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Dear Friend,
Today is Tisha B’Av, a day of Jewish collective mourning known as
the saddest day of the year. We know many of you are fasting or
marking the holiday in your own community.
Tisha B’Av historically marks the destruction of the two temples.
In recent years, Jews and allies in our movement have gathered to
collectively mourn the destruction caused by white supremacy.
At Bend the Arc, we know when we collectively mourn and refuse to
turn away from destruction or pain, we grow our power to create
justice.
This
year we invite you to join us in marking Tisha B’Av by watching and
reflecting on the short film, 40 Days of Teshuva.
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Yehudah Webster
asked a powerful question from his parents: “When you're at a loss for
what to do physically, turn to the spiritual, turn to Torah. What
would our ancestors do?"
Yehudah’s answer was to organize a 40-day long public action in New
York with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice to cry out to the
heavens, blow the shofar, and mourn the destruction of Black and Brown
bodies at the hands of the racist systems that exist today. The action
culminated on Tisha B’Av.
The
26-minute film about his 40 Days of Teshuva can be watched in full on
YouTube, and the film creators at the IOWA Project have a
discussion guide, panel recording, interviews, and more on their
website.
They encourage us to:
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Integrate Jewish spiritual tools and technologies
into the work of social change and racial justice
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Reflect on how we nurture and support Black
leadership in our communities and justice work
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Acknowledge and commit to uprooting our own
racism
Our ancestors left Egypt as an erev rav (mixed multitude)
to build a world of safety and thriving, but violence and destruction
persist. Yehuda demonstrates how we can use the spiritual tools of
Jewish tradition to face hard truths, take accountability, and grow
our power to make Black lives actually matter in this country.
Act
today for Tisha B’Av: Watch 40 Days of Teshuvah here.
In solidarity,
The Bend the Arc team
PS: Look out for a new installment of Your
Safety is My Safety featuring Yehudah, coming next week.
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