Happening
Back to the Land
The Adamah Farm Fellowship is a long-running Jewish food and sustainability program for adults in their 20s and 30s. Each cohort spends three months living and working on the farm at the Isabella Freed- man retreat center in Connecticut. Along with daily agricultural work and shared meals, fellows are engaged in frequent discussion about Jewish values, social justice, and community-building. At the helm are Fellowship Director Luna Manela, Farm Director and Advocacy Coordinator Janna Siller, and Managing Director of Education, Shamu Sadeh. Information and applications at adamah.org.
Hebrew Typeface and Design!
A team of Jewish women creators is launching “Between Memory and the Archive: Jewish Print Culture,” a twelve-day program from the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute. Participants will explore the intricacies and history of Hebrew typefaces and design across genres and generations. Leading the charge are educators Barbara Mann and Shani Avni, along with artist Lynne Avadenka, featured in Lilith’s fall 2024 issue. June 15–27, 2025, at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York and at the Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. artsci.case.edu
Buoying Up Girls in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
The Pace Center for Girls is an organization dedicated to supporting girls in 23 communities across three Southern states. Pace offers programming and services from academic counseling to therapy and more, with an individualized approach to each participant’s needs. Mindy Hanken of Palm Beach, recently appointed Executive Director after 20 years of leadership experience in Jewish nonprofit organizations, notes, “When we focus on supporting girls, they gain the power to achieve success in all areas of their lives, leading to positive outcomes for themselves, their families, and our community.” pacecenter.org
Yiddish Book Center
For those who wish to explore the mame loshn (“mother tongue”) from many angles, visit the Yiddish Book Center’s collection of recorded public programs. Notable videos include “Traces of a Jewish Artist: The Lost Life and Work of Rahel Szalit,” “A Revolution in Type: Gender and the Making of the American Yiddish Press, with Ayelet Brinn,“ and dozens more. Calendar at yid-dishbookcenter.org/events.
Lilith Salons: Independent, Intimate and Intergenerational Looking for unapologetically Jewish and feminist community and conversation? Lilith magazine has revitalized the salon— an informal gathering of subscribers to encounter new ideas, connect with Jewish feminists like—and unlike—yourselves and talk about the questions and issues that matter deeply to you. You provide the space and people and Lilith will spark the conversation in the form of discussion questions for each new issue of the magazine. The special joy of these salons is conversation: lively talk with interesting people. Visit Lilith.org/Salons to learn more.
EAR CANDY
AudioNosh
The Braid, a Jewish women’s performing arts organization which has just opened
a theater in Santa Monica, California has launched a podcast for storytelling and conversation about poetry, plays and music. AudioNosh episodes follow themes including courage, belonging, and hope, and feature Jewish feminist guests with connections to the theater world, from actress Jasmine Curry to singer-songwriter Ellen Harper to Jewish Women’s Archive CEO Judith Rosenbaum. Listen on all audio platforms. Upcoming events and programs at the-braid.org.
Glatt
Husband and wife team Shlomo and Shifra Klein host a Jewish food podcast inspired by their kosher lifestyle magazine Fleishigs (“meat” in Yiddish). Hosts talk to their guests about food culture, with connections to Jewish life, history, and current events. The first episode featured Raizy Fried, author of Shabbat-themed cookbook Lekoved Shabbos Kodesh Book. Listen at kosher.com.
Social Justice Training
Want to do more on reproductive health, pay equity, climate change, and more? April 4–7, Women of Reform Judaism will host its inaugural Rabbi Marla J. Feldman Social Justice Conference in Washington, D.C. Jewish women and people across the gender spectrum can attend over 20 workshops (including a Lilith salon!), and lobby on Capitol Hill (for which The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism will provide training). Shabbat and Havdalah services and Torah study sessions are on the agenda, plus a Women’s Empowerment Awards Dinner. More at wrj.org.
Sinister Wisdom
Multicultural lesbian literary and art journal Sinister Wisdom has fresh offerings coming up. On February 18th, learn about lesbian and feminist publishing in the 21st century from journal editor Julie R. Enszer and Marisa Crawford, curator of book and blog Weird Sister, along with other special guests. On March 9, join author Helen Elaine Lee, Sinister Wisdom’s book club host, Yeva Johnson, and other readers to discuss Pomegranate, a powerful novel that follows a queer Black woman after her release from prison. April 22nd, join to celebrate the launch of Sinister Wisdom 136: Icons—Past and Present, a tribute to lesbian and feminist icons. sinisterwisdom.org/events
A Home for Jewish Poets
Yetzirah: A Hearth for Jewish Poetry offers online readings and workshops with faculty including Lilith contributors Hila Ratzabi and Joanna Chen. Writers of all levels, backgrounds, and locations are invited to draft new work and explore a variety of Jewish texts and traditions. Applications are also open for Yetzirah’s third annual Jewish poetry conference in Asheville, North Carolina, June 23–29, 2025, with storied keynote speakers like Alicia Ostriker (Lilith’s longtime poetry editor) and Eleanor Wilner. Learn more and register at yetzirahpoets.org.
A Writing Retreat About Motherhood
“Writing the Motherlode” is an all-inclusive five-day writing retreat with a focus on, yes, mothers. Located in the foothills of the Pennsylvania Poconos, this opportunity is led by editor, writer, and director/founder of Pyrenean Writing Retreats, Diana Fried- man, alongside novelist and editor Amy Shearn. The five days will feature facilitated instruction, generative writing time, informal discussion time, plus farm-fresh meals and other tasty treats. Find rates and booking at bit.ly/WritingMotherlode.
FOR FILM BUFFS
Jewish Film in Charlotte, North Carolina
The 21st Annual Charlotte Jewish Film Festival takes place January 25 to February 23, 2025. What started as a two-film event in 2005 has grown into a major cultural event for Southern Jews. This year’s selections run the gamut from Iron Ladies—a documentary about the Jewish women who protested a 1970s-era Soviet effort to ban Jews from immigrating to Israel (above)—to Shari & Lamb Chop (above right), a documentary directed by Lisa D’Apolito, which celebrates Jewish performer and ventriloquist Shari Lewis, known for her work with beloved sock puppet Lamb Chop (above right). Film roster and tickets at bit.ly/CharlotteJFF.
A Miscarriage Cartoonmentary
Storytelling takes a unique form in Miscarried: An “Unspoken” Cartoonmentary. This animated short film created by Jewish cartoonist Chari Pere—awarded Artist of the Year at the 2024 JewCE Awards—started as a comic that went viral both for its creativity and for its harrowing story not often told. In the film, Pere explores not only her experience of miscarriage but also related stories about reproductive health and parenting. Watch it at bit. ly/Cartoonmentary.
Compiled by Arielle Silver-Willner and Alexa Hulse.
