Tag: Mikveh

Gregorian year in review

Posted on by jocsantuary in Annual Review

Jews of Color (JoC) Sanctuary was born on Sigd in November 2019. The date was a nascent expression to bring Jewish reflections from communities of color into deeper relationship with a vision to create a sanctuary for Jewish people of color in Cincinnati and the Midwest. Like all things in development, the idea of JoC Sanctuary had been brewing for many years before emerging. April Baskin and the 2018 JewV’Nation cohort were particularly supportive in fostering early dreaming of Midwestern JoC space. We have grown slowly over the last four years of infancy and 2023 has been an exciting year of growth as we enter toddlerhood.

We were awarded our first formal grant through ArtsWave, made possible through our fiscal sponsor, ish Cincinnati. JoC Ritual Studio was an invitation to claim our right to Jewish ritual that reflects the fullness of who we are and offers meaningful marking of important transitions. JoC Sanctuary was a featured speaker at the Rising Tide Conference and supported facilitation of a Seven Steps Mikveh Guide Training, including original ritual creation (a new cohort starts in February!^). We learned and taught Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out (DRIO).

Other community interactions include, returning to the Jews of Color Mishpacha Project Shabbaton, deepening connection through creative practice skills, standing in solidarity with refugees, celebrating the rich diversity of faiths, getting up to some good trouble, bringing light into the world, and shepherding Jewish End-of-Life Practices & Rituals research which will be released in 2024.

We co-sponsored events with the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. We collaborated with Birds of a Feather, Black Jewish Liberation Collective, ish Cincinnati, Jewish Community Library, Jewish Spiritual Leadership Convening, Jewish Women’s Archive, Kirva, Mayyim Hayyim, and Rising Tide. We were supported by ArtsWave, Jewish Bridge Project, in-kind contributions, and individual donations.

This year has welcomed the Bilhah Zilpah Project and Parasha Play as special projects of JoC Sanctuary. Parasha Play is an improv-based Torah exploration and the Bilhah Zilpah Project seeks to reclaim these Jewish matriarchs, and listen for the wisdom that their silenced voices can teach us into our modern lives. 2023 closed with the inaugural launching of the Bilhah Zilpah Project through a series of homecoming events. Parashat Vayeitzei falls shortly after Sigd every year, sweetening welcoming this project as a poetic return to our beginning.

Sincere gratitude goes out to all the individuals and organizations who have fostered the growth of Jews of Color Sanctuary through participation and co-creation. We look forward to continuing creating sanctuary in 2024. If you have skills you would like to share with us, please email danserica@gmail.com and if you would like to provide financial support, contribute through our fiscal sponsor’s webpage: noting the funds are for Jews of Color Sanctuary.

Joyful Gregorian New Year celebrations for continued sweetness in your Jewish year!

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

Rising Tide

Posted on by jocsantuary in Event, Speaker

Erica Riddick of Jews of Color Sanctuary will be a featured speaker of the Co-Creating Rituals Panel at the Rising Tide Open Waters Mikveh Network virtual 2022 Gathering on May 9 through 10. Rising Tides mission is to inspire, strengthen and support communities that embrace an open, inclusive and welcoming approach to ritual immersion as a way to mark life transitions, believing that providing for the spiritual needs of the entire spectrum of Jewish people will help create a more vibrant, welcoming, and inclusive community for everyone. The gathering is an opportunity for individuals and groups to come together to learn from and grow this movement.

2022 Gathering Registration