The Jewish farming, environmental and food justice movements of the current generation have been nourished by a wellspring of centuries-old, sung, chanted, and studied, poetic and instructive Hebrew and English texts. Avodat lev, a contemplative Jewish prayer service made up of song, chant, meditation and poetry, expressively encapsulates the animating principles of these movements. Avodat lev (roughly translated as “work of the heart”) distills the movement of the Jewish people from people of the land to people of the book, and the ongoing interrelationship of these identities. As neo-Hasidic phenomenon entwining communal ecstatic expression and private meditation, Avodat lev is both strongly embodied and highly metaphorical. In this talk, Elyse Carter Vosen briefly traces the history of the concept and practice of Avodat lev and explores the aspects of its form that make it intimate and compelling for its practitioners, documenting its potential to draw in previously disengaged younger generations of Jews and to bind generations together. It will demonstrate the power of Avodat lev to fuel Jewish farming and food justice movements and especially to create deep and long-lasting communities of song and spiritual connection.
This event is a School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Colloquium, and admission is free.
