The photograph I selected for the lid was me holding my favorite dictionary, a gorgeous pale blue bound embossed Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language circa 1950s. In a moment of symbiotic presence, Sheila brought along a 1938 dictionary for participants to use to add meaning. My cover materialized with an energy of its own… My book box was embellished with beloved quotes from Octavia Butler, Audre Lorde, Michael W. Twitty, and more; small rocks; and butterflies.  The interior of the box includes a cartographical history, linking my love of books and maps through a geographically imprint.

One of the best parts of the experience was, after sharing and listening to other participants as they constructed their projects, we witnessed the completed (or in-process) work and what the artist chose to share about the piece with those assembled. I am a performer who understands the importance of having an audience to receive you.  As part of the current Jewish Studio Project, Creative Facilitating Training cohort, I am understanding deeper nuances of how generative being a witness to someone’s creative practice can be. I am giddy at the interplay between the artistic spaces I inhabit and the role creativity plays in everything I do, and all that I am.

My self-portrait book remains untitled and still needs an artist statement, but I am excited to share and facilitate this practice. Upcoming events will offer ripe opportunities to share this tool with artists, historians, and storytellers of all ages. This year the theme of the Jews of Color Mishpacha Project, JoCISM Shabbaton over June 16-18 is “We Are Family”, which will be immediately followed by a LGBTQI Juneteenth celebration of “Collecting Our Stories”, and immediately preceded by the launch of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective, Dismantling Racism From the Inside Out, a joint organizer mussar va’ad. Jews of Color Sanctuary is collaborating with Edot and Kol Or, the Jews of Color Caucus of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, in the development of a Midwest mussar va’ad–one of many ways to bring national initiatives home to Cincinnati after transporting a taste of the Midwest to the world.

SPARKLY TORAH

Posted on by jocsantuary in Workshop

I am in the beginning moments of reflecting back on what I want to take with me into Shabbat and what I wish to leave behind as I close my week.  I smile as I recall how my week started with JoC Sanctuary Ritual Studio.  A program called Mezuzah Bedazzle.  Creation is a beautiful and powerful thing.  Perhaps that is why we start there in our annual reading of Torah.  The act of making can also calm us as it gives us something to do with our hands, and perhaps a way to make sense inside our minds.  Somewhere along our journey into adulthood, many give up the simple joy of making for making’s sake.  Witnessing this tendency interrupted is a precious moment during a session of Mezuzah Bedazzle­–seeing adults allowing themselves to play.  When children attend, they take to the task easily.  Adults often need more time, but always arrive.  And, in the midst of joyful gathering and separating and imagining creation making with intention we studied about mezuzot, and had conversations with each other–learning, listening, laughing…  This is what I’m bringing in to spark Shabbat!

In the way that we are made in the image of God, and perhaps God also holds parts of us, may we reflect aspects of our children as we mold them into adults.  In a world filled with too much sorrow may we give ourselves the gift of choosing simple joys all around us, even if we have to mimic our children until we find our way.  May we choose to embrace ritual in ways that are meaningful for our lives and relish opportunities to listen and learn from the wisdom of every person, seeing God reflected in each face.  May our spiritual sparkle bedazzle our world.

SEVEN STEPS

Posted on by jocsantuary in Uncategorized
Image from https://www.instagram.com/p/ConCRbKL8xf/

Last Sunday I had the honor of facilitating the opening of the Rising Tide Open Waters Mikveh Network, Seven Steps Mikveh Guide Training. Thirty-one Jewish people of color across four countries and in fourteen USA states registered for this eight-week experience funded by Jews of Color Initiative. Some participants are already guides and others live outside the thirty-six international Rising Tide Network mikveh locations or that the mikvaot that do exist where they are feel inaccessible. Across the diversity of spiritual practice, yearning for accessible, holistic, and celebratory Jewish learning was clear.

The universal human relationship with water is revered in many cultures for connection, purification, cleansing, transition & wisdom. During ritual immersions, physical barriers are removed between our body and the water. This series is a moment for attendees to remove mental or spiritual barriers from past experiences and deepen their relationship with Judaism and this ancient tradition. The communities where guides live can continue to support removing barriers as you welcome and celebrate these “mikveh guides as wisdom-holders and educators” attracted to this learning because they are already vibrant participants in their Jewish communities.

Program design development and implementation planning was a big job. For this community that means the world to me, it was important to create a space where every individual could bring the full-fabulousness of their beautiful selves completely into the space and learn from the course, each other, and themselves. It was worth it to read feedback confirming that 100% of participants felt a sense of belonging, 100% would recommend the program to a friend, and 92% learned something new. What I didn’t expect was how much this work for others would also feed my soul. I had the opportunity to create an opening ritual and prayer which feels bigger than the specific moment it was created for. May its words nourish our souls in ritual moments we need to hold us…

May we remember that the waters of Gan Eden still flow through our bodies and the earth,

the four rivers of Pishon, Gihon, Hidekel, and Perat.

May we allow those ancient waters to connect us to our ancestors and our first home,

lands of gold and precious resource, lands of Ethiopia, lands of Assyria.

May we use our knowledge to protect the source and follow the water to life,

with gratitude for the waters that hold us and the heavens that give us breath.

-erica riddick

Ritual Studio

Posted on by jocsantuary in Event

Join Jews of Color Sanctuary on 1st Sundays in 2023 for an interactive Ritual Studio experience centering Jewish people of color, skills for creating Jewish ritual, and a sprinkling of art and Torah.

Jewish people of color can register for this affinity space for all levels of art and text study experience.  Half the sessions are virtual to allow cross-pollination community for Jewish people of color around the world.  Greater Cincinnati Jewish people of color are welcome to register for all four sessions.  Participants who attend both in-person or both virtual sessions and participate in the studio by sharing images of their work are eligible for artist stipends of between $15-30.

Regitration link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Ql2y3Yam8ZhVdUiUv3gX_4fv3YLvX9EhZT1cyzhWZOM/edit

Contact erica at danserica@gmail.com with RITUAL STUDIO as the Subject for more information.

This event is supported generously throughts ArtsWave.

WATERS OF JUSTICE

Posted on by jocsantuary in Workshop

The last session of the Let Justice Well Up text study series on December 11 closed out the Jews of Color Sanctuary program 2022 calendar. Feedback from the series last January led to the development of a dynamic opportunity to study elements of our modern lives through Torah texts centered around water.

It is a rare gift to be in an affinity space of women of color. Our conversations reflected the incredible range of insight and experience. ללמד lilmod holds both learn and teach. Any teacher will tell you how much they learn much from students. So too, Judaism holds moments of teaching made more powerful as we learn from each other.

There are special opportunities lot brewing for 2023. I look forward to continuing the journey with you, both nationally and locally.

joyful shabbat

Posted on by jocsantuary in Event, Workshop
From left, participants in the JOC Mishpacha “We Are Family” JOCSM Shabbaton: Maetal Gerson, Avodah Jewish Service Corps Chicago, and Kol Or of JCUA; Denise Dautoff, Jewtina y Co.; Riki Robinson, Jews of Color Initiative; Ari Monts (kneeling); Mackenzie Martinez, Avodah Jewish Service Corps, San Diego; Sabrina Sojourner, co-founding director, KHAZBAR; Erica Riddick, Jews of Color Sanctuary; Deitra Reiser, founder, Transform for Equity; Kiyomi Kowalski, co-founder, Jewbian Princess; and Ramona Tenorio, Tiyuv Initiative.

I feel blessed to be connected with a national network of Jews of color (JoC) and lucky to have experienced JoC majority spaces, even if sparsely. It is joyful to feel community in a way that you know deep in your bones includes you. The JoC Mishpacha Project JoCISM Shabbaton was definitely that kind of event. It was an opportunity to deepen existing relationships and create new ones. I was struck by the harmonies we made together, both in song and the ways we blended needs and customs. It was also a beautiful expression of the crucial role allies play, as family, as friends, as organizations, as symbiotic supporters of this work to create affinity spaces that strengthen so much more than just the Jewish people of color present, but returns with them into their home communities… whether that is across the country or down the street. The weekend reminded me of the importance of the work of JoC Sanctuary and the ability to intentionally create the spaces we need for ourselves.

National Shabbaton inspires Jews of color with the power of connecting as family

Let justice well up

Posted on by jocsantuary in Event

12:30-2pm EST Sunday March 6, 2022

Let Justice Well Up Torah Study Series for Jewish Women of Color

https://www.mayyimhayyim.org/ljwu-torah-study/

Join this text study affinity space by and for Jewish women who also hold intersectional identities as people of color.  The intention is to create a space where we can welcome each other as siblings while also honoring the wealth of diversity within Jews of Color spaces.  There will be opportunities to suggest text study ideas and room to express your Torah. The series is on a sliding scale of $0-36 for seven sessions which can be attended individually or collectively. No prior text study experience is required.

We will open our study will the sacrifice of Yiftach’s Daughter, exploring the offered themes of sacrifice and ritual through our unique experiences as people of color.  We’ll use the framework of our study to lead us into creating Jewish ritual for the moments of our lives.

Session Dates: March 6 & 20, April 3 & 10, May 1, 15 & 29

Let Justice Well Up is hosted by Mayyim Hayyim and generously funded by the Miriam Fund.

Personalizing Ritual

Posted on by jocsantuary in Uncategorized

When I was a child, I was always creating. Somewhere, on the way to adulthood, despite going into a creative profession, I left the devising ritual and imbuing meaning to other professionals. While I was taught to think and to question, that was only supposed to go so far before turning to an expert. It sounds strange to say, but I now realize I am the expert of myself and my life and in choosing what moments I want to create ritual and highlight meaning around.

Reading Inventing Jewish Ritual by Vanessa L. Ochs came at the perfect time and helped hone the ritual innovator inside me to more confidently claim ownership over my prayers and new rituals in a subtly different, but deeply profound way. Prayer had always felt meaningful and personal to me, but Ochs’ historical foundation framing of Jewish ritual development created space for me to bring a fuller authentic self to current rituals and helped me to bravely create rituals rooted in Jewish practice for important life moments I want to mark or honor.

I feel there are many lost opportunities to help Jews of Color see themselves through the people of Color in the Torah. One of the foundational reasons I created this forum is to offer a safe space, a sanctuary, for Jews of Color in the Cincinnati and surrounding areas to explore those topics among other Jews of Color craving similar opportunities for chevruta, study and exploration. Our March event topic was Celebrating JOC Ritual and beyond texts pulled from Creating Jewish Ritual, we used one of my favorite texts borrowed from a friend’s article titled Bagels, Lox, and Grits: Defining My Jewish Identity by Yolanda Savage-Narva.

One of the food elements I connect with Rosh Hashanah is black eyed peas, after reading this was a popular African dish to celebrate the Gregorian New Year. This afternoon, I was part of a program that happened in an art studio. I learned a new kiln was being fired for the first time. As as artist who has mourned the loss of pieces which didn’t make it through firing, I immediately offered a simple prayer for a vessel which will bring beauty into the world. Daily minyans and Shabbat are crucial for me, but acknowledging the relevance of art is important to me too. Bringing aspects of myself in that I sometimes feel are pushed aside helps me step into a fullness of myself and my power that is exactly what I believe God wants for me. In the end, the ritual nuances that bring me the most joy are often simple elements. How they find their place is not always easy, but it always feels worth it.

https://reformjudaism.org/blog/2018/07/23/bagels-lox-and-grits-defining-my-jewish-identity