@LilahTovMoon@tech.lgbt"Everyone knew Beyle…
People felt weird around her, as though they were neither male nor female…
She was recommended to see a noted professor and under his supervision, Beyle became a man…
And they were no longer Beyle, but Berl"
Trans people have always been here, even in the shtetl
"Welcome to the month of Aries, a powerful time to shape our destiny. Aries marks the beginning of the astrological year, igniting a spark of ambition, courage, and new possibilities. The first 12 days serve as a cosmic blueprint, each one corresponding to the months ahead, offering us daily opportunities to set intentions and plant seeds of positivity for the year to come. This is a time for bold action, fearless leadership, and unwavering determination. Yet, this month also invites us to reflect on the balance between self and others. As we embrace our own ambitions, we are also invited to reflect on how our personal drive can serve a greater purpose. This month, look for ways to align your self-interest with meaningful contribution—always with the consciousness of sharing."
An online class from Ritual Well:
Clearing Your Spiritual Hametz With the Elements
Starting on April 2 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT
Wednesdays, April 2 and 9, 2025
Noon-1:30 p.m. EDT
General Registration $54.00
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
Register: https://ritualwell.org/event/clearing-your-spiritual-hametz-with-the-elements/2025-04-02/
Join The Shalom Center and ALEPH for Renewing Judaism, a 3-part webinar series reflecting on the past, present, and future of Judaism’s renewal, as together we braid anew and again these sacred strands.
Renewing Judaism: Past, Present, & Future - April 27, May 4, May 28
on Zoom - Registration and more information, including a brief history of Aleph, here: https://theshalomcenter.org/renewing-judaism
"Judaism renews itself with each breath. The Name completes itself in every act of justice, every midrash uncovered, every circle that remembers how to sing. And then starts over again.
This is not the end of the story, but a space where something might begin again."
From Hadran:
We’re about to cross the finish line on Masechet Sanhedrin—and yes, we know Pesach prep is in full swing, but this milestone has to be celebrated! Take a well-earned break and join us for an inspiring siyum before the holiday rush takes over.
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/gnW6OLbJTfKuYkOmjcMCPA#/registration
*The siyum will be an hour and ten minutes **Please register to receive your personal event link
If you are in Israel, please join us in Ra'anana or in Modi’in! You can also register to the Hebrew siyum on zoom: https://hadran.org.il/he/siyum/
Join the Workers Circle tonight, Wednesday, March 26, at 7:30 PM ET for a crucial webinar on the threat of religious nationalism to our democracy.
This one-hour conversation will feature Katherine Stewart, award-winning author of Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy, who will reveal how religious nationalism, fueled by disinformation and billionaire funders, is undermining democracy and religious freedom.
Register: https://www.circle.org/events/weaponizing-faith
We are proud to be cosponsoring this webinar hosted by Jews for a Secular Democracy and the Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project, a program of the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center.
For those in SF...Jewish Voices:
Disrupting the White Colonizer Narrative & Reclaiming the Mizrahi Experience in the Fight Against Antisemitism
Wednesday, April 9
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
San Francisco, California
Join us as we welcome 4 internationally-renowned Jewish activists of Syrian, Iraqi and Persian descent. Malka Productions & JIMENA are thrilled to host Matthew Nouriel, Tal Oran, Celine Rouben, and Abraham Hamra for their very first exclusive panel collaboration!
Tix: https://posh.vip/e/jewish-voices-disrupting-the-white-colonizer-narrative
After more than 100 years, Breaking Home Ties is back on the big screen! Long thought lost, the world’s only surviving film print of this independently-made feature was rescued and restored by The National Center for Jewish Film.
Join us for the New England premiere of the new Breaking Home Ties music soundtrack - from Grammy winning musician Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) with Scott Amendola (Charlie Hunter/Amendola Duo) and Reboot Network members Mocean Worker (aka Adam Dorn) and Gretchen Gonzales with additional music from Nels Cline (Wilco) and Yuka Honda. The new score was produced and recorded by Reboot Studios.
Screening Monday, March 31, 7:00 p.m. at the Showcase Superlux Chestnut Hill will be followed by a Q&A with NCJF Directors Sharon Pucker Rivo and Lisa Rivo.
Tix: https://filmfest2025.jewishfilm.org/films/breaking-home-ties-and-child-of-the-ghetto/
"When comedy writer and Reboot friend Rob Kutner decided to write a comedic history of the Jews, The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting, released this week, he figured he had enough experience making depressing political news funny that he could navigate the complicated history.
But then October 7 happened, forcing him to rethink everything. In a blog for Reboot, Kutner explains how he grappled with the new challenge by embracing some advice from his editor: “We’ve been through worse. We’re not going anywhere.” He realized Jews have continued to grow, pivot, and flourish even in the face of every pressure not to."
Buy the Book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-jews-5-000-years-and-counting-rob-kutner/qAUimQvtYT8kDWUo
Read the Article: https://rebooting.com/article/comedy/
"Join us for a free introductory class to Kabbalah.
Each spiritual path is different. You want to walk more authentically through your days. Some benefit from new insight that unblocks them and calls them to change. Some find peace in the community of others seeking spiritual fellowship. Whatever the point of entry, there is meaning and direction to be found in the unseen realm. Kabbalah Experience throws wide that door and extends an invitation to investigate both the material and the spiritual worlds with fresh eyes. Feel the world around you opening up to reveal more opportunities for you and humanity as a whole. There is more to life than what first seems to be the case."
Please join us in person, or connect with ZOOM video conference.
Choose your free class and register here: https://kabbalahexperience.com/free-introduction-to-kabbalah/
Embark on a Transformative Journey
Explore the wisdom of Kabbalah and tap into greater awareness. Kabbalah Experience offers a range of classes to guide you on a path of personal and spiritual growth.
Upcoming Classes: https://kabbalahexperience.com/classes/
"Today, the United States is teetering between a government shutdown or a Continuing Resolution, which would extend the federal funding levels of the 2024 fiscal year until September 2025.
Tomorrow, we will know which way these dynamics will play out because Congress has to decide by midnight tonight. For live updates, go to The Hill website.
Whatever decision is made, there are serious ramifications for funding climate programs. On March 18th, our speaker will explain how the outcome likely will impact climate programs and funding, and what climate activists can do about it."
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/EMh50ricQkq0yIqsUduhRQ#/registration
Please join the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) for a members-only event on Wednesday, March 19, at 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT to discuss the way Democrats are successfully fighting Trump Administration policies and what more can be done. JDCA will be joined by Democratic strategist and Founder of The Hopium Chronicles Simon Rosenberg. The conversation will be moderated by JDCA CEO Halie Soifer.
Register: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jdcamembershipsimonrosenberg?refcode=031225ww
Membership starts at $180 annually or $18 monthly. Learn more about our membership levels here: https://jewishdems.org/membership-levels/
From Savor:
With Purim this week, this month's cooking video comes from Savor co-director Sarah Aroeste as she shows us how to make Dedos de Aman, a sweet treat for the holiday. Phyllo dough is rolled with nuts and cinnamon into long cylinders to look like Haman's fingers!
To go along with the recipe is a Ladino song called Si veriash a la rana- a song about sisters rolling out phyllo dough and frying up a sweet desert together.
The full recipe, song and lyrics can be accessed from the Savor website here - find them by scrolling down to the very last items on the Savor menu!
From Savor: A Sephardic Music & Food Experience
To spread even more Sephardic Purim fun, we hope you enjoy this bonus video, El Dia de Purim, with a holiday song written by Sarah Aroeste!
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thT9MdZIxRU
From the Shalom Center:
This coming Wednesday, March 12th, Rabbi Nate DeGroot will speak with three experts on Christian Nationalism.
Activist, organizer, and facilitator Roan Boucher will give us an overview on what Christian Nationalism is — its history, theology, and present influence. We'll hear from scholar/researcher Alexiana Fry about her experiences growing up in a Christian Nationalist family. And organizer and US Senior Director for Diaspora Alliance Dove Kent will help us understand how Christian Nationalism thinks about Jews, Israel, and anti-Semitism.
Register: https://theshalomcenter.org/events/christian-nationalism?blm_aid=3187713
Before ending, we'll aim to provide attendees with ways to be part of an alternative, irresistible vision of sacred justice that culminates with and necessitates the thriving of all creation.
"We understand the instinct to tune out. This last election was crushing, and every day brings an onslaught of offenses from this White House. Chasing each and every word and action of this president can be exhausting, so instead, focus on whether members of Congress acquiesce to or push back against his demands..."
(See alt test for newsletter highlights.)
Read up on the Jewish Democratic Council of America's policy positions: https://jewishdems.org/our-platform/
Sign up for the newsletter: https://jewishdems.org/
From Beit Toratah:
On Sunday, March 9, Sunday 1-3PM ET. Tamar will lead us in a study of Megillat Mordekhai to get us ready for the celebration.
If you haven’t yet experienced the story of Mordekhai—the young virgin lad, pampered and handed over to Queen Akhashveroshni—and his aunt Esther, who pulls the strings from behind the scenes, this is your chance.
Read the text: https://www.beittoratah.org/mordekhai-scroll
It’s a retelling like no other, and we’d love for you to join us!
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvce6rpz8rG9Tvx1kVeRrk96wucyPJbzMX#/registration
In the Purim story, Esther doubts she has what it takes to save the Jewish people — until she decides to take action anyway. What can we learn in our own time about stepping up in a time of peril, even when we don’t feel ready or qualified?
Stepping Up When It’s Hard: Purim HerTorah: Lessons from Esther for Us Today
Tuesday, March 11th @ 8:15-9:45pm ET on Zoom
Register: https://www.svivah.org/gatherings/hertorah-purim2025
From Rabbi Arthur Waskow's Shalom Center newsletter:
"The Insult that Shattered American History, By Jeffrey Dekro
Last Friday was a hinge-day in observable American history. It was the moment when the US inescapably and willfully changed course and abandoned its traditional embrace of democracy and justice...
Friday, that all changed. In place of our historical values and our official efforts to implement them, that day was when the US President and Vice President passionately embraced worldwide fascism by brutally ambushing and verbally assaulting and betraying Ukraine in front of the entire world. The publicly enacted beat-down was theatrically performed and cheered on by virtually the entire Republican Party establishment..."
Yes, I know substack supports Nazis, but that's the platform the Rabbi has chosen: https://rebarthurwaskow.substack.com/about
Or sign up for the Shalom Center newsletter: https://theshalomcenter.org/newsletter
