Temple of the STRANGER
AN IVRI PROJECT
WE ARE THE ANCESTORS OF THE FUTURE
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WE ARE THE ANCESTORS OF THE FUTURE ✦
A mystical communityfor all
GODDEXX-CENTERED. MYSTICAL. EMBODIED. EXPERIENTIAL. HEART-NOURISHING. ROOTED IN JEWISH ANCESTRAL WISDOM. OPEN TO ALL.
JOIN US FOR A PIECE OF IMMERSIVE SPIRITUAL THEATER, A RADICAL CEREMONY, OR A WISDOM TALK.
THE ANCESTORS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.
THE FUTURE ONES HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.
WELCOME HOME.
A NEW view
On OLD IDEAS
יְדִיד אֲתוּי עֵֽבֶר יִדַּעֲךָ בָּעוֹלָם - YADID ATUY EVER YIDACHA B’OLAM
YOUR BELOVED BOUNDARY-CROSSER MADE YOU KNOWN IN THE WORLD
- SEDER HA-AVODAH, YOM KIPPUR
OUR FAVORITE
QUESTIONS
1 ARE YOU A SYNAGOGUE?
NOPE.
WE DON’T OFFER WEDDINGS, FUNERALS, BE MITZVAHS OR OTHER LIFECYCLE EVENTS, OUR RABBI IS NOT ON CALL, AND WE DON’T SCHEDULE A FULL CALENDAR OF SHABBAT OR HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING.
WE CREATE EXTRAORDINARY POP-UP EXPERIENCES IN NORTH BROOKLYN AND BEYOND.
WE TEACH RADICAL TORAH.
WE FOSTER A COMMUNITY OF RADIANT, WISE, OPEN-HEARTED FOLKS.
LOOKING FOR A SYNAGOGUE ON THE EAST COAST? CHECK OUT OUR FRIENDS AT LAB/SHUL.
LOOKING FOR A SYNAGOGUE ON THE WEST COAST? CHECK OUT OUR FRIENDS AT CHOCHMAT HALEV.
2 HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR NEXT EVENT?
CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS PAGE, SIGN UP FOR OUR LISTSERV (CLICK THE CONTACT LINK BELOW) AND FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @TEMPLEOFTHESTRANGER
3 HOW JEWISH DO I HAVE TO BE TO ATTEND AN EXPERIENCE? DO I NEED TO KNOW HEBREW
OR JEWISH RITUAL?
YOU’RE WELCOME IF YOU’RE JEWISH, JEW-ISH, OR NOT JEWISH AT ALL. YOU AREN’T EXPECTED TO KNOW ANYTHING IN ADVANCE OF A CEREMONY. WE EXPLAIN EVERYTHING AND QUESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
4 WHO IS GODDEXX?
WE CREATE EXPERIENCES OF AWE THAT INVITE FOLKS INTO ENCOUNTER WITH SPIRIT/HIGHER POWER/SOMETHING LARGER THAN THEMSELVES—WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALL GOD. WE OFTEN USE THE NEGLECTED BUT HUGELY POWERFUL FEMININE GODDESS OR THE NONBINARY GODDEXX VARIATIONS ON THE G-WORD. DON’T LIKE THE G-WORD AT ALL? THAT’S TOTALLY FINE WITH US. WE HONOR AGNOSTICISM AND ATHEISM AS SACRED PATHS.
5 WHAT DENOMINATION IS TEMPLE OF THE STRANGER?
WE ARE AN IVRI PATH COMMUNITY. WE HAVE ROOTS IN JEWISH RENEWAL, NEO-CHASIDUS, THE KOHENET MOVEMENT, AND QUEER AND TRANS THEOLOGY.
6 WAIT, WHAT’S IVRI?
IVRI MEANS “BOUNDARY CROSSER.” IT IS THE NAME OF THE MOST ANCIENT ANCESTORS OF MODERN DAY JEWS.
THE IVRI PATH IS A RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL PATH ROOTED IN JEWISH MYSTICAL WISDOM AND OPEN TO PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS. THE IVRI PATH IS GODDESS-ROOTED, NEO-CHASIDIC, AND EMBODIED.
THE IVRI PATH HAS SEVEN GUIDING PRINCIPLES. LEARN MORE HERE.
7 WHAT CAN I EXPECT AT A TEMPLE OF THE STRANGER EXPERIENCE?
WE CREATE ALL KINDS OF EXPERIENCES, FROM IMMERSIVE CEREMONIES TO RADICAL WISDOM TALKS TO ECSTATIC SHABBAT DANCES. WHATEVER IT IS, EXPECT TO GO DEEP. EXPECT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT’S REAL. EXPECT TO MEET FABULOUS HUMAN BEINGS.
OUR AVANT GARDE SPIRITUAL THEATER EXPERIENCES ARE PARTICULARLY SPECIAL. CRAFTED BY RAV JERICHO AND REBBETZIN DR BEN ASH BLUM, THESE BOUNDARY-PUSHING IMMERSIVE PIECES OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY TO STEP INTO ANCIENT STORIES OF THE HEART AND EXPLORE NEW WAYS OF BEING IN COMMUNITY AND IN THE WORLD.
8 WHY DON’T YOU MEET MORE OFTEN?
IT IS OUR DREAM TO GATHER MORE FREQUENTLY, BUT ORGANIZED COMMUNITY ON THIS SCALE IN NEW YORK IS EXPENSIVE AND RIGHT NOW, AS A FIESTY SPIRITUAL START UP HELD TOGETHER BY OVERWHELMING PARTICIPANT ENTHUSIASM, ENORMOUS VOLUNTEER EFFORTS, SHEER WILLPOWER, AND THE SUPPORT OF A FEW VISIONARY DONORS, WE DON’T HAVE THE FUNDS TO DO MORE. IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN STEPPING IN TO SUPPORT OUR WORK SO THAT WE CAN GROW AND CREATE MORE EVENTS, PLEASE BE IN TOUCH!
“eye-opening, wondrous” “it felt as if the Temple itself had been recreated” “Super inspiring to be in such a queer, diverse, cozy, sacred space” “I have been struck right in my spiritual heart” “profound, inviting, and accepting” “visceral experience of release and connection” “I felt surprisingly seen” “exactly what I've been looking for” “LIFE CHANGING”
THE RABBI SAYS HI
HI! I’M JERICHO, THE RABBI AND FOUNDER OF TEMPLE OF THE STRANGER.
WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER, I WAS PUSHED OUT OF MY ULTRA-ORTHODOX RABBINICAL FAMILY, AND I EMBARKED ON A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY THAT TOOK ME THROUGH ZEN BUDDHIST, SUFI, AND ATHEIST COMMUNITIES BEFORE I RETURNED TO JUDAISM— ON MY OWN TERMS.
WHAT BROUGHT ME BACK?
WELL, I STUMBLED ON THE SILENCED AND ERASED VOICES OF OUR ANCIENT MOTHERS AND OF THE MYSTICS AND OF OUR QUEER AND TRANS ANCESTORS. THEY BLEW MY MIND. THEN I RECEIVED A CALL TO SHARE THEIR POWERFUL WISDOM WITH THE WORLD.
WHICH I IGNORED.
I’M A TRANS NONBINARY REBEL MARRIED TO A NON-JEW. HALF MY HEAD IS SHAVED. I HAVE SEVEN TATTOOS (SO FAR). NOT EXACTLY WHAT POPS UP WHEN YOU GOOGLE RABBI.
BUT THE CALL PERSISTED. SO FINALLY, I ANSWERED.
THANK GODDEXX I DID. I HAVE KNOWN A LOT OF JOY IN MY LIFE, BUT THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE FEELING OF TAKING YOUR PLACE ON YOUR PATH.
WHERE’S YOUR PATH?
HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PLACE ON IT?
PERHAPS TEMPLE OF THE STRANGER CAN HELP. WE DRAW TOGETHER A PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE EAGER TO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER AND THE ANCESTORS.
COME JOIN US AT AN EXPERIENCE. AT THE END, COME ON OVER TO ME AND SAY HI BACK.
WITH LOVE,
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LEARN TORAH WITH RAV JERICHO ON INSTAGRAM @THEALEF
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RAV JERICHO’S BIO
RAV JERICHO VINCENT IS THE RABBI AND FOUNDER OF TEMPLE OF THE STRANGER. THEY WERE ORDAINED BY THE AOP IN THE LINEAGE OF REB ZALMAN SCHACHTER-SHALOMI ZT”L. THE FIRST PERSON IN THEIR FAMILY TO GO TO COLLEGE, RAV JERICHO HOLDS A GRADUATE DEGREE IN PUBLIC POLICY FROM HARVARD UNIVERSITY WHERE THEY WERE A PFORZHEIMER FELLOW. A LEADING TEACHER OF MYSTICAL TORAH, TRANS/QUEER/FEMINIST TORAH, AND THE TORAH OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, THEY CURRENTLY SERVE AS AN ADVISOR TO THE INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH SPIRITUALITY’S CLERGY LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AND TO BEIT KOHENET, AND THE SHALOM CENTER.
RAV JERICHO IS THE AUTHOR THE MEMOIR CUT ME LOOSE (NAN A TALESE/DOUBLEDAY 2014; UNDER THEIR PREVIOUS NAME), AND THEIR WRITING HAS APPEARED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE CUT, THE RUMPUS, THE FORWARD, AND CATAPULT.
A WEXNER FELLOW, A MEMBER OF THE ROI: SCHUSTERMAN COMMUNITY, AND A RECENT FELLOW AT ATRA: THE CENTER FOR RABBINIC INNOVATION, RAV JERICHO HAS BEEN NAMED TO THE JEWISH WEEK’S 36 UNDER 36 AND FORWARD 50 FOR THEIR WORK.
Our Team
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RAV JERICHO VINCENT
RABBI, FOUNDER
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MIRIAM RUBIN
DIRECTOR OF ‘THE MIRIAMS’— OUR BAND OF SACRED MUSICIANS
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Chloe jacobs
COMMUNITY WEAVER
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kohenet or har-gil
CO-MIYA OF JEWISH WITCHES MA’AGAL
MIYA (SHORT FOR MIYALEDET) IS AN ORDAINED SACRED FACILITATOR OF COMMUNITY GATHERINGS
Our Advisors
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RABBI AMICHAI LAU-LAVIE AM”OSH
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SPIRITUAL LEADER ZVIKA KRIEGER
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RABBI MARCIA PRAGER AM”OSH
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REBBETZIN DR. BEN ASH BLUM
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YANNICK TRAPMAN O'BRIEN
AM”OSH IS AN ACRONYM OF RESPECT FOR THE GREAT SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF OUR GENERATION
REBBETZIN IS THE TITLE OF A RABBI’S SPOUSE
with gratitude to our donors
JOHN MINTZ
OUR PARTNERS/network
seven principles of the IVRI Path
IVRI MEANS BOUNDARY-CROSSER.
IVRI IS THE MOST ANCIENT NAME FOR OUR PEOPLE—BEFORE WE WERE JEWS, BEFORE WE WERE ISRAELITES, WE WERE IVRIS.
AS AN IVRI COMMUNITY WE WALK A GODDESS-ROOTED, NEO-CHASIDIC, AND EMBODIED PATH. RETURNING TO THE FAITH OF OUR ANCESTORS BEFORE THE WARPING OF PATRIARCHY AND TRAUMA, WE WALK IN THE WARMTH OF GODDESS’ LOVE. WE ARE GUIDED BY THE ANCESTOR MORAH MIRIAM IN HEALING OLD WOUNDS, CULTIVATING THRIVING COMMUNITIES, AND IGNITING PERSONAL LIBERATION AND LIBERATION FOR ALL.
THE IVRI PATH IS OPEN TO FOLKS WHO ARE JEWISH, JEW-ISH, OR NON-JEWISH.
HERE ARE THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF THE IVRI PATH, THE FOUNDATION OF TEMPLE OF THE STRANGER.
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Speak from where you are
Acknowledging the limitations and gifts of every perspective
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Love the stranger
Offering wise love to that which is estranged within our hearts, within our communities, and within our histories
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Repair what has been broken
Healing our hearts, our communities, and the earth by returning again and again to the eternal inner goodness of every being
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Goddexx is love
Tapping into the power of a personal relationship with loving non-dual gender-fluid Mystery
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Pursue sacred pleasure
Embracing the sensual joy of being known as an embodied being
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Honor your practice
Recalibrating religious practice and directives away from patriarchy and towards a just and loving Divine
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We are the mothers of the messiah
Committing to a process of individual, communal, and ecological liberation
WE ARE THE ANCESTORS OF THE FUTURE
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WE ARE THE ANCESTORS OF THE FUTURE ✦
