This event will shepherd us into a new week with text study, intentional art-making, and self-reflection. This event will offer opportunities to physically engage with our tradition. Historically, the world of tzitzit [fringes] and tallitot [prayer shawls] has been exclusionary of people with a variety of gender identities, and spiritual technologies are not always accessible or visible as an option to contemporary reconstructionist Jews. Knowing that, this event is designed to center queer and trans Jews, though all are welcome!

After making havdalah and sharing a cozy potluck meal, we will spend time learning texts about tallitot and tzitzit, as well as inviting personal reflections about hiddur mitzvah [beautification of the mitzvah] and prayer practices. The creative practice piece is informed by the Jewish Studio Process for their Arts Beit Midrash. Any and everyone is welcome and desired -- no matter how you relate to Judaism or art. Mordecai Kaplan himself wrote in his diary in 1940, "Every creative act adds to the meaning of life and is a revelation of the Divine."

Funded by Reconstructing Judaism's Auerbach Launch Grant, Léah will, b'ezrat hashem [g?!d willing], be returning to ORH in the spring to continue this learning and practice with a zoom course and another in-person gathering to continue the journey of crafty reclamation of Jewish practice.