We'll explore the meaning of the Seven Names women used to consecrate the Living Spirit: Banot Yerushalayim, Keepers of the Peaceful Vision, Eshet Kalah, Woman Wholly Herself, Eshet Hayil, Heart Courage Woman, Eshet Lapidot, Keeper of the Flame Woman, Hachama, Medicine Woman, Em Yisrael, Mother of the People, and Devorah, Oracle Woman. These Biblical titles, translated by Rabbi Lynn, explore the ways in which embracing the strength of the feminine can help us restore our connection to the earth and to the Way of Compassion which is the true heart of the Jewish tradition. The Sevenfold Path of Jewish Women's Wisdom is a way to consecrate the Sabbath and begin to develop Sabbath as a spiritual practice dedicated to manifesting a life of compassion and inner peace.
The Sabbath is a time to celebrate human creativity, so be prepared to dance, sing, pray, tell stories, eat Sabbath meals, meditate, and make ceremony. Please bring a drum or percussion or another instrument of your choice. If you have one, also bring a tallit: prayer shawl, your favorite poem, a short story, or other Jewish women's writing; and a picture, heirloom, or memory of your grandmother.
Lynn Gottlieb, rabbi and storyteller, is one of the first ten women in the world to be ordained a rabbi. While others were studying and theorizing, Rabbi Lynn was reclaiming the history of her real and imagined foremothers, researching the scope of feminine symbols and experience in Judaism, and transforming the culture by creating new stories and rituals. Living in New Mexico, she is currently finding her Judaism illuminated by Native American and Hispanic influences. She wrote She Who Dwells Within: A Feminist Vision of a Renewed Judaism, is active with the Jewish Peace Fellowship. She is in the forefront of Jewish feminist thinking, has received human rights awards from the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque chapter of the United Nations, and co-leads an interfaith delegation to Israel and Palestine every year with the Fellowship of Reconciliation.