Save the Date: The Great Save-In October 22nd
Philadelphia, PA

October 22nd, 2024 is Hoshanah Rabbah (the last day of Sukkot) and the 91st birthday (on the Jewish calendar) of The Shalom Center's legendary Founder and Director, Rabbi Arthur Waskow. 

On that evening, we will be exactly two weeks out from America’s national elections, on the eve of the Jewish calendar anniversary of October 7th, and The Shalom Center will be marking the start of our new era, as Rabbi Waskow becomes the organization's Prophetic Envoy and Rabbi Nate DeGroot becomes Director.

In the midst of what’s surely to be a supersaturated moment for each of us, our country, and the organization - a moment of torch-passing, when we might be hoping for a little saving - The Shalom Center is organizing a communal “Save-In.”

We’ve heard of sit-ins, teach-ins, and die-ins. But this actifest takes a different approach: A “save-in,” riffing on the name and themes of Hoshanah Rabbah.

Saving ourselves, our country, and the possibility of wholeness - shalom - that we know is possible and that Arthur has dedicated his life to.

In the midst of this generational transition, we're focusing on three different holiday-themed elements of "saving":

“We save ourselves” - GOTV PA

Forget waiting for something or someone else to save us, we know that sometimes we need to take our saving into our own hands.

Between now and the election - and at the actifest itself - The Shalom Center will be mobilizing our broad network to meaningfully Get Out The Vote (GOTV) in Pennsylvania, a massively important swing state in this fall’s national elections. After all, this is the Festival of (Voting) Booths! More information about this campaign can be found here!

“YHVH saves us” - Honoring Arthur & Marking Transition

On Hoshanah Rabbah, we pray for YHVH / God to save us. We sit in tabernacles with the Interbreathing of All Life - what Rabbi Waskow calls YHVH -  blowing through, around, and within us. At this actifest, on the occasion of Arthur’s 91st and his transition from Director to Prophetic Envoy, we will honor Rabbi Waskow’s legacy through Sukkot ritual and in-spired words from various speakers, including Rabbi Waskow, Gloria Steinem, and more.

“Saving?” - Kohelet rave & willow beating

Ecclesiastes / Kohelet - whose writing Jews read on Sukkot - seems to sense that perhaps "saving" isn’t always the most useful framework. If, at the end of the day, we’re all just breath or Spirit or stardust blowing in the breeze, Kohelet reasons, “the only goodness for us earthlings is to eat, drink, and offer our souls goodness that stretches worlds (Ecc 2:24). The actifest will culminate with food, drink, and dancing into Kohelet's void, freed like shaken leaves from willow branches beaten.

Registration for this event will open soon!

The actifest is open to the public and free to attend, but we do ask that you register in advance. Don't worry, we'll make sure you know when registration opens.

We will be recruiting for a stipended cohort to help vision, organize, and host this actifest. More info coming soon.

If you are so interested in the cohort that you just can't wait for updates, please email Nate DeGroot at ndegroot@theshalomcenter.org.