Since Shavuot falls on the day of Philly’s Pride Parade, we felt the need to take the celebration into our own hands and host a queer Shavuot slumber party the week before! We’ve taken the traditional celebration of an excessive amount of cheesecake, floral decorations, and a community wide all-nighter (don’t believe us? Read for yourself!) and added our own queer flair with community-led sessions covering everything from nonbinary Hebrew to a queer interpretation of the Book of Ruth and everything in between!
Come eat cheesecake, rock your Pride onesie (that we all know you own), and learn from other community members about how we can bring more queerness into our Judaism all night long*!
* Until 1 AM
Sessions include:
Be an Ally
Led by Amber Emory
Everyone will make a friendship bracelet that will be shared at random to serve as a reminder that we’re all in this together supporting and advocating for each other. The workshop starts with a free response to the question “What is an ally?” and includes a reading of “I am Human”.
Nishima: Guided Jewish Meditation
Led by Davinica Nemtzow – Tribe 12
In Hebrew, “nishima” (breath) and “neshemah” (soul) come from the same root. Join us for a guided meditation that uses Jewish traditions and Hebrew mantras to help ground you, find inner peace, and practice radical self-compassion. All are welcome, no previous meditation experience or Hebrew fluency are needed to participate in this mindful practice.
The Universe Model of Gender
Led by Galia Godel – Jewish Family and Children’s Services
A breakdown of the 6 talmudic genders, transitioning into an analysis of the universe model of gender (a new way to picture gender, moving away from a spectrum of a man to a woman).
Queering the Book of Ruth
Addye Susnick – Repair the World
The Book of Ruth, which is traditionally read on Shavuot, discusses Ruth’s accepting of and integration into the Israelite people and their faith. It includes discussions of interfaith relationships, immigration, and more, but it is also laden with powerful allusions to love between women, sexuality, and sexual fluidity. In this session, we will explore queer interpretations of the Book of Ruth through texts and discussion questions. We will also discuss the power of queering biblical stories more generally.
Nonbinary Hebrew
Lior Gross – Nonbinary Hebrew Project
We are building a bigger tent for nonbinary Jews through a third-gender grammar systematics for Hebrew, guided by our Torah and Talmud that teach us to rejoice that which cannot be neatly categorized.
Akdamut: Creating Spiritual Poetry
Ross Weisman – Tribe 12
The Akdamut is a poem recited each year on Shavuot. In this session, we’ll briefly look at and go over the topics that the Akdamut covers and then create our own more abridged poems, making sure to relate our personal identities to the original work as much as possible.
