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
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:
Interview:
This Way to Olam haBa
Song:
“The World is Alive,” by Nomy Lamm for Tu B’Av (originally written as a crush song to a tree)
Mica Amichai (they/them) is a mizrachi/ashkenazi queer nonbinary neurodivergent jewish person living in the bay area. They are deeply connected to the earth and loves gardening, playing with their dogs, birdwatching with friends, and getting far away from roads and electricity. They work hard to infuse urban planning with social justice. Follow them @mica_amichai.
ASL version available at https://youtu.be/rDr1X3Chnbc.
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 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.
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.
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
Convo:
Interview:
This Way to Olam haBa:
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.
This month, Rebekah and Nomy have an extended conversation about time, and pause, and mystical counting practices. Sink in with us and revel in the divine mystery of Iyar.
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
Interview:
This Way to Olam haBa
Song:
Elana June (she/her)’s life’s work is dedicated to realigning texts and traditions towards healing and collective liberation. Elana June currently lives in Lenapeoking (NY), where she teaches at the Brooklyn Waldorf School and collaborates with a wide and wild web of Queer Jewish Witches and other Wise Ones. Learn more at www.elanajune.com.
Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PzunkdbVA4yrhBChIXY8od06z8POB4t
Show notes:
Adar Convo:
Interview:
This Way to Olam haBa:
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!
Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome
Follow us on instagram @dreamingtheworldtocome
You can find video versions of the podcast at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PzunkdbVA4yrhBChIXY8od06z8POB4t
The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on sale for $18. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/ while supplies last!
Socket Klatzker is a community organizer, trauma therapist, conflict mediator, and workshop facilitator, as well as a fat queer, disabled ritualist who approaches healing with a focus on Refuat Ha Nefesh- the healing of the soul from trauma, grief, conflict, and oppression. They work with various communities that experience trauma as a result of oppression. Socket is passionate about healing with nature, community, and collective liberation. Socket lives with beloved community in rural TN.
http://www.socketklatzker.com/
Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome
You can find video versions of the podcast at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PzunkdbVA4yrhBChIXY8od06z8POB4t
The Indwelling Dreams of Olam haBa planner is on sale for $18. Purchase at https://www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com/ while supplies last!
Show notes:
Intro
Interview:
This Way to Olam haBa
Julianne Gale: https://www.facebook.com/JulianneGaleForWASenate/
My Roots Go Down:
Rebekah and Nomy discuss the formation of the Dreaming the World to Come project, the intentions behind it, and where we are heading now.
Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome
You can find video versions with captions (and ASL on regular monthly episodes) on our youtube channel.
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/
Kohenet Meshacreret Amah (One Who Liberates Her People) aka, YA, (she/her) is from Brooklyn, NY by way of Puerto Rico. She brings 25 + years of experience supporting people at the crossroads of transformation. She creates decolonial frameworks through multidimensional rituals & teachings. Her prophetic practice integrates divination, energy work, mixed media poetry, & herbal medicine. She is a Jewish priestess initiated through the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute. She has been certified in strategies for trauma awareness and resilience by the Center for Justice & Peacebuilding.
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:
Interview:
This Way to Olam haBa:
Song:
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
This month's guest is Yishaq (also known as Yitshaq or Isaac) Ofori Solomon. Yishaq Ofori Solomon (he/him) is an educator, student, writer, and journalist who is a Black African (Beta Yisraelim and Musta’arabi) Queer Jew. They spend much of their time building communities based on solidarity. Here he shares much that is dear to him as a child of intersecting and rich Black, African, and Jewish Diaspora experiences.
Find Yishaq’s writing at https://www.heyalma.com/author/isaac-ofori-solomon/
Join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome
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:
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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