Shvat 5784
Welcome to Weird Jewish Digest! There is, as always, more going on in the world (and in the jewish world) than I have room in my brain and heart for, but here's some stuff I found over the past month.
Jewish Calendar
tu bishvat
the buds and then leaves on the trees are going to come back. I believe this in my mind and try to believe it in my heart: spring will come.
I've put out two zines about the holiday, one a kabbalistic Four Worlds haggaddah and one a seder supplement/stand-alone zine with Thursday Bram wrangling with celebrating tu bishvat on stolen land (particularly in the Pacific Northwest, including essays on how Jews interacted historically with indigenous populations here, but applicable anywhere).
The Boston Workers Circle is having a hybrid tu bishvat seder January 28th. I haven't run into other Tu Bishvat seders online but I'm sure they exist, and if they don't, you should have one with your friends and/or family! Reply to this email if you'd want to attend one I run--I haven't decided yet if i am going to, but I might.
Israel/Palestine and Antisemitism
Inspiring and/or motivating writing I've seen:
Jewish Elders for Palestinian Freedom, particularly the 18 members who locked themselves to the fence in front of the white house as an act of protest for peace. (See also Ahead of White House Hanukkah celebration, a wave of faith-led cease-fire demonstrations)
If you are or used to be involved with Reform judaism, consider signing URJ Alumni and Current Members for Ceasefire -- A Public Letter to the Union for Reform Judaism.
Japanese-American Jewish author Maggie Tokuda Hall's essay in Densho about Why Japanese Americans Must Stand with Palestine
All That's Left's chanukah package, including Aron Wander's addition “We Do Not Immortalize a Catastrophe”, tangling with historical and present-day violences
Less good (quite bad, in fact): Gaza continues to be in crisis, between direct violence from Israel, widespread starvation, and public health problems. We are all complicit in this death and suffering, perhaps as American Jews especially so. I do not know what to do about it.
Tess Owen wrote for Vice News about Jonathan Greenblatt and Elon Musk, including what ADL staffers and advisory board members think of the whole situation, alongside a dive into Greenblatt's history with the organization and changes therein. See also: Jewish Currents on Yaël Eisenstat, former ADL Center for Technology and Society head, who recently left the org.
Regarding the West Bank, Rob Eshman wrote about "pushkes for Palestine": If Israel won’t help Palestinian olive farmers, American Jews should.
Naomi Klein posted "the jewish parts" of her latest book Doppleganger for free on her website. I have not yet read it, but it is mostly about antisemitism's past and present including regarding Israel/Palestine.
I was pleased to be able to watch the book launch for Shaul Magid's “The Necessity of Exile”, where the author chats with Peter Beinart. You could also check out Emily Tamkin's review in the Forward.
Books and Language
The Babylonian Talmud and Late Antique Book Culture is an open access academic book that looks fascinating, if you're interested in how the talmud fits in the cultural context(s) in which it was produced.
Bayit and author Sally Wiener Grotta are putting together a book of feminist essays on women in the bible, currently funding on kickstarter.
Astonishing: A Wartime Zine Made in 1943-45 by a Jewish Man Hiding From the Nazis: single copy zines surviving decades to digitization is incredible enough, moreso when you consider the context! I love the amazingly creative collage-based covers.
Sami Shalom Chetrit's poem On the way to ‘Ayn Harod was featured in hebrew and english on the LanguageHat blog, complete with a fascinatingly intense comments section I admittedly only understand parts of.
Miscellaneous
I enjoyed reading this Sarah Biskowitz Q&A with Isabel Frey on JWA's blog.
Rabbi Avigayil Halpern published an excerpt from her recent article "Bounded Love: Hilchot Eruvin and Queer Theory in Conversation".
Wayward Children, Jack Zaientz and John Baltisberger's podcast, continues to be weird and jewish!
Classes and events
1/7 Challah for a Ceasefire (zoom registration link)
A Spark of Impenetrable Darkness: Queer Kabbalah for the Revolution class from Elana-June Margolis runs on Sundays in January, so sign up quick if you're interested!
The Torah Studio's classes look wonderful, as always, and are all drop-in (no continuity week-over-week required).
JWA put online their January book talks, including one on 1/18 with Julia Watts Belser in conversation with Judith Plaskow.
1/14 A Medium for the Masses: The Yiddish Press and the Shaping of American Jewish Culture (YIVO symposium)
Growing Today’s Jewish Families: New Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives is a biweekly (every two weeks) series starting Jan 14th aimed at "[a]dults facing social or physical infertility and wrestling with decisions about how to become parents or caregivers." It covers both Personal Journeys Towards Parenthood/Child Rearing and Personal Journeys Growing Up X.
1/18 Two Tribes: The Story behind the Graphic Novel, with Emily Cohen, telling her story of growing up indigenous (Muscogee Nation) and Jewish
1/18 Intro to Demystifying the Jewish Sacred Arts ~ A Virtual Salon about the production of parchment and shofars and vegan tefillin.
The next Shel Maala class The Priests Eat At Midnight will cover the first part of the mishna and will be taught by none other than Binya herself, from January 21-February 18.
The Adamah at Home Winter Series from January 22 through March 4 brings the Adamah Farm Fellowship to, well, people at home.
Aron Wander is teaching on radical politics x traditional judaism in a Hebrew College Open Circle Jewish Learning course (for the general public to take) on 5 Sundays starting 2/25.
The Global Journey of Yiddish Literature taught by Ilan Stavans through the Yiddish Book Center will be going on Wednesdays, March 27 through April 17.
Pet of the Month
Erika's cat Cobweb is pet of the month this time around! a void beauty.
Thank you for reading!
<3
Meli