jEWISH sTORYTELLERS gUIld
Uplifting oral traditions in Jewish culture. Becoming Magidah.
What is a Guild?
A guild is an artisan cohort and skill sharing network. In Jewish tradition, guilds date back to biblical times and included storytellers, musicians, dancers, perfume makers, tanners, weavers, wood carvers, altar makers, metallurgists and tenders of fire. Most Jewish communities maintained artisans and artisan guilds as essential components of grassroots communal culture.
Why a Guild of Magidim - Jewish Storytellers?
The Jewish storyteller’s guild is a movement to re-establish skillful tellers within the heart of our communities. Storytelling is a core ingredient in building beloved community and envisioning the just world we want to see. As Bernice Johnson Reagon, the founder of Sweet Honey and the Rock, recalled, “After a song the differences between us were not so great. Somehow, making a song required an expression of that which was common to us all.... This music was like an instrument, like holding a tool in your hand.” So it is with a well told story!
What does a Jewish storyteller need to know to be part of a Guild of Maggidim?
Come, come whoever you are! The Guild provides learning opportunities to deepen knowledge of Jewish narrative and oral traditions, develop your repertoire, practice telling, and receive supportive feedback. The Guild gives you access to Rabbi Lynn's teachings and building relationships with other storytellers.
A guild is an artisan cohort and skill sharing network. In Jewish tradition, guilds date back to biblical times and included storytellers, musicians, dancers, perfume makers, tanners, weavers, wood carvers, altar makers, metallurgists and tenders of fire. Most Jewish communities maintained artisans and artisan guilds as essential components of grassroots communal culture.
Why a Guild of Magidim - Jewish Storytellers?
The Jewish storyteller’s guild is a movement to re-establish skillful tellers within the heart of our communities. Storytelling is a core ingredient in building beloved community and envisioning the just world we want to see. As Bernice Johnson Reagon, the founder of Sweet Honey and the Rock, recalled, “After a song the differences between us were not so great. Somehow, making a song required an expression of that which was common to us all.... This music was like an instrument, like holding a tool in your hand.” So it is with a well told story!
What does a Jewish storyteller need to know to be part of a Guild of Maggidim?
Come, come whoever you are! The Guild provides learning opportunities to deepen knowledge of Jewish narrative and oral traditions, develop your repertoire, practice telling, and receive supportive feedback. The Guild gives you access to Rabbi Lynn's teachings and building relationships with other storytellers.
Cultural Wisdom Tenders: Becoming Magidim
To become a magid, a person must develop a repertoire of ten or more stories of their choosing. The repertoire might include reciting torah as a told story, folk tales, jokes, family and personal accounts, witness stories and traditional tales. A magid's stories have undergone a script, workshop and live performance process. Taking a storytelling class or attending a Guild retreat is a first step to becoming a magid.
Becoming a master magid: A master storyteller knows a story for every occasion! Magidim are skilled at telling stories around the sacred fire; at birth, b’mitzvah, wedding, death and holy day ceremonies; at street protests, shabbat liberation encampments, in a classroom environment or anywhere someone asks you to tell a story. Why do people ask you to tell a story? Because magidim are known to have a story at the ready for any occasion.
Becoming a master magid: A master storyteller knows a story for every occasion! Magidim are skilled at telling stories around the sacred fire; at birth, b’mitzvah, wedding, death and holy day ceremonies; at street protests, shabbat liberation encampments, in a classroom environment or anywhere someone asks you to tell a story. Why do people ask you to tell a story? Because magidim are known to have a story at the ready for any occasion.
FALL GUILD COURSE
Beyt Olum: House of Life - Jewish Stories about Memorializing Catastrophe
Schedule: online, Tues. Sept 3, 10, 17, 24, Oct 1; 5:15 pm PST - 6:30pm PST
Cost: $200 (includes 5 classes & individual 1/2 hr. session with R. Lynn)
The Guild’s Fall Session will focus on Horban HaBayit, stories about the Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the creation of Jewish diaspora culture.
This year, as the world struggles to stop the genocide of Palestinian people, the Shomeret Shalom Storytelling Guild will explore core Jewish and Palestinian narratives about living through massive devastation. What do ancestor stories about catastrophe have to teach us about healing from trauma? What tales shift our gaze from fear to love, denial to truth telling, death to regeneration.
email [email protected] to register
Beyt Olum: House of Life - Jewish Stories about Memorializing Catastrophe
Schedule: online, Tues. Sept 3, 10, 17, 24, Oct 1; 5:15 pm PST - 6:30pm PST
Cost: $200 (includes 5 classes & individual 1/2 hr. session with R. Lynn)
The Guild’s Fall Session will focus on Horban HaBayit, stories about the Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the creation of Jewish diaspora culture.
This year, as the world struggles to stop the genocide of Palestinian people, the Shomeret Shalom Storytelling Guild will explore core Jewish and Palestinian narratives about living through massive devastation. What do ancestor stories about catastrophe have to teach us about healing from trauma? What tales shift our gaze from fear to love, denial to truth telling, death to regeneration.
email [email protected] to register