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Synagogues Rising

@synagoguesrising

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WE ARE A NATIONAL NETWORK of multiracial synagogues grounded in Jewish spiritual practice, ancestral wisdom, community care, and movements for justice

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We're excited to once again co-host SOULFUL JEWISH LIVING with our fellow Synagogues Rising communities (listed below)

If you're looking for a values-aligned, online "Intro to Judaism" course to prepare you for conversion, adult b'mitzvah, or just learning lishmah (for its own sake) – this course is for you!

@hinenubaltimore
@kadima_seattle
@kehillasynagogue
@kolotchayeinu
@koltzedek
Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue
@newsynagogueproject
@orshalomsf
@shirtikvahmn
@tchiyah by @synagoguesrising

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18 days ago

As we approach Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Rabbis for Ceasefire is here to support you in having a meaningful High Holidays experience in a congregation that is forwarding liberatory Judaism.

Find a liberatory Jewish community to join for High Holy Days services: LINK IN BIO

This year has been harrowing - neighbors being kidnapped from our streets in the U.S., ongoing genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, war in Lebanon and Iran. Violence and uncertainty prevails. And, there is an incredible sea change taking place in everyday people’s refusal of authoritarianism and business as usual. This High Holidays, find a place to gather and pray that will support you to engage in sacred repair and transformation toward liberation for all people, including Palestinians.

This Open Communities High Holiday directory lists dozens of Jewish communities (congregations, havurahs, minyans), all of them eager to warmly welcome you, exactly as you are. These services represent a range of religious denominations and approaches to Israel/Palestine; some are affiliated with major Jewish movements and some are independent; some have large clergy teams and some are lay-led; some hold specific perspectives on Zionism and anti-Zionism and some have a range of progressive political orientations. We hope that the variety of offerings – close to home and international, in-person and virtual – will allow you to connect with services that suit your spiritual needs.

We are continuing our partnership with the Jews for Food Aid for People in Gaza campaign and the Gaza Soup Kitchen and are encouraging everyone to give tzedakah this High Holidays to feed Palestinians in Gaza. Our goal is to raise $180,000 this High Holiday season through our collective efforts. The cost of the Gaza Soup Kitchen’s operations is $15,000 per day to run seven kitchens throughout Gaza. Together we can ensure that the kitchens are functional every day of aseret yimei teshuvah, the ten days of repentance.

G’mar chatima tova — may we all be inscribed for life. by @synagoguesrising

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2 months ago

The High Holidays have a way of stoking folks' pintele yid ("Jewish spark"), inspiring them to seek more Jewish learning, exploration and expression... 💫

Fortunately, we have just the course to scratch this itch: an online Intro to Judaism collaboration with fellow @synagoguesrising shuls

@kehillasynagogue
@shirtikvahmn
@newsynagogueproject
@tchiyah by @synagoguesrising

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a year ago

I’m so excited to join Kol Tzedek next week on Thursday, May 15, to talk about the role of Jewish communities in the fight against American fascism.
🔗Register at the zoom link in bio

May 15 is Nakba Day, and also the one year anniversary of my resignation from the Biden administration. A day that was chosen intentionally to highlight the connection of the Nakba with other catastrophes that Jewish communities have faced in the past specifically the show up and to emphasize that our role as Jews is to fight against oppression whenever and wherever we see it, especially Jewish supremacy.

Our Jewish institutions are more important than ever right now. We need Jewish institutions across the United States to stand up to the Trump administration and push back against the continued genocide of people in Gaza, and the deportations, cuts to education funding in the United States here in the name of Jewish safety, and the rising Christian nationalism that threatens every single one of us — especially Jewish communities.

Join us on Thursday to talk about how we can build power, what our specific role is as Jews right now, and how we can win a shared future for everyone by @synagoguesrising

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a year ago

The story of Purim tells us about a world turned upside down, where power is given to those who would abuse it and the fate of the most vulnerable hangs by a thread. In the face of this reality (which feels a lot like our reality today), our tradition responds – not with hopelessness or despair, but with action. There are four mitzvot of Purim: to remember our story, to nourish each other, to carve out space for joy, and to take care of those on the margins. The latter, called matanot la’evyonim, is a way of remembering our power to care for and lift up other people – even if just a little bit. This holiday, we invite you to contribute to the Palestine Emergency Fund. In this moment, every dollar counts.

LINK IN BIO

About the Palestine Emergency Fund:

Grassroots International’s Palestine Emergency Fund moves 100% of donations to trusted community-led organizations throughout Palestine, building on a 40-year legacy of partnering with local human rights defenders and providers of community-based emergency relief. The work of Grassroots International’s partners is born of an unwavering commitment to self-determination, justice, and liberation. As Israeli state and settler violence intensifies in the West Bank, uncertainty looms over the Gaza ceasefire, and global powers seek to control its reconstruction, the Palestine Emergency Fund is supporting efforts that are led by Palestinians and are for Palestinians.

LINK IN BIO by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago

Rabbis for Ceasefire invites you to: Celebrate Purim at events with our Open Communities Directory

ALL LINKS IN BIO by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago

For tonight—

Candle 8: Zichronam livracha: In remembrance of those who have been killed

We demand God’s attention. The death of babies, of children, of whole families, with no one left to mourn, demand Your attention. We cry out, we insist You attend, we demand You remember.

We insist on humanity, on remembering each life and love and face and eyes. Remembering, we still stretch to sing for peace. Real peace, not the pablum of the greeting card or the holiday sign. Oseh shalom: God, please!

Let the memory of the ones who have died be a blessing. Let it be a blessing of hope, of renewed energy for the push ahead, of a new idea occurring to a leader focused only on war and violence, of thousands more recognizing what we have come to know and joining our call. May the memories of every person killed be a blessing to all who loved them and may we honor their memories by acting for lasting peace and justice.

Oseh Shalom
liturgy from the siddur
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjQHRMRott4

עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ
וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל
וְאִמְרוּ: אָמֵן

Oseh shalom bimromav
Hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu
V’al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvei tevel
V’imru: amen.

May the One who creates peace on high bring peace to us and to all Israel, and to all people on earth. And we say: Amen.

Graphic design: Jett George @ilovewhatimade

Full companion- LINK IN BIO. by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago

For tonight—

Candle 7: Pikuach nefesh: Protect Every Life

Saving a life supersedes all other Jewish laws. Pikuach nefesh, the obligation to save lives, is about protecting lives now and in the future. We insist that we cannot bomb our way to safety. The only path to lasting peace begins with a ceasefire. We then must address the underlying conditions that dehumanize Palestinians and put both Palestinians and Israelis at risk. May we recommit towards a world where every life is seen and treated as precious.

Healing Is Possible

by Orion Johnstone
https://soundcloud.com/user-478813445/healing-is-possible-by-orion-johnstone

Healing is possible, May it be so
Healing is happening, May it be so

And we believe, What we need most
Are the hearts of each other, Right here

Transformation is possible… Liberation is possible… Ceasefire is possible

Graphic design: Jett George @ilovewhatimade

Full companion- LINK IN BIO. by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago

For tonight-

Candle 6: Matir asurim: Free the Captive

Everyday in our liturgy we pray for all those who are in captivity to be set free. We pray for the release of all those held unjustly in Israeli prisoners, including children held without trial. We pray for the release of hostages still held in Gaza. May we work towards a future where all people are free.

Healing Song
by Kestrel Feiner-Homer
https://soundcloud.com/user-478813445/healing-song-by-kestrel-feiner-homer

We sing you healing
We sing you care
We sing you justice
We sing you prayer

אל נא רפא נא לה ,אל נא רפא נא לה
El na refa na la, el na refa na la by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago

For tonight—

Candle 5: B’tzelem elohim: Human Dignity

All humans, in the Jewish understanding, are made b’tzelem elohim, in the image of God. Living into that truth is a core spiritual obligation of Judaism. But we live in a world in which Palestinian lives are not treated as sacred. While we grieve every human life lost over the past 14 months, we cannot ignore the imbalance in numbers and attention paid to the hundreds of Israeli lives lost on October 7 and the tens of thousands of Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese lives lost before and since. We cannot ignore that Israel was charged with genocide by the ICJ. We cannot ignore the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians killed in brutal Israeli occupation and cannot ignore the occupation’s escalating brutality now. Israeli deaths have long been used to justify the killing of Palestinians. All life is sacred. And we must continue to insist on it. May we see the divine in all human beings and may we fight for the dignity of all people.

I am Open and I am Willing
by Holly Near
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkGk5maD8Q

Chorus:
I am open and I am willing. For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us. So lift me up to the light of change.
There is hurting in my family. There is sorrow in my town.

There is panic in the nation. There is wailing the whole world round. (Chorus)
May the children see more clearly. May the elders be more wise.

May the winds of change caress us. Even though it burns our eyes. (Chorus)
Give me a mighty oak to hold my confusion. Give me a desert to hold my fears.

Give me a sunset to hold my wonder. Give me an ocean to hold my tears. (Chorus)

Graphic design: Jett George @ilovewhatimade

Full companion- LINK IN BIO. by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago

For tonight—

Candle 4: L’dor va-dor: From Generation to Generation

The ancient rabbis celebrated the menorah’s one night of oil lasting eight nights as the central miracle of the holiday, rather than the militarism of the Maccabees who can be seen as religious extremists. They helped shape our tradition by uplifting a story of hope and faith over the valorization of militarism. We carry that same obligation today. May we honor our ancestors as we fight for a future worthy of the coming generations.

Ma’oz Tzur
13th century Hanukkah piyyut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh9mujOkd7Q

מָעוֹז צוּר יְשׁוּעָתִי, לְךָ נָאֶה לְשַׁבֵּחַ
תִּכּוֹן בֵּית תְּפִלָּתִי, וְשָׁם תּוֹדָה נְזַבֵּחַ.
לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּחַ מִצָּר הַמְנַבֵּחַ.
אָז אֶגְמוֹר בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹר חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.

Ma’oz Tzur Yeshu’ati, lekha na’eh leshabe’ah.
Tikon beit tefilati, vesham toda nezabe’ah.
Le’et takhin matbe’ah mitzar hamnabe’ah.
Az egmor beshir mizmor hanukat hamizbe’ah.

Rock of Ages let our song
Praise your saving power
You amidst our raging foes
Were our sheltering tower
Furious they assailed us
But Your arm availed us
And Your word broke their sword
When our own strength failed us

Graphic design: Jett George @ilovewhatimade

Full companion- LINK IN BIO. by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago

For tonight—
Candle 3: Eizeh hu gibor? Who is courageous?

In Pirkei Avot the sages asked “eizeh hu gibor? Who is courageous?” They answered with a quote from Proverbs: “One that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and One that rules his spirit more than one that takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).” We ask today “who is courageous?” and we answer: the one who imagines and takes action toward a different way forward. May we honor the courage of all those working for an enduring and just peace.

Courage
Adapted from the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement, sung as protesters were being taken to jail and as a way to learn people’s’ names in the jail cells. Original song titled “Singing the Spirit Home” written by Australian/Scottish folk singer, Eric Bogle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrCtOa5GvIs

Courage, my friends, you do not walk alone
We will, walk with you, and sing your spirit home

Graphic design: Jett George @ilovewhatimade

Full companion- LINK IN BIO. by @synagoguesrising

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2 years ago