Photo credit: Photography by Reetah (Clintonville, 2021)
Tonight we’ll sleep beneath the full Snow Moon. True to its name, the first weeks of this lunar cycle were our snowiest this year. With hope in my heart and my mind on early spring planting at Over the Fence Urban Farm, I pray the next few weeks will be more mild. When the new moon arrives in mid-March, we’ll greet the Jewish month of Nisan and prepare for Passover. By then I should have hardy spring greens to share for your seder plates.
In addition to celebrating our liberation from the clutches of winter by eating fresh flavorful herbs, at Passover we remember the story of Exodus. We read “In every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. And the Holy One, blessed be, rescues us from their hands.” I was taught we need to retell this story to ensure we never forget what was done to our ancestors. And to inspire us to fight for freedom for people everywhere.
But I never stopped to wonder what damage we have done by passing on this ethos of trauma. This year Sukkat Shalom is engaging this question with Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone. March 13th and 14th Rabbi Firestone will lead us in the two-part program: “A Passover Journey ~ Transforming Jewish Trauma into Blessings of Wisdom, Strength, and Justice.”
An award-winning author, Jungian psychotherapist, and Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Nevei Kodesh in Boulder, Colorado, Rabbi Tirzah was ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi 1992 after a period of spiritual wandering chronicled in her memoir With Roots in Heaven (1998). She has been an international leader in the international Jewish Renewal Movement and is known widely for her work in intergenerational trauma healing. She teaches nationally about the transformation of historical trauma and the importance of harvesting our ancestral wisdom to assist us at this crucial time in history. (More information about Rabbi Tirzah can be found on her website, including her most recent book Wounds into Wisdom at a special Passover discount.)
She writes: “Our venerable Jewish lineage has accrued much wisdom over the past 3,000 years, and many wounds too, after centuries of adversity. Recent studies in the fields of neuroscience and epigenetics demonstrate that our traumatic experiences don’t simply disappear over time. They are often transmitted to future generations. As we enter the month of Passover, the season for liberation, join me for an extraordinary journey of culling our family and tribal legacies for their positive, life-giving gifts, and facing the detrimental patterns we have inherited too, in order to dissolve and repair them.”
Please join us as we welcome Rabbi Tirzah into our midst.
Saturday, March 13 (6-8pm ET)
Rabbi Tirzah will set the stage with opening premises and stories from her research on the topic of Jewish trauma and wisdom legacies, and what they have to do with the Passover journey. This will be an experiential lecture and discussion including useful teachings about Passover that can be employed at the Seder table.
Sunday, March 14 (5-7pm ET)
Our journey continues with more teachings and a series of experiential guided meditations that will illuminate family patterns that influence us, our health, and resilience.
PLEASE NOTE: Rabbi Tirzah asks that you commit to attending BOTH sessions to get the most out of this program. They are not intended as stand-alone events.
RSVP by March 12th to info@sukkatshalomcolumbus.org to receive Zoom login information.
Free for KSS members, $36 for guests (click here to donate). Scholarships available.