2018-10-15

We are studying the book of Joshua this year.

Each year, the Passover Village community selects a book of the Tanach to study. What we learn from the text and our discussions helps shape our plans for the seder and contributes to the energy we bring to the annual gathering.

This year, we are studying Joshua. We are looking, especially, at how our conquest of Canaan can help us understand the conditions and effects of aggression, war, colonialism, and other forces of our own age.  Along the way, we are looking for teachings that unlock spiritual insights.

It is not necessary to read Joshua in order to attend Passover Village.

2018-04-09

The Day After PV 2018

Beauty, Light and Dancing with the Divine Feminine


2018-03-10

Kavannah 2018

Kavannah 2018

As in years past, we carry an additional kavannah (spiritual intention) into the Village, borne from our yearlong study since last PV  of the Divine Feminine in the Hebrew tradition.   We call Her by many names:  Asherah . . .Astarte . . .  Anat . . . Shechinah . . . Lilit . . . Sarah . . . Miriam.  What do these images, ideas, and archetypes have to teach us in this age of #metoo and #timesup?  In these times, what are we to make of the Zohar legend of the exile of Shechinah and her longing for union with HaKadosh Baruch Hu?   What have the ancients passed on to us in their Yichudim prayers of unification of Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine?  What does it mean to honor the Feminine in Nature, the Great Mother, to offer ecstatic prayers to the Queen of  the Heavens while dancing around a tree?  Is this not also our Hebrew tradition?  Why has none of this been passed down through Torah, Talmud, Hebrew school?  Was the Feminine deliberately suppressed in our tradition, a reflection of the shift from matriarchal traditions to patriarchy that was happening in the ancient world at the age of formation of Judaism?  What traumas have been perpetuated because of this?  How have modern day women suffered from this?  Modern day men?  How can we reclaim our connection to Her, and does She want to be reclaimed? 

All of these topics are in the field, as we gather and enter our holy campground for another season of praise and community.  Moses asked Pharoah to allow the people to go out to the wilderness to serve their God for 3 days, and so we do the same. We hope you will joyfully join us this year in our councils, dances, rituals, and prayers as we seek relation with Her. 



Invitation to Passover Village 2018



Dear Passover Villagers, past, present, and future:

For the past 22 years, our Passover Village community has journeyed into the desert on Passover to reclaim indigenous Hebrew traditions and earth-based ways of being.  We have all but lost these traditions during the last two millennia of “civilization.”  Returning to the land on Passover has been our means to feel our way back to our core being. We do so by creating a three-day encampment during which we renew connections with our ancestors and nature through storytelling, council, ceremony, song, and community.  This year we will again celebrate together in holy community under the sun and stars, amongst the coyotes, desert tortoises, and yucca plants at Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave desert.

Tradition demands that we relate the story of our liberation from slavery and oppression in Egypt as if we, ourselves, had been present in that Exodus.  The ancient story teaches universal lessons of freedom, renewal, and connection to Earth for all peoples.  Together with a mixed multitude of other peoples (Exodus 12:38), the Children of Israel ventured into the wilderness seeking to serve Spirit. With this model of a multicultural, multilingual, and multicolored mass of heart-based community of seekers, we, humbly and with great respect, invite people of all tribes and faiths to share the Passover celebration with us this year, as always. 

Each year, we have reflected on where we are as a community and that community’s place in the world.  While looking back to sacred texts and commentaries we also look within ourselves to see what we might learn, how we might grow and how we can contribute.  And, we cannot help but consider all of the above in the context of the times in which we live.

The times in which we live are, for many, fraught with fear and distrust, disrespect and abuse.  Among the most poignant of the themes and issues facing all of us is the place and plight of the oppressed among us.  

These are not new themes, of course.  As we closed the Passover Village in Joshua Tree last April, we began to form an intention for this year’s retreat.  It is still being crafted, along the lines of acknowledgment, respect and support for women, hearing their voices, heeding their calls.  Again, while these issues are not new, no one knew (but anyone might have predicted) that a line would be crossed and women could no longer remain silent in the face of abuse, harassment and worse.

Emboldened by shared stories, women have been speaking up and having an impact.  As we write, hundreds of thousands of women are marching nationwide.

We want to say:  “We have your backs.”

We have been seeking how the Sacred Feminine Spirit might inform our actions while we support our women (each other, and everyone, of course) and to listen from the heart to their voices and their stories. 

We invite you to join us at this year’s Passover Village retreat to deepen the conversation, embrace the experience, and be together as we learn from each other.

Women, you are particularly invited to contribute your voice and what’s in your heart.  “We” all need you.

What are the messages?  Does any of this resonate with you?  Come.  Let’s resonate together.

SAVE THE DATE:  Passover Village Retreat, April 6-8, 2018, Joshua Tree National Park

* Many of you have already registered to attend; some have already sent the contribution.  Your place will be reserved provided it’s received by March 1st.

If you HAVEN'T registered and want to attend this year, please write ASAP and we will send you registration info.
  
Looking forward to hearing from you. 

Dan
m 310-396-0706