Eat, Write, Read
Children Of Israel Are Never Alone
Hey, beloved tribe.
During the 16 months I’ve been doing Jewish advocacy, I’ve been overwhelmed by the desire to put so many ideas into action. I have a very long list of initiatives I’d like to undertake in order to better serve this community, but unfortunately there are only so many hours in a day and a very finite number of things I have any hope of pulling off at the same time.
However, we do have a few very exciting plans in store for members of this community and I wanted to devote this newsletter to an in-depth overview of these.
First, if there’s one quality I continually strive to bring you — though sometimes it’s in short supply — it’s a sense of Jewish uplift, optimism and joy. Life since October 7th has been fraught with ever-breaking news, too much of it harrowing, frightening, and agonizing. It’s for this reason that every story, essay or poem that runs in JUDITH Magazine concludes with “tiny Jewish delights”.
Those delights are among the most… well, delightful aspects of the magazine, to me. I never tire of reading them. And it’s been impossible for me not to notice the staggering percentage of them that have to do with food.
Fam, we love our challah. We love our bagels. And our brisket and kugel and felafel and shakshuka, our half-sour pickles and pastrami and matza balls and babka. Our hamantaschen and rugelach, our latkes and sufganiyot. We love our mothers’ and grandmothers’ recipes. Our culinary traditions and innovations.
For this reason, and because food is so central to our culture, I’ve wanted to build out a culinary section within JUDITH for a long time. And now it’s finally happening. We are launching Ess Ess Mein Kindt, and our curator and editor will be Debra Eckerling!
Debra Eckerling is an award-winning author, podcaster, goal strategist, and workshop leader, who is bringing her passion for food, cooking, and community to the pages of JUDITH as Culinary Editor. A former non-cook turned food writer and podcaster, she hosts Taste Buds With Deb on the Jewish Journal podcast network. Debra is also the author of Your Goal Guide and 52 Secrets For Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting and hosts a podcast called GoalChat. Through her books, consulting, and speaking, Debra empowers people to embrace their talents and passions and create the life they want through goals.
Ready to share your culinary story, along with a recipe? Curious about submission guidelines? Drop her a line at Deb@TheDEBMethod.com.
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A second need that I’m seeking to address is the yearning for supportive community that so many of you have expressed. All of us have suffered since October 7th in countless ways, and the range of that anguish is wide, from those of us who have lost loved ones to others who are struggling with much lesser but still painful forms — and often several layers — of loss.
Because writing is among the most essential forms of self-help for me, I had the idea of offering Jewish-led writing workshops through the magazine.
I could not be more excited that our inaugural leader is Jena Schwartz.
Jena Schwartz is a writing coach who has been leading online and in-person groups for over a decade, and a Jewish mother who wants to make sure you’ve eaten lately. Her work has appeared in Tikkun, Emerge Literary Journal, the Times of Israel and On Being blogs, Cognoscenti, Jewish Writing Project, Siddur Lev Shalem, and the anthologies Calling Out: Psalms for Today and On Being 40(ish), among other publications. Author of Fierce Encouragement: 201 Writing Prompts for Staying Grounded in Fragile Times and three previous books, Jena is a Certified Jewish Studio Project Creative Facilitator and Poet-in-Residence at the Jewish Community of Amherst. To learn more, subscribe to her substack at Dispatches From Daily Life and visit her at her website.
Beginning later this month, Jena will be leading a workshop called Katavti for anyone here who would like to try it. I will taking it myself and it would be wonderful to see you there!
Course description provided by Jena:
I’ve been facilitating writing groups for over a decade and gradually gravitating more and more towards being of service to the Jewish community. In collaboration with the community of JUDITH Magazine, Katavti is intended to offer a container for Jewish participants to write, connect, and share the particulars of our experiences during a universally challenging and transformative time. The group will consist of short, deceptively simple prompts, encouragement to write for 10 or 15 minutes per day without editing, and a place to connect with fellow members of the tribe.
What does “katavti” mean?
In Hebrew, “katavti” means, “I wrote,” or “I have written.” In the tradition of saying “dibarti” (I have spoken) after speaking, and “shamati” (I have listened) after truly hearing another person, the name of this group takes that intention and turns it to the power of writing.
Why Writing?
Writing helps us reconnect with ourselves, acknowledge our capacity, name what is taking up space in our hearts and psyches and bodies, and — just maybe — extend greater compassion and empathy to each other. In other words, it is a grounding way to sift through the piles of thoughts and maybe (just maybe!) create a little more internal space and a little more external connection.
Who should join?
Anyone who longs for both a daily practice and a soft place to land. This is not a political group but rather one where, as Jews, we can set down the constant pressure to articulate, explain, defend, minimize, or otherwise address our opinions, beliefs, and values.
Does my writing have to be about Jewish things?
Not at all. I will provide a prompt/theme each morning. You can use this as a jumping off point or a theme for that day’s writing. Your writing can also be anything that’s real and true for you in the moment.
What’s the time commitment?
You are encouraged to write and post each day for a total of 10 days (Monday-Friday for two weeks) and to read and comment on at least one other post each day. Plan on roughly 30 minutes per day for writing and reading/commenting.
What if I don’t have much time?
Part of the “realness” of this group is honoring that everyone’s capacity is different and life is always happening, so honor your own energy and time constraints. Everyone is welcome to participate to the extent possible for them.
Will we get feedback?
Yes and no! This is not a writing workshop, in that we are not here to produce anything. That being said, encouraging, reflective comments are welcomed and encouraged. Something as simple as “shamati” can also be a powerful way of witnessing.
When & Where
June 23 – July 6
Private Facebook Group: Monday-Friday, June 23-27, June 30-July 4
We’ll connect asynchronously for 10 days of writing, sharing, reading, and commenting.
Zoom: Sunday, July 6 2:30-4:00pm EST
Our practice will culminate in a Zoom gathering, where we will write together in real time and get to hear each other’s voices and see each other’s faces.
Cost
Pay from the heart*
Suggested: $36-$108
*No one will be turned away for lack of funds
Registration
Register by Sunday, June 21:
Send a Facebook friend request to Jena Schwartz:
https://www.facebook.com/schwartzjena
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Finally, I’m thrilled to announce that the Never Alone Book Club’s next pick is Mothers And Other Fictional Characters by Nicole Graev Lipson.
Fam, the writing in this book is an absolute marvel. I devoured the book in a single sitting and I simply could not believe what Nicole manages to do on a sentence level alone. These are incredible essays, and JUDITH had the honor and privilege of running one of them, Tikkun Olam Ted, in our fiction section. If you didn’t have a chance to read it then, please don’t hesitate to do so now to get a sense of Nicole’s incandescent prose and sensibilities.
She will be joining us to talk about the book on Sunday, July 20th, at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm on the East Coast, and 8 pm in Israel!
This is the first book club event we’ve scheduled on a Sunday so that Israelis can join, and I very much hope that many of you will. If attendance is good, I’ll be happy to keep scheduling on Sundays so the whole Jewish mishpucha can come.
The event will be posted later today on the book club’s Facebook page.
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Okay, I hope you’re as excited about all this as I am! I’ll be back with you on Friday with a new Jews Of The Universe column.
Much love to you all in the meantime.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Oh, this is ALL so very exciting! And I have participated in several of Jena's writing groups and LOVED every one of them!! Great news--brings me lots of Jewish joy!!
These offerings sound wonderful! Jena is great!