Self Care During Hard Times

By / September 28, 2018

It’s important to find times to unplug and reflect. For many, that time is Shabbat. We encourage you to think about the times you can set aside for self-care. We reached out to our friends and partners at OneTable for some suggestions and resources. See below for resources related to meditation, and a special piece compiled by Rabbi Jessica Minnen. While in places Shabbat is mentioned, each resource can be used about self-care more broadly.

Let’s support each other as much as we can now and always.

Shabbat Resources

Shabbat and Self Care
Compiled by Rabbi Jessica Minnen, OneTable, [email protected]

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde

Even as the popularity of the word self-care has risen, many people have stopped believing in the value of the practice. Our incredible capacity to commit to one  another’s struggles is only as strong as our ability to care for ourselves.

This Shabbat, check in with yourself with these self-care questions:

  • Did I eat well today (as defined by myself and not the rest of the world)?
  • Did I move my body in some way that could be helpful for my body’s needs?
  • How much sleep did I get?
  • How do I feel in my body?
  • How much water have I had today?
  • Have I been outside at all today?
  • What is one emotion that I can identify feeling today?
  • When is the last time I was in nature?
  • When is the last time I did a self-focused activity (reading for fun, listening to music, meditation, cooking for myself)?
  • Can I identify one hope I have for my immediate future (today, this week, this month)?

“Finding ways to be kind to ourselves is a gift we can offer to ourselves and our community because of the space it gives us to engage in the emotional labor of deconstructing oppressive structures related to a seemingly endless list of ‘isms.’ May these strategies for self-care, inspire you in your community to find your own path for healing yourself, and offer a template for healing our communities as a whole.” — Adapted from Lauren Lofton.

Lauren Lofton is a queer, genderqueer, person of color, social justice advocate and attorney born and raised in the Bay Area. They earned a J.D. in Public Interest Law from University of California, Davis in 2009. Lauren is dedicated to a legal practice with an intersectional, social justice lens that is grounded in compassion.

Days and weeks when stories of sexual assault and allegations make headlines and conversations in homes and offices can be particularly triggering and difficult for everyone, including survivors. In addition to self-care, we encourage anyone struggling, or feeling alone or confused, to look to the following resources:

Virtual Sukkahs House Jewish Values

By / September 27, 2018

This article originally appeared in The Jewish Week on September 26, 2018.

By Amy Sara Clark

Perhaps more than any other Jewish holiday, Sukkot lends itself to social activism. Its symbolism is drawn from the period of Jewish history when the People of the Book were refugees, fleeing slavery and crossing the desert in search of better lives for their children; in addition, the sukkah provides a daily reminder of the fragility of human life and the protection God gave the Jews while they were living in impermanent huts and searching for the Promised Land.

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A Year After Harvey in Houston

By / September 27, 2018

This article originally appeared on Tikkun on September 25, 2018.

By Avital Ingber, Kari Saratovsky, and Sacha Bodner

In his beloved book, The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel poignantly writes: “Judaism is a religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time. Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to be attached to sacred events, to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of a year.”

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Sukkot Volunteering at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum

By / September 26, 2018

This article originally appeared on NYBluePrint on September 23, 2018.

Celebrate Sukkot, a Jewish harvest festival, by volunteering with Repair the World at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

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#MySukkahStandsFor Digital Campaign

By / September 24, 2018

This article originally appeared in the Detroit Jewish News on September 24, 2018.

Repair the World, the largest Jewish service organization in the country, today announced the launch of weRepair.org/Sukkot, a platform to celebrate Sukkot and to build virtual dwellings around issues that matter most. Anyone can visit the website to share publicly what their digital (or physical) sukkah stands for.

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Community members clean up Baltimore area

By / September 21, 2018

This article originally appeared in the Johns Hopkins Newsletter on September 20, 2018.

By Jason Nyguyen 

Repair the World: Baltimore hosted its annual Day to Unite at the Baltimore Community ToolBank on Sept. 16. Community members worked together on various environmental projects.

According to their website, Repair the World inspires American Jews to give time and effort to serve those in need, aiming to make service a defining part of American-Jewish life.

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Jewish Community Plans Florence Relief

By / September 21, 2018

This article originally appeared in The Jewish Exponent on September 20, 2018.

By Joshua Needelman

Hurricane Florence has left thousands of people displaced from their homes and dozens of towns flooded in North Carolina and South Carolina. As of the morning of Sept. 18, the storm’s death toll was 32.

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Jewish volunteers still helping Houston victims a year after Hurricane Harvey

By / September 17, 2018

This article originally appeared in The JTA on September 17, 2018.

(JTA) — More than a year after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, Jewish groups are still assisting in relief efforts while expressing concern for the victims of Hurricane Florence.

The Act Now Houston coalition — a partnership of national Jewish organizations including BBYO, Hillel International, JDC Entwine, Moishe House, OneTable, Repair the World, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston – are still sending volunteers to the Houston area to support the victims of the devastating flooding that destroyed more than 300,000 homes in Houston alone.

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Capital Camps CITs, One of Many Teen Groups, Helped with Harvey Relief Efforts

By / September 13, 2018

This article originally appeared in eJewish Philanthropy on September 13, 2018. 

Act Now Houston, an initiative started earlier this year, plans to build on a series of successful summer volunteer efforts and encourage additional groups to participate in the future.

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