The Mishna (the first major work of Jewish oral traditions and Rabbinic literature written in the late 2nd century) suggests that one is not ready to access the deep understanding of mystical Kabbalistic study until the age of 40. In my mid thirties I began my studies with The Hebrew Priestess Institute.  I studied Jewish Plant Magic and Ancestral Healing.  I began to attend Kabbalah study groups and became fascinated with the Sefer Yetzira and the cosmic architecture that is the Hebrew Alphabet. Shortly after my 41 st birthday, I received a Divine instruction: 

“If I ever wanted to become a Mystic, I first must become a Hockey Goalie”.  

This is the first of many pieces that explores my journey to spiritual salvation through the fully embodied, deeply meditative and brutal practice of goaltending.   

SHEMIRA

Created in response to my time as a 2023 LABA Fellow. LABA is a laboratory for Jewish Arts and Culture with hubs in New York, San Francisco, Berlin and Buenos Aries. I was part of a cohort of creative Jewish professionals who would meet monthly to discuss ancient and contemporary texts with Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies Sam Shonkoff and Dr. Deena Aranoff at The Graduate Theological Union. The central theme of all the texts was : “Taboo”. 

Shemira– in Hebrew means- to guard, or to observe. It is also the Jewish practice of tending to and guarding a body from death until burial.  This piece is a self portrait cast in polyurethane garlic skins. The cantilevered topless goaltender is confronted by serpent emerging from the plastic mosaic ice, entering her crease. Around the perimeter of the are tiles cast in Scagliola (rabbit skin glue, plaster and pigment). They say:

“Stick On The Ice, Position, Dina, Joan”. 

This is the mantra I repeat while tending goal. 

Somatic practitioner Tada Hozumi theorizes that one of the reasons grief is so hard to process within white communities is the overall lack of hip movement within white culture. I wonder about Goal Tending. Goal Tending requires rapid hip movements and maintaining a fully embodied meditative mid set.