2024 Upcoming Events for the Chavurah Collective

Uncategorized 3 Minutes

I am grateful to be able to provide rabbinic support and leadership to The Chavurah Collective, which is is a progressive hybrid community across Turtle Island (North America) and composed of Reform Judaism in Atlantic Canada, the Jewish Community Havurah in Newfoundland and KICK: Kol Israel Community of Kentucky dedicated to Jewish Renewal, as well as Independent Jewish Voices: Unama’ki Chapter and the Queer Interfaith Coalition.

Once a month, I offer virtual Shabbat services, and also a monthly spiritual discussion group. In addition, I try to provide additional services or rabbinic support, beyond what I post to this blog, and to assist with life cycle facilitation as needed. My goal in all this is to re-imagine Jewish community: one where money, location, identity, relationships, knowledge of Hebrew or other traditional obstacle to synagogue membership is not a stumbling block.

Whether you are joining as an individual or a group, we are excited to have you!!! Some folks sit in front of their screen and use the chat to connect with each other, others stream it and host potluck shabbat dinners, while still others listen while taking a walk or sitting on their balcony watching the sun set. There is NO “right way to Jew”. Services are open to all: those born Jewish and those who have found Judaism meaningful later in their lives… Whether you believe in G!d or you don’t… whether you are a fan of organized religion or not… whether you speak Hebrew or not… I do my best to make everything I do as accessible and “low-barrier” as possible.

Services are primarily in English and all Hebrew is translated/transliterated. I work to translate the ancestral teachings of the Torah and Talmud and Kabbalah into something that is trauma-informed and aligns with therapeutic principles and social justice values, and reflects my commitment to neurodecolonization and healing. The goal is to de-stress and find enough insight or peace or solace from community, tradition, music and meditation that we can recover from the week and experience a sense of Light that can help us prepare for Shabbat/rest. While I am a Reform rabbi, I am deeply grounded in the teachings and principles of Jewish Renewal, and indeed, I helped to co-found a Jewish Renewal community. Both of these, along with my therapeutic training, inform my approach.

We are proud to share that we just celebrated our two year anniversary! We continue to grow as we seek to reimagine how to create a new approach to building a progressive Jewish community in a postmodern world. We are excited to share with you information about our upcoming events!

Shabbat Services

Our next two virtual Shabbat services are:

● Friday, May 17th, 6:45 PM Atlantic (5:45PM Eastern/7:15 PM NFLD). This service will also include a special observance of the Jewish festival of Shavuot. Please register for  the link: https://urj.tfaforms.net/1491

●Friday, June 14th, 6:45 PM Atlantic (5:45PM Eastern/7:15 PM NFLD). Sabbath Service of music and meditation. Please register for the link: https://urj.tfaforms.net/1492

New Monthly Jewish Spirituality Study and Discussion Group 

Starting Tuesday, MAY 14th, 6PM Atlantic (5PM Eastern/6:30 PM NFLD), and on the second Tuesday of the month thereafter, join the Light Seekers, a new virtual monthly spirituality study and discussion group, focusing upon Hasidic teachings, and integrating psychotherapeutic principles, decolonizing/postmodern/queer theory to discuss concrete ways to integrate Jewish spiritual practices into our lives. Each session will conclude with a brief guided meditation. To learn more and get the Zoom link, email me!

2SLGBTQIA+ Jewish events:

●May 17th, 6 PM Atlantic (5 PM Eastern/6:30 PM NFLD): Letter writing advocacy event for 2SLGBTQIA+ human rights as part of the Rainbow Week of action: https://www.rainbowequality.ca/takeaction. Email for the link!

●June 6th, 8 PM Atlantic (7PM Eastern/8:30 PM NFLD): Join our Turtle Island wide virtual interfaith Pride service in collaboration with the Queer Interfaith Coalition. To learn more and register for the Zoom link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqcOqprjMtG9dT2Lryfw2TDhhkWKaTq-A2#/registration

To learn more about the Queer interfaith coalition that Rabbi Siritsky helped to start: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/queer-interfaith-coalition-1.7164245

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more events soon! Follow Reform Judaism in Atlantic on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083117031820&mibextid=kFxxJD

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more!

Published by Rabbi Dr. Nachshon Siritsky

This blog was first started when I was known as Rabbi Nadia and when I worked south of the colonial border, in what is known as the United States. I served as a rabbi of several large and small synagogues across Turtle Island (North America) before moving the beautiful unceded Mi'kma'ki (colonial name: Nova Scotia, Canada) where I work as a social worker. I also support a growing group of Jewish communities that are part of The Chavurah Collective: Decolonizing Judaism in Mi'kma'ki and Beyond and use this personal blog to post services that I lead, and which are open to anyone interested in joining. As a second-generation Holocaust survivor and someone who identifies as nonbinary and transgender, I feel called to create a world free from hatred and prejudice. I understand the closet to be a metaphor for the ways that colonization/society has wounded us through intergenerational trauma that manifests in intersectional ways. I believe in the universality of spiritual teachings across traditions and their alignment with contemporary psychological theory. As I transition from serving as a pulpit rabbi to becoming a community rabbi, I've maintained this blog as a platform to share my theology and connect with others, especially as part of my personal sense of Calling to advocate for "tikkun olam" (=the healing of the world). Canada's recent commitment to begin a restorative justice process of Truth and Reconciliation has inspired me to reflect upon the ways that decolonizing one's self can lead to restorative justice and a global healing: this blog reflects my effort to distill these insights. Just as the fringes of a prayer shawl hold its holiness, I believe my greatest contribution lies in guiding others home and towards wholeness. Having exited my gender closet, I have continued to emerge and am committed to doing what I can to help others become who they were created to be. Engaging in the sacred work of beginning to decolonize myself, I seek to share these insights with others and to advocate for the equal rights and healing potential that I believe is what G!d wants for us all. Through this blog, I hope to inspire healing, insight, and empowerment, inviting others to find their voice and path. Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Published