Dear Lab/Shul,
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
Today I am thrilled to share a BIG announcement with our community. Will all the tensions and sorrows of these difficult days, it’s extra exciting and meaningful to celebrate good news – especially when it’s been two decades in the making!
“Sabbath Queen”, the documentary that features Rabbi Amichai, filmed by our beloved friend and Lab/Shul Partner, Sandi DuBowski, over 21 years, will have a World Premiere this June at the Tribeca Film Festival in Documentary Competition! Find out more about the film and join us for some of the events surrounding the Premiere by clicking here.
We are thrilled to celebrate Rabbi Amichai’s courageous leadership as he continues to co-create, along with our incredible team, our bold response to the challenges of today and tomorrow. Scroll down to read some of Sandi’s words about this epic labor of love, click the links for more info, and stay tuned for more info.
COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie and Lab/Shul are at pivotal moments of growth, after two decades of bringing to fruition a collective vision for a more inclusive, empathetic, and engaged world. The film captures this vision as a beacon of innovation, ritual, and community-building, and is a testament to the transformative power of Lab/Shul as a center of spiritual creativity and engagement. It even captures some of Rabbi Amichai’s time in Israel in the weeks after October 7th, serving as a leader and peace-maker, offering hope to both Israelis and Palestinians on the ground.
Check out yesterday’s Chronicle of Philanthropy, where Amichai was quoted at length in this excellent article about how Lab/Shul has been holding space for Courageous Conversations in response to the war.
“We need to find a space safe enough for everybody to be honored and for this pain to be processed,” Lau-Lavie said. “This is a terrible time, but this time is also an opportunity to ask tough questions and to forge relationships.”
We know that this film will help bring these messages of hope and resilience to many who need and are looking forward to celebrating these milestones with you in the coming months.
HONORING SANDI AT LAB/SHUL’S GALA – JUNE 18th
Sandi is not only a very patient and talented artist but also a dear friend and leader of the Lab/Shul community and we are thrilled to honor him at our upcoming spring Gala on June 18, 2024 at Brooklyn Bowl. In addition to Sandi, we will be recognizing three outstanding Lab/Shul Partners – Maryam Chishti, Libby Lenkinski and Rima DuBowski, Sandi’s beloved mother. Stay tuned for more information about them when our Gala tickets launch after Passover.
Wishing us all peaceful days with many good excuses to celebrate the best in life, however long it takes to get there.
With gratitude
Sarah Sokolic, Co-Founder, Executive Director
From Director Sandi DuBowski:
“SABBATH QUEEN, a feature documentary filmed over 21 years, follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis including the Chief Rabbis of Israel. He is torn between rejecting and embracing his destiny and becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer father, and the founder of Lab/Shul – an everybody-friendly, God-optional, artist-driven, pop-up experimental congregation. SABBATH QUEEN joins Amichai on a lifelong quest to creatively and radically reinvent religion and ritual, challenge patriarchy and supremacy, champion interfaith love, and stand up for peace, ceasefire, and an end to the Occupation in Israel/Palestine. The film interrogates what Jewish survival means in a difficult rapidly changing 21st century.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE OF SANDI’S WORDS
For more information visit the Sabbath Queen website: SabbathQueen.com.
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