what is the 🧿SHTETL CRIER?
why this lil digest exists & my hopes and dreams for it
if not me, then who?
in the words of @horse_ebooks, “everything happens so much,” and nowhere is that more true than in jewish community. one shabbes away from instagram and you’ve inadvertently missed announcements for a hebrew calligraphy workshop, an ancestral skills retreat in the mountains, and a queer rosh chodesh gathering. it’s hard to keep track of it all.
for a long time now, i have dreamed of one single, consolidated place to find all the cool & beautiful jewish events near (and far from!) me. i kept desperately wishing for someone (not me, but anyone else) to take on the challenge of compiling all the things into a regularly-updated newsletter, like a modern-day shtetl crier yelling “hear ye, hear ye” in yiddish.
but, as we may know from pirkei avot,
“you are not obligated to complete the [jewish events newsletter], but neither are you free to desist from it.”
at least for now, i have to be the cool jewish events compiler that i wish to see in the world. i’m the one i’ve been waiting for.
okay, so what will it be?
this will be a digest focused on grassroots, politically progressive, inclusive, queer and trans-positive, and anti-racist jewish things. canadian events will be the primary purpose, but virtual things & international retreats open to canadian jews are very encouraged!
expect about two newsletters a month (1st week, 3rd week). it’ll always be free and accessible to all, AND i expect i’ll be putting a lot of energy into this and would not say no if you ever wanted to buy me a coffee. it’ll be somewhat curated by me, but hopefully mostly powered by your submissions.
what kind of events will be included?
this newsletter will share concerts, educational events, arts & crafts workshops, retreats, text study classes, fellowships, hikes, job postings, etc.
hosting a cool event and want folks to know about it? submit it.
facilitating a jewish research study & need participants? submit it.
planning to attend a cool retreat somewhere in the states and want more canadians there? submit it.
trying to create something new and want collaborators? submit it.
inclusion in the newsletter =/= endorsement of an event. and also: events focused on hasbara (propaganda in support of the state of israel) will not have a space here.
not sure if an event is a good fit? submit it anyway.
first newsletter
💌 coming to your inbox october 1st, 2023
make sure you subscribe below!
a request
i want to make sure this is truly representative of the cool jewish stuff happening across the country. if you are connected to cool jewish community outside toronto (vancouver, winnipeg, montreal, halifax, peterborough, etc.), please share with your networks and/or put me in touch with folks!
questions? comments? ideas?
email me at shtetlcrier@substack.com
yelling into a virtual megaphone 📣 while ringing a virtual bell 🔔 while unfurling a long parchment scroll 📜 — and sending love as i do it,
💖 vlada, AKA your shtetl crier
Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it.
This is a fabulous idea, Vlada! I hope it takes off and thrives. I'll send events to you and look forward to seeing how this develops.
I have a question . . . Is the Shtetl Crier going to be posted somewhere where people can access it at any time? or only sent out as an email on the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month?