Events
QUICK LINKS: Shabbats / Calendar / Accessibility /Jewish Learning
Regular Event
Information
Shabbats
Our monthly Shabbat services are organized and led by a small group of volunteers and take place on the second Friday of every month (of the Gregorian calendar), at rotating locations throughout the Twin Cities.
WTC Shabbats are rooted in our shared values, as we collectively reimagine Jewish tradition on the way to the liberated world. Our services are dynamic and wide-ranging in from traditional Hebrew davening to experimental and somatic (and everything in between), aiming to empower everyone to bring their fullest selves and deepest yearnings with them, and to connect in ways that feel meaningful and nourishing. Our monthly Shabbats are generated in the power of diaspora, in solidarity, and are building toward a Judaism beyond Zionism. Together, we are creating a better world through ritual, connection, and collective care.
High Holidays
There’s so much information about high holidays, they have their own page!
Jewish Learning
Torah Study Group
The WTC Torah Study Group is a vibrant and active space to study Torah through queer, decolonized, diasporic lenses. It is important to create environments where leftist Jewish discourse can thrive when so many of our voices have been pushed away and our identities called into question. This Torah study is an incredibly important resource for building a Jewish foundation that is rooted in liberation for all.
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No previous experience with Torah is necessary to join in study. We have folks who are reading through the Torah for the first time and others who have played and wrestled with Torah numerous times. You do not need to be a Torah scholar to participate, just a curiosity and the vulnerability to share insights, ask questions, and learn from one another.
Our sages have taught us that we can not study in isolation. Our ideas and our voices have value. We have an obligation to share them with one another. When we study in community and collaboratively exchange ideas, debate, and play with perspectives, we can turn over new meaning and deepen our wisdom. Strengthening both our individual and collective self so we can go forth and do the work of repairing the world and building olam haba.
The WTC Torah Study Group meets virtually at 9am every Friday morning and Tuesdays at noon. You do not need to commit to attending every week, jump in whenever you would like! If you cannot attend the weekly virtual meetings but are still interested in discussing Torah, we have a WhatsApp group. This is a great opportunity for folks to exchange ideas, art, essays, etc on the weekly parsha outside of the Friday morning Torah Study session.
Contact us to get the link or follow the link in the calendar event.
Hebrew and Torah Classes
Come learn the secrets of the language in a supportive Jewish Left space and from a Jewish Left lens! Join Tamar Ghidalia and Gayle Zoffer for classes on basic Hebrew, reading prayers, and torah and trope skills. Hebrew classes (Beginner 1 and Beginner 2) will be during the summer of 5786, and the Torah and Trope class will take place after the high holidays in 5787.
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Yesod: Intro to Hebrew (Beginner 1) - taught by Tamar Ghidalia
10 weekly classes, Mondays 6-7:15pm central time
Want to learn to read the Hebrew aleph-bet from scratch, or strengthen your skill with the letters and sounds? Join us for our Intro to Hebrew class!
Reading the Hebrew aleph-bet is a first step towards making Torah yours, a lifelong companion.
We aspire to give you the tools, skills, resources, and support to go wherever you want on your Jewish journey.
This is a beginner level class, for those who are completely new to the aleph-bet and those who have learned before and want to refresh their knowledge.
With a curriculum based on the book Alef is not Tough! developed by Linda Motzkin and taught by Tamar Ghidalia, this course will set learners up to decode Hebrew that will support future text study, synagogue services, and home rituals.
B’yachad: In Depth Prayers (Beginner 2) - taught by Tamar Ghidalia
10 weekly classes, Mondays 7:15-8:30pm central time
Use your intro to Hebrew Yesod knowledge to explore Siddur T’filah Hebrew; understand the meaning of the prayers and have fun with roots!
This class is for students who took Yesod Intro or already know how to decode Hebrew.
The homework for each class is to replay/listen to the recording and practice the Chevruta session materials.
Format for Hebrew classes
Classes are on Zoom (To be accessible to everyone and allow for non- WTC participants)
Cost: $100 for each cycle of 10 classes of 75 minutes each. In order to keep the class cost low, we need a minimum of 15 students per class (so bring your friends along!)
(if we have 10 or fewer students, the cost will be $150)
Day/time:
Once a week/on:
Monday night from 6:00pm -7:15pm for Yesod
Monday night from 7:15-8:30pm for B’yachad
Materials: Tamar can share the "Alef is not Tough" book digitally, so there's no need to buy it.
Hebrew class Intensive option: 2x a week a possibility if enough students are interested.
Trope and Torah Skills, taught by Gayle Zoffer
Tuesdays, 6:00-7:00pm central time (beginning after the high holidays)
Are you interested in reading Torah at future World to Come Services? In preparing for a B’mitzvah? In simply learning how trope notation and melodies work? This class is for you.
10 sessions of 1 hour on Zoom using Portnoy and Wolff, The Art of Torah Cantillation
People who’ve done Yesod and B’Yachad (or the equivalent are best prepared for the class, but at least Yesod/reading beginner 1 level) is required
Minimum of 4 students needed to run the class, maximum class size of 10. (possible to offer 1:1 if requested, especially for young people who would like a B’Mitzvah down the line.)
Haftarah chanting is also a possibility if there were demand for it.
We will hold an orientation session (TBD) on Zoom before classes start to clarify expectations and answer questions.
Calendar
We have a Google Calendar for community events. If you have an event you’d like to share, please fill out this form.
Please ensure that you include as much information as possible about the event, including accessibility information.
Event
Accessibility Information
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For indoor events, KN95 or N95 masks are required and provided, unless it is an accessibility barrier* and you can’t safely wear a mask.
For outdoor events, KN95 or N95 masks are required and provided when gathering in close proximity (within 6’ of others) outdoors, unless it is an accessibility barrier* and you can’t safely wear a mask.
Ritual leaders will be unmasked during the service if they test negative on a rapid PCR before services (and will not attend if their test is positive).
If you are experiencing symptoms of any contagious illness, have tested positive for COVID, or have had an unmasked exposure to someone who’s tested positive for COVID in the last 10 days, please stay home and join us online.
There will be mask recommended spaces for noshing and chatting after some services. Please consider wearing your mask when not actively eating, drinking, or unmasking for accessibility purposes. These areas will be marked when indoors during colder months.
There will be regular announcements and signage about COVID protocols.
*Some people can’t wear a mask for physical reasons, such as having a migraine, using oxygen, being highly heat sensitive, or having a sensory disability. Some people can’t wear a mask due to trauma or mental health needs. Sometimes masking is a barrier to communication; a person might pull down their mask briefly to communicate with someone who is Deaf or hard of hearing. Young kids might not be able to keep a mask on. A person with Alzheimer's might struggle to remember. There are other invisible and visible disabilities and experiences that might create an accessibility barrier to masking at events.
These are only examples; there are other accessibility barriers that might prevent people at WTC from being able to wear a mask. People with disabilities often face more access barriers, but everyone can face accessibility barriers. When most or all people wear a mask, it makes the space safer for everyone, increases access for immunocompromised people to be able to attend, and makes it safer for those of us who cannot wear a mask.
Barriers to masking do not include mild discomfort or a preference for not masking; we appreciate your taking our policy seriously and for helping us make a more accessible and safer space for all.
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WTC will strive, whenever we have indoor events, to meet the below physical space needs. We also recognize that there are Jewish ritual needs that benefit from, or require, being outdoors or in potentially inaccessible environments, and we will communicate with participants if the physical space we are gathering in does not meet ADA/beyond compliance. If participants have access needs that are not being met, please reach out to us and we will do our best to accommodate them.
Wheelchair accessibility, including bathrooms.
Fat-friendly, comfortable seating.
Minimal stairs and access to an elevator.
Accessible by public transit.
Good lighting.
If outdoors: clear communication about the accessibility of the space, bringing chairs/asking for chairs to be brought, and still using amplified sound.
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Use of amplified sound.
Virtual options and captioning available as often as possible.
Offering printed prayer books.
Offering childcare during High Holiday services, with the long-term goal of offering childcare at all WTC events.
When possible, offering a sensory room and fidgets.
Clear welcome from leaders and/or organizers at the beginning and end of events with what is The World to Come, what are our values, and how to get involved.
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