We met in July, when each morning's news carries some new outrage or terror. Our service celebrated the wonder of berries, as is our July tradition, and also the power and urgent necessity of interdependence. As always, we took comfort in our familiar liturgies, such as our Blessing for Pursuing Justice, and in song, and … Continue reading Fringes July 2025: Cruelty Does Not Speak for Me
We met for a kabbalat shabbat service so we could all go pray with our feet on Shabbat afternoon. Our liturgy reflected the precarious moment we are in, the connections we have, and the power of how shabbat comes, every Friday at sunset, no matter what is happening in the world. Download our liturgy here. … Continue reading Fringes June 2025: Erev Protest
We met as the world around us gets more fragile, more endangered, more overwhelming. Insisting on our right to celebrate the joy of the beauty of spring, we all carried with us our worry, our fear, and our fury. Our theme was "spring," and our liturgy was full of images of flowers, leaves, and the … Continue reading Fringes May 2025: we feast on the abundance of the trees
This new 3 part ritual, created by Fringes' liturgist Elliott batTzedek, is for those moments when we need to view images of violence. While serving as a witness is an important social role, the tsunami of violent images in our culture has served to dehumanize those caught in the images and those who view them. … Continue reading Ritual for Viewing Images of Violence
We met on shabbat morning to honor the coming of spring and share our fear, grief, and hope as activists and people who want a livable future. Find our liturgy here, downloadable as a slide deck Our torah study for the month was learning about the utter fuckery of "Project Esther," a campaign by Christian … Continue reading March 2025: We are the ones we’ve been waiting for
Composer Alyssa Weinberg is creating a vocal piece commissioned by Pittsburgh Camerata (which is celebrating its 50th year). The piece is in response to Kol Nidre, a central liturgy of Yom Kippur. She's using words from my "Ashamnu for a Mindset of Privilege" - which is just astounding to me! The piece will be performed … Continue reading World Premiere on Wednesday, June 4 in Pittsburgh
We met for our 18th Birthday at a political time we could never have imagined when we were founded in 2007 - an ongoing genocide in Gaza and a political coup swallowing our government at home. Fringes is not an activist group, but we are a community of activists, each fighting to the make the … Continue reading February 2025: We will not be reconciled
We met today, one week out from the Inauguration, to pray within our community. We are, all of us, on edge, as parts of our world are burning and the incoming administration is threatening to make life much, much worse. After 18 years as a havurah we have experience with difficult moments, so, as always, … Continue reading Fringes January 2025: between hope and despair is the broad territory of moral integrity
As is always our custom, our December service focuses on honoring the dark time of year - exploring the wisdom of the dark rather than praying for the return of the light. We reject the false binary of light/good and dark/bad, especially living in a culture established on anti-Black racism. Dark is where life begins, … Continue reading Fringes December 2024: We come at last to the dark and enter in