Sundays, 1:30-3 p.m. ET
9/14, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, 11/23, and 12/7
Sign-up: here Payment: here
Who is leading this?
This series will be led by Rabbi Jess Belasco, in partnership with their organization, the Disability Justice Torah Circle.
What are these classes about, and who are they for?
We will explore the physicality of the shorashim - the root words - that make up each of the first six parts of the Amidah, to create community-generated somatic options for prayer generated through bodymindspirits of all abilities.
Disabled and chronically ill experiences will be centered; everyone is warmly invited. No Hebrew background needed. Come shape a communal kaleidoscope of embodied prayer, rooted in disability wisdom.
What will happen in each class?
In each session, we will combine havruta (small learning groups) and full group discussion in order to explore the concepts and themes of the Amida as they relate to our own experiences, especially those of disabled and/or otherwise marginalized folks. We will include private reflective/meditative time to feel through how we might embody the prayerful intention of each blessing in our particular bodymindspirits. As a group, we will come away with a collaborative set of options for creative and accessible choreography of the Amidah.
Do I need to come to every session?
The individual sessions in this series are related thematically, but can stand on their own in terms of content and participation. We encourage you to come to as many as you can, as we will be building an arc, but please do feel free to drop in to the sessions that work for your schedule/energy/time/interest.
Logistical details:
Classes are held from 1:30-3 p.m. ET on Sundays this fall. Specific dates include: 9/14, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, 11/23, and 12/7.
These classes are offered on a sliding scale: $18/class is the full pay price; $27-72/class helps us provide scholarships, additional accessibility, and ensure sufficient pay for teachers. $0-17/class are recipients of scholarships. The full, sliding scale for the whole series is $0-504.
How do I sign-up?
Fill out this form, and then use this payment link
Class Descriptions:
Pre-HHD Class (9/14): Dissolving Our Edges: Adonai Sefatai Tiftach:
On the upcoming High Holy Days and beyond, many of us will hold our bodymindspirits in prayer, whether in shul or at home. Before the Amidah, the central prayer in each service, our tradition offers a line to set intention, often translated: Open my lips, God, and let my mouth declare Your praise.
What shifts when we delve deep into each Hebrew word, inviting all its valences and meanings into conversation with the wisdom of our bodies – especially disabled bodies? What possibilities might we discover for the choreography of prayer, beyond “sit/stand/sit”? And what might “Adonai sefatai tiftach…” reveal about the very meaning of prayer itself?
Class 1 (10/26): Avot, Ancestors:
What are we doing when we call on our ancestors in prayer? If we expanded ancestors beyond those named in traditional text, who or what would we call on - and how might that change our prayer?
Class 2 (11/2): Gevurot, Sustenance and Redemption:
What does it mean to pray for sustenance? What does releasing, or freeing, or re-enlivening mean to us and what aspects of it feel right to pray for?
Class 3 (11/9): Kedusha, Holiness:
What does it mean to declare holiness in the world? How does declaring holiness relate to experiencing holiness? Does embodied experience influence how we are able to access or declare holiness?
Class 4 (11/16): Da’at, Awareness:
What forms of knowledge and understanding have we been taught to culturally value, and how does that influence the ways we value ourselves and each other? How does acknowledging many ways of being aware within a single blessing help us unblock pathways to the Divine?
Class 5 (11/23): Teshuva, Return and Repair:
What does it feel like to ask the Divine to bring us close in moments of insecurity and of admitting our own faults? How does it feel to return, to try again, to repair, knowing that we can be held through the process?
Class 6 (12/7): Selicha, Pardon:
What can it mean to let something larger than ourselves hold us in our mistakes? How could this land for marginalized folks, when our bodies may be so accustomed to holding blame and shame? How might our actions towards repair (teshuva) be different if we feel held in the work of radical honesty before the Divine?