Cindy Milstein (they) on Nostr: The sun sets so early now, as if nonhuman nature is mirroring the darker ...
The sun sets so early now, as if nonhuman nature is mirroring the darker christofascist days ahead. Yet Friday’s nightfall offers a counterpoint: the blessed flames of shabbat, when sparks of otherworldly practices burst temporarily forth, and we recall it is not darkness that we fear—for the moon and stars are the most comradely of guides—but rather the folly of certain humans and certain human-made systems. We recall, too, that there are other humans—hopefully us—and human-made systems that strive toward “electrical sparks of something greater, something all encompassing,” something liberatory, as jewish anarchist Gustav Landauer asserted over a century ago.
For Landauer, who was murdered by proto-fascists in Germany in 1919, soon after taking part in an otherworldly revolution that for a brief time instituted autonomy and self-governance, anarchism “is a matter of the present … a matter of how ones lives.” Those lives, our lives, for him, were bound up in varied communal forms, yet tied to something else as well: love.
“Love … spins us round and elevates us to the stars, because it is a cord that connects us with humanity … Love sets the world alight and sends sparks through our being. It is the deepest and the most powerful way to understand the most precious that we have.”
Which brings me to @ratzonpgh, which self-describes as “lovingly jewish.” It is a project—embodying queer+trans, feminist, and anarchist sensibilities—that I’ve loved from the first, when it was just a twinkle in some jewish anarchists’ eyes in the pre-pandemic time, and I love even more in light of the current bleak conditions—its offerings pointing toward possible and actually existing alternatives in the present …
and past. For our next Kabbalat Shabbat—open to jews and non-jews—focuses on “blessed flames”:
“If there’s one thing we know about our history, we know that ritual and resistance go hand in hand. Join us on Friday, 13 December (aka 1312 aka ACAB), for our monthly gathering, revolving around the theme of Jewish anarchist ancestors. Through readings and song, we’ll be remembering the black-and-red thread the binds us to our rebellious ancestors as inspiration for the struggles and joys yet to come. We'll also set up a temporary altar to honor them; feel free to bring something to add to it. Kabbalat Shabbat followed by a vegetarian potluck and anti-zionist community building.”
Friday, 13 December / 7 pm start (doors open at 6:30 pm)
RSVP for address (PGH east end)
bit.ly/razmshabbat1213
#BlessedFlames
#MendingTheWorld
For Landauer, who was murdered by proto-fascists in Germany in 1919, soon after taking part in an otherworldly revolution that for a brief time instituted autonomy and self-governance, anarchism “is a matter of the present … a matter of how ones lives.” Those lives, our lives, for him, were bound up in varied communal forms, yet tied to something else as well: love.
“Love … spins us round and elevates us to the stars, because it is a cord that connects us with humanity … Love sets the world alight and sends sparks through our being. It is the deepest and the most powerful way to understand the most precious that we have.”
Which brings me to @ratzonpgh, which self-describes as “lovingly jewish.” It is a project—embodying queer+trans, feminist, and anarchist sensibilities—that I’ve loved from the first, when it was just a twinkle in some jewish anarchists’ eyes in the pre-pandemic time, and I love even more in light of the current bleak conditions—its offerings pointing toward possible and actually existing alternatives in the present …
and past. For our next Kabbalat Shabbat—open to jews and non-jews—focuses on “blessed flames”:
“If there’s one thing we know about our history, we know that ritual and resistance go hand in hand. Join us on Friday, 13 December (aka 1312 aka ACAB), for our monthly gathering, revolving around the theme of Jewish anarchist ancestors. Through readings and song, we’ll be remembering the black-and-red thread the binds us to our rebellious ancestors as inspiration for the struggles and joys yet to come. We'll also set up a temporary altar to honor them; feel free to bring something to add to it. Kabbalat Shabbat followed by a vegetarian potluck and anti-zionist community building.”
Friday, 13 December / 7 pm start (doors open at 6:30 pm)
RSVP for address (PGH east end)
bit.ly/razmshabbat1213
#BlessedFlames
#MendingTheWorld