Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep. 83: Beyond the Brisket: Creating a Liberatory Passover Practice

in , , , ,

As we approach Passover 5782, we’re thinking about the tension inherent in commemorating a moment of acute urgency with practices that require a lot of time, intention, and planning. The Passover story contains multiple moments when our ancestors and predecessors displayed both faith and radical imagination, but when ritual becomes rigid, it can limit beliefs and imagination. April and Tracie investigate how we can use the Passover holiday, ritual, and greater awareness, to nurture and apply our own radical imagination toward liberation.

Tune into this episode and read the full shownotes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Read More

Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep. 82: Showing up for justice when life gets hard (LIVE)

in , , , ,

This week, we’re bringing you our conversation from our live event on March 23. If we’re being real here (which we ALWAYS are), we know that many of us (especially in the Jewish community) are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and hurt by the state of the world. April and Tracie (and a couple of amazing community members!) give us some helpful framings and tips for processing and moving through our hurt, process our emotions, and get through to the other side. And spoiler alert: you don’t have to suffer in order to powerfully show up for justice!

Tune into this episode and read the full shownotes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Read More

Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep. 81: Middle Agent Status, Alternatives to Whiteness, and Radical Imagination

in ,

We cover a LOT of ground in today’s conversation, where we get curious about what prevents some folks and groups from accessing joy. We talk about Black joy, the whiteness of white Jews and what often makes embracing joy difficult (and the impact of the historical middle agent role), individual and collective safety, and imagining our liberated selves and living into that. What would it look like for white Jews choose the side of liberation over whiteness?

Tune into this episode and read the full shownotes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Read More

Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep. 79: On Purim, Joy, and Liberation

in , ,

April and Tracie think about some of the lessons of Purim: hidden identities, the power of 'no,' the power of being in the right place, the importance of joy, and the links between joy and liberation.

Tune into this episode and read the full shownotes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Read More

Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 78: Feeling Rage, Finding Joy: Managing Emotions in Justice Work

in , ,

With all that’s going on in the world right now (and since we’re in the middle of two (2!) months of Adar, we thought it would be good to reprise Episode 10 from the conclusion of election season. Tracie asks April for advice on working through the negative emotions that sometimes accompany justice work. They unpack the ways we've been taught to associate anger or rage with justice work (and anxiety with intelligence), and April shares suggestions for achieving the positive effects of BOTH feeling your feelings AND cultivating joy and presence.

Tune into this episode and read the full shownotes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Read More

Jews Talk Racial Justice - S2E5: On Purim, Joy, and Liberation

in , ,

“Whether it's joy, peace, contentment, power, calm - what if we didn't have to wait? What if that experience could be less conditional on external circumstances? And how many more circumstances could we start to shift over time if we were able to stay in that place?” - April N. Baskin

Read More

Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 10: Feeling Rage, Finding Joy: Managing Emotions in Justice Work

in , ,

“Anger is a messenger. My emotions are guideposts for me that give me a sense of things that my brain can't comprehend or comprehends too quickly for me to be able to process it. But when an emotion is lingering, that is helpful for me - and I leverage that.” - April N. Baskin

Read More