NCJW Pittsburgh’s Tikkun Yachad encourages community members to repair, restore and reconnect
Program enables participants to 'slow down, share a meal, reflect and reconnect to what helps us keep going'
A program predicated on collective restoration is inviting community members to join and heal.
Tikkun Yachad, organized by NCJW Pittsburgh is hosting “Nurturing as Resistance: Tending Life in the Midst of All We’re Facing” on April 21 at Anathan House in Squirrel Hill.
The program, according to organizers, will enable participants to “slow down, share a meal, reflect and reconnect to what helps us keep going.”
Tikkun Yachad, which translates to “repairing together,” is a near-monthly series that brings people together and allows for “connection, conversation, self-care and action,” Rachel Martin Golman, NCJW Pittsburgh’s senior director of social impact, said.
“We really wanted to think about how we sustain social justice work,” she continued. The goal is not to ask people to undertake “individual, isolated action, but that we’re really building community, that we’re building trust and connection, that we’re ensuring people are nourished and resourced as they enter into work, or as they continue their social justice journey.”
Erika Gold Kestenberg, an NCJW Pittsburgh board member, has participated in several Tikkun Yachads, and called the experience a “really beautiful program and one of the many that NCJW has.”
What distinguishes Tikkun Yachad, though, is that the program “creates a beautiful space of community, of care, of connection,” she said. “It’s a nice respite from the business of life and the current chaos that we’re experiencing in the world.”
Each meetup follows a similar format, organizers explained.
The program begins with a light meal and conversation, followed by a self-care practice such as stretching or guided meditation and occasional remarks from a guest speaker.
“It’s kind of a multi-dimensional experience, where our bodies, minds and spirits are all fed, and you feel connected in community in ways that I really appreciate,” Kestenberg told the Chronicle.
NCJW Pittsburgh, according to its mission statement, is “inspired by the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam” and “promotes increased equity through the empowerment of women.”
The organization is guided by three pillars: economic equity, inclusive democracy and reproductive freedom and access.
Discussion, whether with a guest speaker or among participants, aligns with those pillars, Kestenberg said.
“The conversation moves as it moves,” she said. “And every time I’ve been there, I’ve met different people, and it’s been really beautiful every time.”
Questions and topics at past programs have addressed child raising or common values, Golman said. “It’s very open-ended, and with the intent of allowing people to really think about their motivations, what sustains them, and to be able to find connections with other people based on those values and motivations and purpose.”
Founded in 1894, NCJW Pittsburgh was the fourth chapter of the national organization. Known until 1906 as the “Columbian Council,” NCJW Pittsburgh focused on welcoming and aiding recent immigrants to the United States. As the years progressed, the organization evolved, according to the Rauh Jewish Archives, and undertook various initiatives “designed to improve the lives of women and families.”
NCJW Pittsburgh remains “rooted in Jewish values,” Kestenberg said. “It is also rooted in understanding that those of us who are also working to repair the world need a place of care and healing and grounding ourselves so that we can be able to continue to do that work in the world.”
Participation in Tikkun Yachad is open to everyone, Golman said.
Past programs have featured a “very broad mix of people from all parts of the community, and that’s actually really added to the richness,” she continued. “Everyone is welcome. Come as you are.”
Registration for the April 21 program is available at ncjwpgh.org. PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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