Thanksgiving Coffee Company

On Friday morning we flew to Long Beach for 60 + hours of Yiddishkeit at the 3rd annual Jewlicious Festival. So what is Yiddishkeit you ask? Sit back, relax, and I’ll tell you. Yiddishkeit is everything and anything having to do with things relating to Jewish culture of course.

We were greeted at the airport and shuttled to the Jewish Community Center where all events took place. As the sun set, we welcomed the symbolic Sabbath Queen by lighting candles. Then we participated in Friday evening prayers, which were led in Carlebach fashion infused with dancing and singing.

We had a lovely traditional multi-course Shabbat dinner where JJ was honored by sitting at the head of the table. After dinner, JJ, Ben and I led a panel discussion on Fair Trade, the Cooperative, and our work in the world. Everyone was receptive to our message of social justice and interfaith cooperation. JJ made clear the 2 things that will bring long-term peace: 1) Being proud of who you are. Regardless if you are a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Christian, you should be proud of what you are. 2) Respect. Be proud of who you are and respect your neighbor of who they are. Rabbi Carlebach once wrote, “When Moshiach (The Messiah) comes, every religion in the world will begin to accept the differences and uniqueness of the other religions.” I believe that JJ is leading us closer to Moshiach.

The weekend was packed with amazing discussion groups. After the Sabbath, music bands from all over the world played until the early morning. On Sunday night JJ took the stage in true rock star fashion.

Big Toda Rabas (thank you-s) to Rabbi Yonah - Director Jewlicious Festival, Rachel Bookstein - Community educator, Director, Beach Hillel, Hartley Wynberg - Production Coordinator, and everyone else who made the festival truly fabulous!!

Who’s the rockstar?

This entry was posted by Holly on Monday, March 12th, 2007 at 3:37 pm and is filed under Interfaith Organizing, Mirembe Tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.