Reflections from Building Connections:  Tu B’Av on the Farm

We are grateful for a successful pilot program of this summer’s camping retreat at Living Tree Alliance in collaboration with Asiyah, Organic Torah, and ALEPH. Hosting 50 people here brought beautiful connections, song, and blessings. We learned a lot, and look forward to continuing to improve upon our offerings. We appreciate the teachings and sensitivities that participants brought to our attention. We value bringing to life ancient earth based Jewish traditions and cultivating greater sensitivities of cultural appropriation. As spiritual leader Kohenet Lori Wynters so eloquently states; “we are in collective conscious process of learning, study, and research educating ourselves to pay deep respect to the indigenous peoples whose land we cultivate, while simultaneously unearthing pre-rabbinic Jewish practices that are being excavated from intensive study and scholarship in relationship to Hebrew women’s spiritual leadership and ancient practices of earth based Judaism.”  We extend much gratitude to our teachers, co-sponsors, participants, and to all those that have supported us with infrastructure and program development, in order to make this event possible.