BEYOND SINAI: The Spirit Keeps Rising
YHWH — The Holy Spirit (Ruach) that is the Breath (Ruach) of Life
by Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Dear friends and devotees of The Shalom Center,
During June, The Shalom Center will present three Webinars on three sacred documents that are evidence of the Spirit Rising, in conversations between me and three different profoundly spiritual teachers.
1. At 7:30 pm Eastern (4:30 pm Pacific), on Wednesday, June 14, Alicia Ostriker, and I will dance our way into Muriel Rukeyser’s great poem Akiba. Alicia is the most eloquent and insightful midrashic poet of our generation. She has graced us with poetic sparks that fly upward when she hammers on the rock of Torah. Rukeyser uses the life of the great Rabbi Akiba to explore the great spiritual journeys of our lives — as individuals and as societies — into inward and outward freedom. Akiba led three other rabbis in a mystical and risky adventure into “Pardes” — The Orchard — and came out to convince the Sanhedrin that the Song of Songs was the Holy of Holies in all of Jewish wisdom.
2. One week later, at 7:30 pm Eastern on June 21, Rabbi Jill Hammer, co-founder of the Kohenet/Hebrew Priestess movement, will join me in exploring the remarkable text titled “The Thunder: Perfect Mind” found in the “Gnostic” library at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. This text begins with the same “Anokhi” — the Hebrew word for the Supernal “I” that comes when the Universe says “I” — as the begins the Ten Utterances at Sinai. But here there are about 40 verses that begin “Anokhi.” They are all in a Woman’s voice and they all speak of paradox in the world. I imagine they came at Sinai to the women, whom the Torah hints were gathered at the other side of the Mountain.
3. On June 28, at 7:30 pm Eastern time, Arlene Goldbard will join me to discuss her new book of words and paintings — In the Camp of Angels of Freedom: What Does It Mean to Be Educated?
Arlene is an artist and pamphleteer toward a far more democratic American culture, who for ten years was also President of the Board of The Shalom Center. Why do I want to explore the depths of this book? When I looked at Arlene’s paintings of her “Angels of Freedom” — the people who have taught her how Love and Justice can kiss each other (Psalm 85) — I could see them looking back at me from somewhere beyond the paper of the book. Uncanny! The “myst” of “mysterious” and “mystic.” Arlene chose two of her Angels — Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and anarchist-pacifist essayist/poet/novelist Paul Goodman — to explore with The Shalom Center ‘s community of friends.
This series of three explorations of the deeps of the Spirit will be available as a single dance. You can register to join the dance at https://bit.ly/BeyondSinai2023.
In each session, there will be a good opportunity for you to join in the conversation. We will record each of the sessions, so if you register now you can watch the conversations even if you cannot join in the original moment.
Every registrant will — several days before the dates of sessions 1, 2, and 3 — get a copy of the text we will be exploring. All registrants will get a keyword to receive a discount if they wish to buy Arlene Goldbard’s book.
I look forward to talking with you.
Blessings of shalom, salaam, peace, paz, namaste!
— Arthur