WHO?

This is an affinity space for queer BIJOCSM (Black, Indigenous, Jews of Color, Sephardi, Mizrahi) community. We will be led by a multitude of queer BIJOCSM ritual leaders and musicians.

We want to acknowledge the complexity of these “identity labels” – often these words serve to categorize us and reduce our multifaceted experiences, as if we can be simply contained by one word. And, simultaneously, in a white supremacist culture that has already categorized us and our ancestors, these words help us find each other, help us build community, help us begin to put language to our experiences and begin to dismantle these oppressive boxes. We know that BIJOCSM is an incredibly vast grouping and imperfect labeling, and we’re choosing to use it to bring as many of us as possible in and to avoid further fragmentation of identity in deciding who belongs. All who find ourselves anywhere in the intersection of queer and BIJOCSM – in all of those complexities and in all of the ways we may straddle identities and spaces – are welcome 💜

and feel free to reach out to us at aqueernigunproject@gmail.com if you have questions about any of that or want to discuss further

These circles have been initiated by Rachel Chang, a queer mixed-race Chinese-American Jew and the director of A Queer Nigun Project. Leadership of each circle will be shared among many incredible queer BIJOCSM leaders! More info coming soon.

WHY?

We, as Jews of Color and as Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, have the right to take up space in all kinds of Jewish community, whether it centers us now or not. But we grow the most in spaces that make us feel seen and nourished, and it is this growth that empowers us to enter other spaces, to return to those spaces that don’t yet see us and to stand a little taller anyway, to know our power in shaping the spaces we live in. Through gathering, through singing, through visioning what Jewish space and experience can look like for us – we can tap into this process of both internal and external change.

Queer BIJOCSM Circles will include singing, learning, connecting, processing, and community building.

A Queer Nigun Project’s circles have, thus far, mostly utilized nigunim, spiritual wordless melody, as our main musical and spiritual technology, largely because of their wordless accessibility. This wordless accessibility remains important in this space especially, noting that our ancestors’ languages span an abundance of cultures and continents, and there is power in removing our assumptions of language commonalities. Hebrew can feel like a barrier for many, especially for marginalized Jews who feel a constant need to prove belonging.

We also know that Sephardi community, Mizrahi communtiy, and every other Jewish community out there each have their own set of musical repertoire laden with stories, influences, and spiritual resonance. Nigunim are rooted in Eastern-European Ashkenazi Judaism, and historically, they have not been a part of Sephardic or Mizrahi musical culture.

With all that in mind, in these circles, we will explore and heal through a variety of song, prayer, and wordless melody. The themes of accessibility and belonging, highlighted through nigunim in our circles thus far, will remain at the center as we gather to sing.

Our second circle will be on Sunday March 17, from 8-9:30 pm EST. Register here.

Sign up for our queer BIJOCSM mailing list to be updated about future circles, or to let us know what you’d like to see in these circles ✨