The Dynamic Tension between Hierarchies of Care and Balance of Care

All communities and groups create hierarchies of care that naturally privilege those closest to the self. Jewish tradition expresses this system of prioritization, offering hierarchies of philanthropic giving/Tzedakah. These hierarchies of care become distorted in racialized contexts, perpetuating racist hierarchies that uphold white supremacy and reinforce anti-Blackness. To heal ourselves and transform our social systems we need to actualize a balance of care, particularly regarding people of African heritage.  

Behaviors Change Attitudes

Implicit biases and unconscious adverse behaviors towards people of African heritage can change through concrete acts of care. External action often impacts our internal reality more than cognition alone.

Jewish Spiritual Practice

The Jewish spiritual practice of Mussar is designed to get the heart to feel what the head knows through concrete action. The language of the heart is practice and Mussar is a discipline of concrete acts of practice. Mussar uses a framework of middot/character traits to organize a program of growth, drawing on Torah wisdom about the traits and concrete practice to integrate ideas into the whole self.

Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out

This program is a multi-session experience that guides participants in the application of both anti-racism and Mussar learning and practice.