Sharonah Laemmle, The 10 Days (2012)
Many of us who live in places where the weather and landscape change with the seasons enjoy not only the physical variations we observe, but the metaphysical ones as well. As the days get shorter and darker in central Ohio, we naturally turn our attention from tending our gardens to indoor pursuits like reading, writing, and crafting. We find these internal pursuits equally, if differently, comforting. As so much in the world seems uncertain and unsettling, we can find solace in great art, films, music, food, books, and friends.
We might also map these changes with the four Kabbalistic worlds. In the transition from fall into winter, we travel from Assiyah (the world of physicality and doing), through the high holy days and the world of Yetzirah (the world of turning and attuning our feeling about the world and our place within in it), to the world of Briyah (the world of the intellect). Throughout these times, if we are lucky, we have opportunities to access the fourth world, Atzilut (the world of divine interconnectivity).
This November brings many ways for our community to lean into intellectual Jewish life. We hope you’ll enjoy some Jewish art and culture this month, on your own or with friends from KSS. Here a few options we’re promoting.
In addition to continuing to lead monthly Rising Song Circles and intergenerational klezmer gatherings, Joanie Calem will host the second gathering of a new Jewish Writers’ Circle. Read about it in this article from Columbus Jewish News. It’s not too late to join the group. Email joanie@sukkatshalomcolumbus.org for details.
Beginning November 9th, our own Sharonah Laemmle will be exhibiting artwork spanning 50 years of creative exploration at First UU. Visit Internal Necessity: 50 Years of Creative Expression to learn how she’s used artmaking to engage with the places she’s lived and deepen her understandings of and connections with Jewish spirituality. Sharonah’s family will host a reception in her honor Friday, November 21st at 6:30pm, prior to our monthly Kabbalat Shabbat service. Don’t miss this chance to ask her about the works on view. Sharonah can tell you a story about every found material she used and where she was in her life when she made each painting.
November 8-23rd the Columbus Jewish Film Festival is returning to the Columbus JCC and sites nearby. Once again the organizers are bringing together a wide range of films that tell stories of Jewish experience from near and far. Pick a film you want to see, tap a friend, and reserve your seats today. Bad Shabbos, Tatami, The Holy Closet, and Once Upon my Mother are at the top of my list!
Finally, we’re following the 100th anniversary of Jewish Book Month. According to the Jewish Book Council, the first Jewish Book Week came to be in 1925, when Fanny Goldstein, a librarian at the Boston Public Library, set up a display recognizing Jewish authors and the ways their books celebrate Jewish identity. In Fanny’s honor, we want to hear what you’re reading. If you’ve recently read a good book with Jewish characters or a Jewish theme you want to share, please send the title and authors plus a 1-2 paragraph summary of the book and what you liked about it to jodi@sukkatshalomcolumbus.org by November 10th. We’ll publish your recommendations in this space later in the month. In addition, keep your eyes and ears out for a new Jew-ish book club launching soon!
b’Shalom. May you stay warm and busy.