Shabbat Shuvah - Indigenous Blanket Exercise

On Shabbat Shuvah, Sept. 23 at Temple Beth Ora following our Shacharit service and a pot-luck lunch from 11:30 - 3 pm, we will be led through the Blanket Exercise, an experiential workshop (developed by Kairos Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives) that explores the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. The workshop takes about two hours, and will be co-facilitated by TBO member Sara Cook and Donna Hovsepian (of the Pimichikamak Cree Nation ,Treaty 5 Territory).

Blankets arranged on the floor represent land and participants are invited to step into the roles of First Nations, Inuit and  Métis peoples. The workshop helps people to understand how the colonization of this land impacts those who were here long before settlers arrived. It engages people’s minds and hearts in understanding why the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples is often broken and how we can take action together towards genuine healing and reconciliation.

To close the workshop, Rabbah Gila will lead us in a process of collective vidui (confession), as we reflect on the Jewish community's complicity in (and in some cases, resistance to) Canadian colonialist power structures. This is particularly appropriate to Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat immediately before Yom Kippur.

Please bring:

• lunch items for yourself and to share
• plates, cups, and cutlery for yourself
• a large blanket that you don't mind people standing on.

Please note that this workshop will be capped at 40 participants. 

For  further information, please contact Asher Kirchner at kirchner2.0@pm.me.