Dreaming the World to Come Dreaming the World to Come

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 


Tefillin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUsDP1PqVZw


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.

Join our Patreon: 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 www.dreamingtheworldtocome.com while supplies last!

This podcast episode was edited by Kim Wayman and Nomy Lamm.



SHOW NOTES:


Eicha/Lamentations: https://www.sefaria.org/Lamentations
Lamentations for the destruction of Palestine: https://tinyurl.com/NakbaLamentations5783
Seven weeks of consolation: https://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/seven-weeks-of-consolation/
Beshert: meant-to-be

Interview:


Mizna: https://mizna.org/
Tikkun olam: Healing and Repairing the World
Mimouna: A traditional Maghrebi Jewish celebration dinner, originating in Morocco, that takes place the day after Pesach. 
Jewcy: A network of young leftist Jews that held gatherings in the early 2000’s.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow: An author, activist and rabbi associated with the Jewish Renewal movement.
Riot Grrrl: A grassroots network and support system for feminists in the punk scene that began in the early nineties.
Nigun: Wordless melody

This Way to Olam haBa


http://sacredsea.org
More about Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut:
https://grist.org/fix/opinion/lummi-nation-southern-resident-killer-whale-salish-sea-return/
https://sacredsea.org/skalichelhtenaut/
https://vimeo.com/446827572
https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/

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.


Mariame Kaba, We Do This Til We Free Us https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1664-we-do-this-til-we-free-us
Keffiyeh - traditional scarf worn by many people in the so-called Middle East and also worn as a symbol of support for Palestinian liberation
ISM - International Solidarity Movement https://palsolidarity.org/
Women in Black https://womeninblack.org/
Drash - shortened form of “midrash” used broadly nowadays to refer to any written or verbal commentary on Torah/scripture
Sefer Yetzirah - “Book of Creation” and the earliest known written text on Jewish mysticism
Gadol - Hebrew word that can mean an influential thinker or spiritual leader (used to describe revered Rabbis)
Find more about the work of Michaela Harris, the whale whisperer, at https://www.michaelaharrison.org/
El Segundo blue butterflies - https://xerces.org/endangered-species/species-profiles/el-segundo-blue

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:


Dori Midnight: a friend, collaborator and teacher, abolitionist, liturgist, and magical Jewish witch. Learn more: https://dorimidnight.com/
Tree of Life: a cultural symbol throughout the world, here we are referencing a kabbalistic diagram of the many faces of the divine.
Sefer Yetzirah: a very early Jewish mystical text from around the 4th century CE.
Shekhinah: the Indwelling Presence of god in the physical world.
Asherah Pole: a pre-Israelite symbol of the goddess, a tree or pole
Ketubah: Jewish marriage contract
B’rit Ahuvim: Lover’s covenant, an alternative to the Ketubah

Interview:


Significance of the number 18: in gematria/Jewish numerology, 18 corresponds with the word chai which means life.
Shavuot: The Festival of Revelation on the 6th of Sivan
Isaac Luria: A rabbi who lived in Safed in the 16th century, he is known as the father of modern kabbalah
Shabbos Bride: Shabbat is often compared to a bride or a queen (shabbos is the Ashkenazi/Yiddish pronunciation), who comes to join us and gives us an extra soul for the 25 hours of Shabbat
The Dybbuk: a Yiddish play by S. Ansky written in 1914, about a bride who becomes possessed by the ghost of her beshert (meant-to-be love) on the day of her wedding.
Dysphoria: discomfort, distress, dis-ease
Sephirot: emanations of the divine on the kabbalistic tree of life



This Way to Olam haBa:


Anti-trans bills: https://translegislation.com/
Generation Alpha: 
https://www.tiktok.com/@davidbowieshousewife/video/7214557539453635883
https://www.tiktok.com/@cllr.little.brighouse/video/7214988473428675845
https://twitter.com/BrokenAngel85/status/1648184015248138240
How to fight back:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzge5/how-to-fight-anti-trans-bills-legislation-united-states-activism⁠
Support Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/
Support Transgender Law Center: ⁠https://transgenderlawcenter.org/support/⁠

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! 

Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dreamingtheworldtocome

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-PzunkdbVA4yrhBChIXY8od06z8POB4t

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


Omer Oracle: Collaboration between Nomy Lamm & Taya Mâ Shere, www.OmerOracle.com
Corina Dross: ⁠https://corinadross.com/⁠



Interview:


Taya: Taya Mâ Shere, http://taya.ma/
Masorti: Israeli equivalent of the US-based conservative Judaism movement.
Cis: Folks whose gender identities align with their gender assignment at birth
Ibrahim Baba: Sheikh Dr. Ibrahim Baba Farajaje, https://www.ibrahimbaba.org/
Trope: Markings that indicate how to chant the words of Torah
Kohenet: https://kohenet.org/
Makam Shekhina: http://makamshekhina.com/
JVP: Jewish Voice for Peace, https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
BIJOCSM: Black, Indigenous, Jews of Color, Sephardi & Mizrahi



This Way to Olam haBa


Olive on the seder plate: https://www.haggadot.com/clip/olive-seder-plate-7
Orange on the seder plate: https://www.keshetonline.org/resources/an-orange-on-the-seder-plate
Elliot Kukla: https://elliotkukla.com/
Christine Miserandino/Spoon Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn5IBsm49Rk
Disability Justice Haggadah Insert: https://www.narrowbridgecandles.org/products/haggadah-supplements



Song:


Mi Chamocha, to the tune of Elohai Neshama by the Chloe Pourmorady Ensemble. Sung by Mazal Masoud Etedgi.