Eikev
Hello!
I really appreciate the replies from readers last week! I'll be making the switch to monthly emails some time after Yom Kippur, so your access to online High Holy Days content should remain consistent. I'm still working on the details, including how i'll be handling the events list and torah portion info, so if you have feedback please let me know!
Jewish Calendar
Parshat Eikev
In Eikev, there's a whole bunch of important stuff reiterated once again! the tale of the golden calf, manna, the Seven Species, a key point about empathy, and more.
Elul is coming
Elul is soon, and after that Rosh Hashana. One might even say this is real and I am completely unprepared. Rabbi Jordan Braunig will be doing his emailed daily spiritual prompts again, this time in partnership with Jewish Studio Project. Check out their other elul programming too, or Judaism Unbound's Elul Unbound.
It's Sephardi tradition to recite Selichot daily during elul, and Windy Meadow Homestead is hosting online creative selichot services daily this year.
https://twitter.com/thatrabbicohen/status/1560666723795103744
Israel and Antisemitism
The Israeli military conducted raids on the offices of seven Palestinian civil rights groups. In one, "[t]he soldiers stayed for nearly an hour [...] taking the legal files of children prosecuted by Israel’s military court who are represented by the group." Israel claims the groups are affiliated with PFLP, a group I discussed briefly (and linked to resources about) in a previous newsletter.
The New York Times' Overlooked series of obituaries covered Regina Jonas today, a woman rabbi who died in the shoah.
There's a new state law in New York which is kinda fascinating: art that was looted by nazis must have a label declaring that provenance.
Books and Language
Jewish Poetry Project titles are on sale: 25% off if you buy two or more.
There's a new folio online from Ayin Press, collecting works around the theme of Towards a Visionary Poetics: A Female Gaze, including at least one centering trans women.
Zsofia Buda apparently re-found a lost manuscript of Avicenna's work translated into hebrew, and shared with us the manuscript's story along with some great photos of annotations through the ages.
The yiddish book center's weekly reader this week was about yiddish farmers, and jews and farming more broadly, which is neat!
https://twitter.com/JessicaKirzane/status/1499383868578799622
There's multiple wonderful Jewish books out for preorder that'll be released this fall:
When We Collide: Sex, Social Risk, and Jewish Ethics by Dr. Rebecca J Epstein-Levi, who is looking for book talk opportunities! I was lucky enough to help format this into book mode, and the preview I got of its content was wonderful.
Emily Tamkin's Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities, which I and the jewsletter may be featured briefly in, if that segment made it through edits.
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg's On Repentance And Repair, which has a book launch in early September linked below.
and Sacha Lamb's When The Angels Left The Old Country. Mazel tov for the kirkus starred review! I've read a few of Lamb's previous short stories and they were great.
Thrillist also has a really great review of Michael Twitty's Koshersoul, which came out last week.
Miscellaneous
I love all the Jewish art @shvlman links to on Twitter, including this map of cemeteries with painted tombstones.
There's a new meme going around involving a small blonde woman passionately yell-explaining all-caps text near a bored-looking man, and there's a few pretty great Jewish versions.
Sol Brager writes for ArtForum about the future of Jewish Art, touching on some wonderful jewish art that isn't as ...acceptable to the jewish mainstream.
The Miles Nadal JCC is looking to interview people who "have had, have officiated, or are planning a Queer-Jewish wedding" for their Queering the Jewish Wedding project!
There's a gorgeous new game available in french and english about werewolf benjamin titled Il Demeure Entre Ses Epaules / He Dwells Between His Shoulders. PWYW, windows and mac.
The Canadian Jewish News interviewed Loolwa Khazoom about her work around multicultural Judaism!
https://twitter.com/testosteronejew/status/1560341206151954432
Events and classes
As always, bolded means it's newly added.
classes
The Synagogues of Greece: A three part series exploring the history, culture, and architecture of Sephardic & Romaniote synagogues of Greece with scholar and architect Elias Messinas from Sephardic Brotherhood. 9/1, 9/8, 9/15 (free, zoom lectures)
Reparations & Indigenous Land Back Teshuvah with Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb of JeLiThin, September 5, 12, and 19
Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva has five mini classes this September and they all look great, as usual. I am taking the one about Jacob Frank, but there's no bad choices here.
SVARA has an Elul Chevruta Lovefest from August 30th - September 20th.
Events
8/24 Folk Customs of Elul
8/28 A Time to Embrace-Songs of Comfort & Hope from Ramon Tasat
8/28 Nonbinary Elul Well Circle
8/25 Creative Rest: Queer Disability Joy from Julia Watts Belser and the Jewish Studio Project
8/27 Rosh Chodesh Elul (sephardim begin saying selichot)
8/29 Book Talk: The Sephardic Way in Death and Mourning with Rabbi Yamin Levy
8/29 Queer Nigun Project Elul Virtual Circle (register here)
9/8 On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World book launch event with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
9/15 The House of Memory: Jewish Stories from Jewish Women of Latin America, with Marjorie Agosin
9/11 From Rachel and David to Maya and Ezra: Trends in American Jewish Personal Names
9/26 Rosh Hashana
Jewish Pet of the Week
The Jewish Pet of the Week is Burt, who is keeping a VERY close eye on the kitchen.
https://twitter.com/babyboymonaghan/status/1560753651198709760
<3
Meli