Metzorah
This week in jewsletter we have: historical haggadahs, a reading list of good leftist writings about antisemitism, and new events (including a lecture about a jewish anarchist's spiritualism and multiple pesach-related zooms)!
Jewish Calendar
This week's torah portion is Metzorah.
https://twitter.com/red_loeb/status/1512110363466252310
It's almost Pesach!
Check out this sefaria sheet featuring various illustrations of the four children, including this minimalist illustration from a 1943 Benghazi haggadah. The 1731 Frankfurt haggadah is also gorgeous, and explored in Hannah Sparwasser Soroka's twitter thread.
Blackness deserves a seat at the seder. (also: preorder Michael Twitty's next book!)
Narrow Bridge Candles has a disability justice haggadah supplement fundraiser
Wanna see 1932 pesach prep? check out this newsreel!
Sheryl Julian wrote about sephardic pesach lasagna (mina de carne) for the boston globe.
https://twitter.com/JewishLanguages/status/1512135704133849095
Omer counting
Color the Omer came out last year and looks super cute!
I have a daily email reminder that will send you the text of the blessing along with something about that day's sefirot.
amazing gorgeous laser cut wood omer counter
Heavy stuff
https://twitter.com/Anzovina/status/1511776699763077122
Probably gauche to link myself, but I talked some about antisemitism and transphobia on twitter this week.
Shane Burley put together an extensive reading list of leftist writings about antisemitism.
Miscellaneous
https://twitter.com/sheydgarden/status/1512428484706066432
"Spiritual Audacity: The Abraham Joshua Heschel Story" is watchable online free until 4/14.
Abby Stein is a fuckin rockstar these days! She was photographed by Annie Liebovitz and has a new book coming out soon and is teaching a gender mysticism class and linked to her neohasidic haggadah. dang. so cool.
Vermont Public Radio put together a little history of judaism in vermont!
https://twitter.com/ThatRabbiCohen/status/1511716478508277763
Wonderful writeup of Sandra Lawson's antiracism work within the Reconstructionist movement
Sarah Day Arts launched some extremely cute new stuff, including a rainbow magen david necklace and tiny hamsa earrings!
If you're Jewish and LGBTQ+ and a BIPOC and want to join an affinity group, here is a survey for you!
Classes coming up
Jewish Anarchist Salon, a series of talks and discussions, every other Sunday 3/13-5/15 (drop-in)
Unyeshiva mini classes (3 weeks each, 4/25-5/15 or 5/16-6/5). Isaiah, Karaites, psychedelics, gender, whatever.
Planting Cucumbers By Magic: or, How to Get Away with Jewish Witchcraft, 4/24-5/15 Sundays, taught by Olivia Devorah thru Shel Maala
Pirkei Avot for Goths 4/25-5/31 Tuesdays with Sophia Zohar
Sefer Yetzirah: Meditation, Magic, & The Cosmic Architecture with R' Jill Hammer through Kohenet, April-June (check out their other spring classes too!)
SVARA classes, including an omer counting chaburah 4/13-6/1 and summer talmud zman 6/14-7/21
Sweetening the Spirits: Introduction to Sefardi Herbalism, 4/26-5/22 Tuesdays or Sundays from bibiandni / Naomi Spektor. "This class will explore Sefardi herb traditions around two major themes: herbs for protection, and herbs for joy & blessedness."
https://twitter.com/Jewish_Bookery/status/1511754621815074823
Events!
4/10 Perspectives on Cosmopolitan Istanbul in the Hit Netflix Series “The Club”
4/10 Queer Yiddishist Shmueskrayz
4/12 Protecting House and Hearth: Jewish Domestic Magic in Pre-Modern Europe lecture
4/13 Translation, Migration, Mobilization: What does it mean to bring a text across languages? How might translation help make visible, collaborate with, and contest other forms of movement, migration, and mobilization? From Jewish Currents
4/15 Seder Queen: A Jews of Color-centered Passover Seder, Lab/Shul style.
4/17 Pink Peacock trans liberation seder!
4/18 my birthday. send me cat photos.
4/21 Experimental Liturgy Test Drive: Pésaḥ 7, an evening service using brin solomon's siddur davar chadash!
4/22 Earth Day Seder with Kadima
4/25 Herbal Wisdoms, Queer Magic, & Ritual in Torah & SWANA traditions with Mazal Etedgi of B'samim Apothecary, at Romemu
5/2 “What Does Your Dream Tell You?”: B. Rivkin and Yiddish Occultism in America lecture. "The writer B. Rivkin (Borukh Avrom Weinrebe, 1883–1945) is known to scholars today as an important anarchist thinker and Yiddish literary critic who formulated the notion that Yiddish literature must strive to serve as a non-territorial homeland for the Jewish people. Less known is that Rivkin was also a firm believer in the occult who attended spiritualist séances and speculated about the possibility of telepathic communication." UM.
5/3 The Hebrew Bible and Disabilities from Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, RespectAbility, the Hunter College Jewish Studies Department, and ROSIES. (more info)
5/4 Jewish and Catholic Approaches to Americanization lecture
5/15-5/27 Queer Yiddish Camp, an online intensive, 5/15-5/27. More info at the website.
6/7-6/10 Yidstock
6/12-6/14 Kavod v'Nichum North American Chevrah Kadisha and Jewish Cemetery Conference
Jewish Bread of the Week
Bread instead of pets this week, because I had too many pictures of other things and this challah is amazing. Mazel tov on finalizing your conversion, OP!
https://mobile.twitter.com/DICKIMINAJ/status/1510797200028225552Shabbat shalom,
<3
Meli