Shmita: An Ancient Technology for Rest and Repair
Tuesday, October 5th, 6PM PST

Shmita is a Jewish framework for rest and repair. Literally meaning “release” in Hebrew, Shmita occurs every seven years and is a period when the Torah instructs Jews to let the land rest, forgive all debts, resolve disputes and open their hearts to those in need. We are currently in a Shmita year and progressive Jews are applying Shmita values to growing social movements — sustainable farming, mutual aid, wealth redistribution, prison abolition, environmental justice, and land back. Artist Julie Weitz, in collaboration with Sol Yael Weiss and Ian Schiffer, invites us to imagine how a world that collectively resets human relationships to the land, animals and one other, is a radical model for reparations and ecological justice.

Julie Weitz is a queer Ashkenazi video and performance artist living on Tongva land whose interdisciplinary practice also includes writing, teaching, and activism. Since 2010, her focus has been the production of experimental videos; these videos form the basis for broader immersive experiences, including live performances, narrative short films, and public art installations. Through a poetic reinterpretation of Yiddish folklore and Jewish mysticism, Weitz’s work uses humor and ritual to propose ethically-grounded and intersectional reconsiderations of pressing contemporary issues. https://www.instagram.com/mygolem_is_here

Sol Yael Weiss (they/them) lives, prays, and farms on Schaghticoke Mohican land as part of the core team at Linke Fligl, a queer Jewish Chicken farm. They are a non-binary trans white Ashkenazi printmaker, illustrator and organizational development nerd who loves catching songs, building queer family and dreaming of a rematriated & land-based collective future. Their work is guided by their inquiry into what ecology, community and tradition can teach us about overcoming oppressive systems, healing and building new worlds.
https://www.instagram.com/linkefligl

Ian Shiffer (he/him) is an organizer, community-builder, and resource mobilizer born and raised in Tovaangar/LA. He spends his days working as the Community Weaver for Nefesh and organizing for reparations via intergenerational return/teshuvah. Ian loves going for walks looking for the sun and connecting with his neighbors, spending time with his kin, playing, laughing, and reading.