Sh’bath Shalom.
I have struggled for decades with the idea of creating on Sh’bath, but the Jewish community as it stands is not home to me, and the expression of Judaism that was dear to me died along with the generation that came before me, from the parts of the world that were ignored by the Jewish community for decades.
Israel means “the one who struggles with G*d,” and that is what I do through my poems, songs, articles, books, and workshops. This is my liturgy. This is where I encounter the Divine, where I encounter questions about Life itself, and where I struggle with the existence of horrific depths of darkness that exist alongside the ecstatic brilliance of light, and contemplate what to make of the whole fantastic mess.
And so I am allowing myself to create today, on Sh’bath, as I emerge from a four-year period of crisis, which I overcame despite the circumstances attempting to destroy me.
I stand here today a new woman, forged through the crucible, beginning a new season of my Life, which I am excited to share with all those who are, in turn, excited to join me on this spectacular journey.
The timing happens to coincide with the Jewish New Year, R’shanah, which is very meaningful to me.
At this juncture, I am reworking my Patreon site into the primary interactive hub of all things KHAZZOOM. I will have two different vehicles through which people can join me.
One is KHAZZOOM Studio, which will be the production and publication of my poems, songs, articles, journal entries, excerpts of my books, and so on. I create in bursts, and I will publish accordingly, instead of trying to fit myself into a rhythm that never, ever worked—which you know, if you’ve been a patron for a while, haha.
The second vehicle is KHAZZOOM Salon, which is where I will offer live gatherings where we will come together with our own sparkly brilliance of the Divine as it flows through us—our own questions, our own personalities, our own perspectives. Were we are each one piece of a puzzle that can only be solved when we put all the pieces together.
I will offer a poem, song, prayer, book excerpt, article, workshop, or a collection of these things, as a catalyst for provoking thought, contemplation, and connection—for us to go into the crucible together and come out with ideas and possibilities that never would have occurred to us alone.
So that I am not an artist removed from an audience, but rather I am one of us, sharing my soul and the way the Divine flows through me, as an opportunity for all of you to share the same.
I want us to find each other.
I want to create a space for people who are curious rather than certain, who are eager to encounter each other rather than categorize each other, who can wrestle with difficult questions without demanding that those questions have easy answers or any answers at all.
I want a space where we can bring the fullness of who we are—not to agree with each other, not to validate everything each other thinks or feels, but to become permeable to one another. To allow encounter itself to generate knowledge, possibility, connection, and transformation.
Maybe some of us have been hiding in the woods, wondering where everybody else is. I know that I have.
KHAZZOOM Salon and KHAZZOOM Studio are now my beacon. This is me turning on the Light. If you recognize the Signal, come find me at KHAZZOOMStudio.com.
The studio and salon vehicles will be evolving over the coming week or two, as I have the regain the bandwidth to do the behind-the-scenes development work.
Sh’bath Shalom,
Loolwa