Liora Ostroff, Naomi Rose Weintraub: Judaism Unbound Episode 328 - Safety and Unsafety in Jewish Life
Liora Ostroff and Naomi Rose Weintraub are the curator-in-residence and artist-in-residence, respectively, for The Jewish Museum of Maryland (JMM). They explore, in conversation with Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg, a recent exhibition that they helped to install at JMM, entitled A Fence Around the Torah: Safety and Unsafety in Jewish Life.
[1] We encourage to explore the full A Fence Around the Torah exhibition yourself — either before you listen to this episode, or as you’re listening to it — via AFenceAroundTheTorah.com. You can also learn more about The Jewish Museum of Maryland by heading to JewishMuseumMD.org.
[2] For two videos from the exhibition that are mentioned in this podcast episode, see Jewish Ritual as Rebellion (by Naomi Rose Weintraub) and Dangerous Opinions (by Danielle Durchslag) below:
Naomi Rose Weintraub: Jewish Ritual as Rebellion
Danielle Durchslag: Dangerous Opinions
[3] We Are The Disloyal Ones, a poem by RAYJ (Rebellious Anarchist Young Jews), featured in the exhibition and discussed in this podcast:
We are the disloyal ones.
We are the ones who refuse to bow down to rulers on horseback. Whose only Melech / King is the life giving force of Breath / Ruach.
We are the ones who find home not in your conquered places but in our sacred times. We are people of the book not the borders drawn onto your maps. We find ourselves in curling black letters etched into parchment not in waving flags.
We are the ones who wrestle with G-d whenever we dream. While we stand and pray we ask our ancestors, not your armies, to gather and shield us.
We are the ones who desist from domination with candles and bread and wine. We are the ones who reject your calendar so we can grow with the waxing and waning of the shimmering moon.
We are the ones who refuse your food when we remember the pain of destruction, who sit for a week as we grieve our dead. We are the ones who sing songs of joy as the flames consume us.
The disloyal ones create defiant encampments with the mixed multitudes who remain ungovernable.
Together, our beauty turns your curses into blessings.
מַה טּבוּ
Mah Tovu
[4] Ostroff mentions that, when exploring exhibitions that had been constructed effectively to engage people online, she was particularly impressed by Men of Change, an exhibition from the Smithsonian. Check out Men of Change by clicking here.
[5] For a full Judaism Unbound episode featuring Danielle Durchslag, whose work is referenced in this episode (and viewable above), see Episode 254: The Jewish 1% - Danielle Durchslag.
[6] The Jewish Museum of Maryland now has its own podcast, called Disloyal. Check it out here!
[7] Learn more about Liora Ostroff’s work as a painter, and view some of her pieces, at LioraOstroff.com.
[8] For a past Judaism Unbound episode that dives into the topic of painting, see Episode 157: Painting the Unpaintable - Yishai Jusidman.
[9] Learn more about roiselekh — the paper flowers that Weintraub referenced as being a custom on Shavuot — by clicking here.
[10] Take a look below at one of Weintraub’s pieces (referenced in the episode) that helped people learn how to use Zoom, early in the pandemic.
