Dreaming the World to Come

Melissa Nussbaum Freeman (she/her/goddexx) is a Queer, Sefardi/Ashkenazi, self-loving, anti-zionist abolitionist, who uses theater, art and ritual to stir the good-trouble pot as often as possible. Passion is her motor; her backup engine is a wild belief in the change that moves towards justice. melissa@jvp.org www.tinyurl.com/melissanussbaumfreeman.

You can find a version of this episode with ASL at https://youtu.be/mk9yg5Wh8Mo.

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This podcast episode was edited by Kim Wayman and Nomy Lamm.

Elul convo:

• Leil S’lichot: Evening of Supplication, the point in the month of Elul when some communities begin reciting the S’lichot prayers, asking for forgiveness

• Queer post-Soviet maker of shofarot: @zhyd0vka 

• Tefillin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUsDP1PqVZw

• Al Nes: For the Miracle We Have Enlivened https://rebekaherevstudio.com/blog/2020/10/2/al-nes-for-the-miracle-we-enlivened

• T’shuvah: Often translated as Repentance, it literally means return, as in return to wholeness.

Interview:

• Jewish Voice for Peace Havurah network: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/havurah-network/

• Taproot: https://www.taprootcommunity.org/

This way to Olam haBa:

• Stolen Beam: https://ikar.org/sermons/our-country-was-built-on-a-stolen-beam-the-call-for-a-national-reckoning/

Song:

• Lulei Hemanti is the last two lines from psalm 27, which is traditional to recite every day of Elul.

Jna Shelomith (she/her) grew up sporadically homeless in a family that spoke six different languages, with Jewish roots in Morocco and Russia. A writer at the intersection of Arabic (created to share sacred stories) and Riot Grrrl (created for punk rock feminist expression), she works with Mizna, an Arab/Muslim arts-journal. For pay, Jna focuses on community engagement and systems change addressing complex challenges impacting communities on Dakota Land/Twin Cities, Minnesota. Singing with groups and smashing white-supremacy -patriarchy are her happy places. Follow her @jnagillis.

ASL version available at: https://youtu.be/3nanQ0o7vd4.

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The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on bargain basement sale for $5. Purchase at www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com while supplies last!

This podcast episode was edited by Kim Wayman and Nomy Lamm.

SHOW NOTES:

• Eicha/Lamentations: https://www.sefaria.org/Lamentations
• Lamentations for the destruction of Palestine: https://tinyurl.com/NakbaLamentations5783
• Seven weeks of consolation: https://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/seven-weeks-of-consolation/
• Beshert: meant-to-be

Interview:

• Mizna: https://mizna.org/
• Tikkun olam: Healing and Repairing the World
• Mimouna: A traditional Maghrebi Jewish celebration dinner, originating in Morocco, that takes place the day after Pesach. 
• Jewcy: A network of young leftist Jews that held gatherings in the early 2000’s.
• Rabbi Arthur Waskow: An author, activist and rabbi associated with the Jewish Renewal movement.
• Riot Grrrl: A grassroots network and support system for feminists in the punk scene that began in the early nineties.
• Nigun: Wordless melody

This Way to Olam haBa

• http://sacredsea.org
• More about Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut:
• https://grist.org/fix/opinion/lummi-nation-southern-resident-killer-whale-salish-sea-return/
• https://sacredsea.org/skalichelhtenaut/
• https://vimeo.com/446827572
• https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/

Song: 

“The World is Alive,” by Nomy Lamm for Tu B’Av (originally written as a crush song to a tree)

ASL version available at https://youtu.be/rDr1X3Chnbc.

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The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on bargain basement sale for $5. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/ while supplies last!

This podcast episode was edited by Kim Wayman and Nomy Lamm.

• Mariame Kaba, We Do This Til We Free Us https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1664-we-do-this-til-we-free-us
• Keffiyeh - traditional scarf worn by many people in the so-called Middle East and also worn as a symbol of support for Palestinian liberation
• ISM - International Solidarity Movement https://palsolidarity.org/
• Women in Black https://womeninblack.org/
• Drash - shortened form of “midrash” used broadly nowadays to refer to any written or verbal commentary on Torah/scripture
• Sefer Yetzirah - “Book of Creation” and the earliest known written text on Jewish mysticism
• Gadol - Hebrew word that can mean an influential thinker or spiritual leader (used to describe revered Rabbis)
• Find more about the work of Michaela Harris, the whale whisperer, at https://www.michaelaharrison.org/
• El Segundo blue butterflies - https://xerces.org/endangered-species/species-profiles/el-segundo-blue

Never Angeline Nꙩrth (she/her), is an agender author, artist, and musician living in Olympia, WA. Her creative book-length works include Sea-Witch, Careful Mountain, and Sara or the Existence of Fire. Find her online at https://never.horse/.

ASL version coming soon.

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The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on super mega-sale for $18. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/ while supplies last!

This podcast episode was edited by Kim Wayman and Nomy Lamm

Convo:

• Dori Midnight: a friend, collaborator and teacher, abolitionist, liturgist, and magical Jewish witch. Learn more: https://dorimidnight.com/
• Tree of Life: a cultural symbol throughout the world, here we are referencing a kabbalistic diagram of the many faces of the divine.
• Sefer Yetzirah: a very early Jewish mystical text from around the 4th century CE.
• Shekhinah: the Indwelling Presence of god in the physical world.
• Asherah Pole: a pre-Israelite symbol of the goddess, a tree or pole
• Ketubah: Jewish marriage contract
• B’rit Ahuvim: Lover’s covenant, an alternative to the Ketubah

Interview:

• Significance of the number 18: in gematria/Jewish numerology, 18 corresponds with the word chai which means life.
• Shavuot: The Festival of Revelation on the 6th of Sivan
• Isaac Luria: A rabbi who lived in Safed in the 16th century, he is known as the father of modern kabbalah
• Shabbos Bride: Shabbat is often compared to a bride or a queen (shabbos is the Ashkenazi/Yiddish pronunciation), who comes to join us and gives us an extra soul for the 25 hours of Shabbat
• The Dybbuk: a Yiddish play by S. Ansky written in 1914, about a bride who becomes possessed by the ghost of her beshert (meant-to-be love) on the day of her wedding.
• Dysphoria: discomfort, distress, dis-ease
• Sephirot: emanations of the divine on the kabbalistic tree of life

This Way to Olam haBa:

• Anti-trans bills: https://translegislation.com/
• Generation Alpha: 
• https://www.tiktok.com/@davidbowieshousewife/video/7214557539453635883
• https://www.tiktok.com/@cllr.little.brighouse/video/7214988473428675845
• https://twitter.com/BrokenAngel85/status/1648184015248138240
• How to fight back:
• https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzge5/how-to-fight-anti-trans-bills-legislation-united-states-activism⁠
• Support Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/
• Support Transgender Law Center: ⁠https://transgenderlawcenter.org/support/⁠

Song:

• This is a new song that wormed its way into the world throughout the Omer counting period, just in time for Shavuot! For now it’s called the Ophanim song, in reference to biblical angels as described in Ezekiel. 

ASL version available at https://youtu.be/vim8dh5DghI.

Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PzunkdbVA4yrhBChIXY8od06z8POB4t

The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on super mega-sale for $18. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/ while supplies last!

This podcast episode was edited by Kim Wayman and Nomy Lamm

Show notes: 

• Erika Davis: Find out more about her work and how to access her classes at wholebodypregnancy.com, 

• Dreaming the World to Come Resources: https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/resources

• Shavuot: Festival of Revelation, when all Jews who ever were or ever would be were at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah

• Counting the Omer: The 49 day period between the second night of Pesach and Shavuot, marking the journey from Liberation to Revelation. The kabbalists created a mystical counting practice using the tree of life that many people have been connecting with in recent years. 

• Pesach Sheni: Exactly one month after the day before Pesach, known as the “second chance holiday,” for those who didn’t bring an offering to the temple on Pesach

• Chometz: Any leavened bread or crumbs that need to be cleared out for Pesach

• Sephirot: Emanations of the Divine on the tree of life

• Kabbalistic Tree of Life: A Jewish mystical diagram showing relationships between different faces of god; a map between the physical world and its source

• Elana June: Follow her on instagram @madamfullsharge for Omer insights

• Chesed: A sephirot/emanation of the divine that corresponds with Heart Expansion and compassion

• Zohar: The most famous kabbalistic text, you can download the whole thing at https://www.kabbalah.info/engkab/the-zohar/download-the-zohar#.ZDIxhezMJcg

• Hillulah: Pilgrimage to a holy person’s gravesite

• Bibliomancy: A form of divination that uses a book as a channel for wisdom and intuition

• Shlissel challah: A key-shaped challah made on the shabbat following Pesach. 

• Jewish Magic & Healing Arts online class with Rebekah Erev: https://rebekaherevstudio.com/introduction-to-jewish-magic-healing-arts

  Song: What Wondrous Love is This is a hymn that was taught to Nomy by Lizzie Salsich, a Christian mystic. It has been through many reinterpretations to find this form.

Mazal Masoud Etedgi (they/them/theirs) is a trans/non-binary artist, arab/mizrahi/amazigh jew, first-gen, spoonie/chronically ill person, herbalist, Drama Therapist, clown, and cultural organizer. Maz utilizes imagination, play, and ritual as tools for liberation, healing and connection. You can find their herbal medicine apothecary at bsamimapothecary.com and @bsamim.apothecary

Special extra-long episode in honor of Passover! 

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ASL version available at ⁠https://youtu.be/Zq7Y1tOK2CQ⁠!

The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on super mega-sale for $18. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/ while supplies last!

This podcast episode was edited by Kim Wayman and Nomy Lamm

Intro

• Omer Oracle: Collaboration between Nomy Lamm & Taya Mâ Shere, www.OmerOracle.com
• Corina Dross: ⁠https://corinadross.com/⁠

Interview:

• Taya: Taya Mâ Shere, http://taya.ma/
• Masorti: Israeli equivalent of the US-based conservative Judaism movement.
• Cis: Folks whose gender identities align with their gender assignment at birth
• Ibrahim Baba: Sheikh Dr. Ibrahim Baba Farajaje, https://www.ibrahimbaba.org/
• Trope: Markings that indicate how to chant the words of Torah
• Kohenet: https://kohenet.org/
• Makam Shekhina: http://makamshekhina.com/
• JVP: Jewish Voice for Peace, https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
• BIJOCSM: Black, Indigenous, Jews of Color, Sephardi & Mizrahi

This Way to Olam haBa

• Olive on the seder plate: https://www.haggadot.com/clip/olive-seder-plate-7
• Orange on the seder plate: https://www.keshetonline.org/resources/an-orange-on-the-seder-plate
• Elliot Kukla: https://elliotkukla.com/
• Christine Miserandino/Spoon Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn5IBsm49Rk
• Disability Justice Haggadah Insert: https://www.narrowbridgecandles.org/products/haggadah-supplements

Song:

• Mi Chamocha, to the tune of Elohai Neshama by the Chloe Pourmorady Ensemble. Sung by Mazal Masoud Etedgi.

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Show notes:

Adar Convo:

• Hamentashen: A sugar cookie folded into a triangle with a jam filling. Poppy seed, prune, and apricot are common fillings. The triangle shape is said to resemble Haman's ears or hat.
• Divine feminine: The vulva shape is often used as a representation of goddess energy. We looove this sacred and maligned body part, while recognizing that not all women have vulvas, and not all people with vulvas are women.
• Purim spiels: Plays or performances that tell some version of the Purim story, often with references and allegories to current events. “Spiel” is Yiddish. "Purim play" is a more inclusive way to say it.
• Vashti’s tail: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/85881?lang=bi
• Queen of Nettles: The Talmudic rabbis compared Vashti to nettles, as an insult, but Rebekah has reclaimed Vashti as Queen of Nettles. Nutritious, boundaried, and supporting us in our own boundary-setting.
• Mordecai breast-feeding Esther: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/263938?lang=bi
• Book of Esther: Also known as the “megilla” (scroll), this story is told on Purim. Megillat Esther is included in Ketuvim (“Writings”), sacred texts that post-date the Torah. It tells the story of a Jewish woman named Esther who becomes the Queen of Persia, and averts a genocide of her people.
• Netivah: A Hebrew Priestess archetype
• Leitzanit: Sacred Fool
• 18/chai: In gematria, which is a form of kabbalistic numerology, the number 18 corresponds to the word Chai, which means Life.

Interview:

• JFREJ: Jews for Economic and Racial Justice, https://www.jfrej.org/
• Albany landfill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_Bulb
• Haggadah: A booklet used to lead the Passover Seder. Creating our own haggadot is a time-honored tradition, especially for feminists, queers, and other Jews reinterpreting the story of liberation.

This Way to Olam haBa:

• Ravyn Wngz:
  • https://www.artistsinpresidents.com/ravyn-wngz
  • https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/as-a-queer-trans-and-afro-indigenous-woman-i-believed-that-i-could-never-be-a-representative-of-black-liberation/
  • https://www.instagram.com/p/CC5CFNHhL24/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again
  • Follow Ravyn Wngz: @ravynwngz
  • Buy the Sins Invalid Coloring Book: tinyurl.com/SinsShopping
  • Follow Syrus Marcus Ware: @syrusmarcus
  • Follow Sins Invalid: @sinsinvalid

Song:

Makht Oyf: Yiddish Purim song. You can hear a historical recording of it here: https://ruthrubin.yivo.org/items/show/2042. You can find the lyrics here: http://www.jewishfolksongs.com/en/makht-oyf

Here is a little taste of Adar energy. The Leitzanit (Sacred Fool archetype) has been f-ing with us leading up to Adar, so we are releasing this mini-episode now, and will release the full episode in time for Purim, in a couple weeks. Thank you to Elana June for this interview, what a joy to collaborate with her again. To learn more about Elana's work, visit www.elanajune.com or follow her on instagram @madamfullcharge. Tune in in a couple weeks for the full episode! 

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http://www.socketklatzker.com/

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The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on sale for $18. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/ while supplies last!

Show notes:

Intro

• Tu B’Shvat: 15th of Shvat, the New Year of Trees, taking place on the full moon
• Asherah Pole: A sacred tree or pole used in ancient Canaanite religious practice to honor the goddess Asherah
• Tree of Life: An archetype that is central to many worldwide spiritual practices. In Judaism it often refers to the Torah, or the kabbalistic Tree of Life.
• Sefirot: The emanations of the divine which are mapped on the kabbalistic Tree of Life
• Plant a Tree in Israel: A program of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). More info here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CY2Hck2vmvs/
• 4 worlds: Kabbalistic realms dividing the Tree of Life into levels corresponding with the four elements.
  • Assiyah: The World of Action, related to Earth and the body.
  • Yetzirah: The World of Formation, related to Water and emotions.
  • Briah: The World of Creation, related to Air and the mind.
  • Atzilut: The World of Emanation, related to Fire and the spirit.
• Klipot: Hebrew for “husks” or “shells,” referring to barriers between ourselves and the light of creation.

Interview:

• Imbolc: A traditional Gaelic festival celebrated on February 1, marking the beginning of spring and the rising of sap in the trees.
• Refuat ha Nefesh: Healing of the soul.
• Yiddishe Neshama: Jewish soul.
• Siddur: Prayer book.
• AFAB: Assigned Female At Birth.
• Fumbling Towards Repair: A workbook for Community Accountability Facilitators, by Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan https://just-practice.org/fumbling-towards-repair
• Chevra kadisha: Jewish burial society, which prepares bodies of the deceased according to Jewish tradition.
• Mikveh: Jewish ritual cleansing. Check out the Queer Mikveh Project, https://www.instagram.com/queermikvehproject/?hl=en
• Pale of Settlement: A territory within the borders of czarist Russia where Jews were allowed to live between the early 1700’s and World War II.

This Way to Olam haBa

Julianne Gale: https://www.facebook.com/JulianneGaleForWASenate/

My Roots Go Down:

• Nomy sings a reinterpretation of Sarah Pirtle’s “My Roots Go Down." Learn more here: https://sarahpirtle.com/hope-sings/my-roots-go-down.htm
• The raven calling in the background throughout the song is real. Thanks for the duet, raven!

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The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on super mega-sale for $18 until we're sold out. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/

www.TheHouseofLiberation.com, 

www.Patreon.com/TheHouseofLiberation

@thehouseofliberation

Join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome

You can find video versions with captions and ASL on our youtube channel. Thank you Erin Sanders-Sigmon and Idy Fass for doing the ASL this month!!!

Starting 1 Tevet, the Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on super mega-sale for $18!!!! Purchase at www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com

Show Notes

Tevet Conversation:

• Tevet: the fourth month of the Hebrew year
• Queen Tzimtzimai: a mysterious character mentioned one time in the Babylonian Talmud, said to have saved the only remaining piece of cinnamon bark in her storehouses
• Tzimtzum: the contracting/expanding nature of god, from kabbalistic teachings, said to have contracted at the beginning of time in order to make room for creation
• Judith/Yehudit: a woman warrior from the second temple period, who took decisive action to behead the general who threatened her people’s existence. From the Apocrypha.
• Chag HaBanot/Festival of Daughters: A north African festival celebrated on Rosh Chodesh Tevet, the seventh night of Chanukah.

Interview:

• Boricua: a term referring to people of Puerto Rican heritage, honoring the island’s indigenous Taíno heritage. Borikén was the original name of the Taíno population before Spanish conquistadors showed up.
• Nuyorican: a term referring to Puerto Ricans living in the New York area.
• T’shuvah: return
• Shomer Shabbat: “keeper of the sabbath” - in an orthodox sense, one who observes all the rules for observing Shabbat
• Lech Lecha: A Torah portion in which god tells Abraham to “go forth” or “go to yourself.”
• Halachah: Literally, “the way,” this refers to laws and ordinances that have evolved to regulate religious observance and daily Jewish life

This Way to Olam haBa:

• Shatzi Weisberger: the “people’s bubbe,” Shatzi died on Dec 1, 2022 at the age of 92. Learn more at https://www.autostraddle.com/shatzi-weisberger-the-peoples-bubbie-dies-at-92/

Song:

• Deep Watery Blue, written by Erin Daly. See a video of Erin and Nomy performing this song together in 2012 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F-t1NlMapc. Hear more of Erin and Nomy’s music at https://doublehug.bandcamp.com/album/songs-and-spells-for-decolonizing-bodies

Hadar Cohen (she/her) is a Mizrahi feminist multi-media artist, healer and educator. She is a Jewish mystic who works to build decolonial frameworks for worshiping God. Hadar teaches Jewish scripture and embodied practices through her own mystical devotional school called Malchut. She is an artist and her mediums include performance, movement, writing, weaving, sound and ritual. Check out her work at hadarcohen.me and @hadarcohen32.

Join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome

You can find a video version with captions on our youtube channel. ASL version coming soon. 

The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is now on sale for $36 - makes a great Chanukah gift! Purchase at www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com

Show notes:

Kislev: The third month in the Hebrew year. Kislev means Pocket Heart. ❤️

Learn more about Sheikh Dr. Ibrahim Baba Farajaje at ibrahimbaba.org

Shavuot: Holiday in the Hebrew month of Sivan that commemorates receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai

Moda Ani: The feminized Hebrew for Modeh Ani, the prayer that is said upon waking.

Rabbi Jill Hammer is an author, teacher, and one of the founders of the Kohenet Institute. One of her many books is called Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreams. https://shop.ayinpress.org/products/undertorah

Jonah Aline Daniel is a Jewish chandler and ritualist who wrote about Kislev in the first planner that we made. Learn more about Jonah’s work at www.narrowbridgecandles.org

Interview with Hadar Cohen—

Hazan: Spiritual Prayer Leader, cantor

Sephardim: Jews from the Mediteranean including parts of northern Africa and southern Europe.

Allepo: City in Syria, Jews lived there from as early as the 5th century

Ladino: Language of Sephardim, primarily Old Spanish with elements from other old romance languages and enriched by Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic.

Kabbalah / Kabbalists: Literally meaning “Receiving,” a Jewish mystical tradition developed in 12th century Spain. Drawing upon earlier mystical traditions including the Sefer Yetzirah, it offers a tree of life with ten unique “emanations” or sephirot that map between the eternal source and the material world. Kabbalists also use the Hebrew letters and Gematria to make meaning and see into deeper layers of everyday ideas and events.

Mizrahim: Literally meaning “east,” can refer to Jews from Mesopatamea and parts of northern Africa. While it was originally coined as a derogatory term in the 50’s, it has been reclaimed by many Arab Jews as a political identity.

Knesset: legislative state body of Israel

IDF: Israel Defense Forces

Neviah: the Prophetess/Prophetexx archetype. “Hadar HaNeviah shel Shechinah” means “Hadar, the Prophetess of god’s Indwelling Presence.”

Olive Meditation and This Way to Olam HaBa —

The state of Israel has uprooted tens of thousands of olive trees, in part to build the Apartheid wall in the West Bank and to build illegal (by international standards) settlements. Let’s call in the essence of Olive and annoint ourselves in community to do this reparative work:

Donate to: tinyurl.com/plantanolivetree

Tzedakah: often translated as “charity,” the root word actually means “justice”

Double chai: The number 18 is associated with the Hebrew word “chai” which means life. 36 = double chai.

“To Know the Dark” is a poem by Wendell Berry, music by Katie Hicks

Find Yishaq’s writing at https://www.heyalma.com/author/isaac-ofori-solomon/

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Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PzunkdbVA4yrhBChIXY8od06z8POB4t

Show Notes:

High Holidays or High Holy Days - Holidays that mark the beginning of the Jewish year, including Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), as well as Sukkot (Harvest Festival), Shemini Atzeret (day after Sukkot), and Simchat Torah (where we roll the Torah back to the beginning).

Slow down  / The Mother's Response - song by Riv Shapiro, https://soundcloud.com/user-828425998/slow-down-the-mothers-response

Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement, many Jews observe by fasting for 25 hours, praying for forgiveness and to be written in “The Book of Life” for the coming year.

Sukkot - A joyous harvest festival that lasts for 8 days, when many Jews build a temporary outdoor structure called a Sukkah. Prayers for rain are traditional during this time, and it is also traditional to invited the “ushpizim” or beloved ancestors into the Sukkah to join in the celebration

TIshrei - The first month of the Jewish calendar, during which the High Holy Days occur.

Cheshvan - The second month of the Jewish calendar.

Sigd - "Day of Prostration," Beta Yisrael holiday on the last day of Cheshvan.

Ashkenazi - A term referring to diasporic Jews who trace their lineage back to medieval Jewish communities in the west of Germany, or eastern Europe.

Nun - The fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, pronounced like the English letter “n”

Nes נס - Hebrew word meaning “miracle”

Beta Yisrael - also known as “House of Israel” or “Community of Israel,” or Ethiopian Jews who lived for many centuries between the modern-day Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia, most of whom immigrated to Israel in the late 20th century.

Ashkenormativity - The centering and privileging of Jews of Eastern European descent

Maghreb - The western part of North Africa and the Arab world, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia

Qessim - the Kohenim of Beta Yisrael

Nusach - language or tunes of specific lineage of prayer

SWANA - a decolonial word for the South West Asian/ North African region in place of “Middle East,” “Near East,” “Arab World,” or “Islamic World” (swanaalliance.com)

Karaites - a pre-rabbinic Jewish people largely from Egypt and Iraq

B'nei anusim - the children of the Jews forced to convert to Christianity during the insquisition

Conversos - (see above)

Am Yisrael - People of Israel

"Wise Ones," song written by Natanya Apfelbaum. You can find a recording of the original version on the  Ancestralization album, track 20:

https://jewishancestralhealing.bandcamp.com/album/ancestralization

In this kick-off episode, our guest is Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, contributor for the month of Tishrei. Lukaza (They/She) is an artist, activist, educator, storyteller & curator who is based between Ohlone Land [Oakland, CA] and Powhatan Land [Richmond,VA]. Their work has been exhibited/performed at museums, galleries, homes and in the streets. Lukaza has their BFA from California College of the Arts and MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. www.lukazabranfmanverissimo.com

Watch this episode with captions and/or ASL: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PzunkdbVA4yrhBChIXY8od06z8POB4t

Olam HaBa - “The World to Come”

Tishrei - The first month of the Hebrew calendar.

Rosh Chodesh - “Head of the month,” the first day of a new moon cycle and beginning of a new month in the Hebrew calendar.

Learn more: https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/rosh-chodesh

Days of Awe - The ten days between Rosh Hashanah, the first of the year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, sometimes referred to as days of repentance and renewal.

Sukkah - A temporary structure built for the week of Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival

Lulav - A bundle of three small tree branches or boughs used in traditional Sukkot ritual

Find Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo’s work at their website:

www.lukazabranfmanverissimo.com

The Sunday School that Lukaza went to is the Sholem School. You can find out about what the school is up to currently at their website:

https://www.sholem.org/

Sefer Yetzirah - The “Book of Creation,” a mystical text likely dating back to 400-600 CE and considered by many the foundational text for Jewish mysticism.

Learn more about plant associations for each month: https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/plant-associations

The estuary that is being restored in Olympia is the Deschutes Estuary.

Learn more: https://deschutesestuary.org/

The song "Creation" is by Taya Mâ Shere, www.taya.ma

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