The Four Cornerstones; An Alternative Passover Ritual
Exploring modern-day liberation through an experiential Passover experience.
On March 14, 2021 we hosted a very special event featuring women leaders who are shaping and defining a world free of domination and patriarcny through the lens of an alternative and experiential Passover seder.
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Framed in the work of Riane Eisler's Four Cornerstones, we experienced the journey through the old patterns that bind us into the new narrative that liberates a society of Partnerism and freedom.
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Riane Eisler, Starhawk, Tirzah Firestone and Rabbi Paula Marcus immersed us in four pillars as they each relate to the ritual and meaning of Passover, while the harmonic wisdom of singer/songwriter Aliza Hava moves us through melodies and song.
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Together we ritualized the transformative power of shifting from a culture of domination to one of Partnerism through Four Cornerstones, framed in a Passover seder.
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The Four Cups
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Gender Roles & Relations | Families, Child Rearing & Social Structure
Narratives & Story Telling | Economic & Social Relations
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The Four Questions
Gender Roles & Relations: How can you be a midwife to embody and nurture possibilities?
Child Rearing: How can we see their vulnerability so we can protect and respect the youth?
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Narratives and Story Telling: How can you be an active agent of liberation?
Economic & Social Relations: What can we do to let our caring flow into what is rewarded economically? (into right action)
Art Credit- Laura James
Riane Eisler is a social systems scientist, cultural historian, and attorney whose research, writing, and speaking has transformed the lives of people worldwide. Her newest work, Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future, co-authored with anthropologist Douglas Fry (Oxford University Press, 2019), shows how to construct a more equitable, sustainable, and less violent world based on partnership rather than domination.
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Dr. Eisler is president of the Center for Partnership Studies (CPS), dedicated to research and education, Editor-in-Chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, an online peer-reviewed journal at the University of Minnesota that was inspired by her work, keynotes conferences nationally and internationally, has addressed the United Nations General Assembly, the U.S. Department of State, and Congressional briefings, and has spoken at corporations and universities worldwide on applications of the partnership model introduced in her work.
Rabbi Paula Marcus received her BA in Judaic studies from SUNYBinghamton. She received her rabbinic ordination and her masters from the Academy of Jewish Religion in 2004. Rabbi Marcus sees activism and social justice as an important part of Jewish values. She served on the National board of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and has facilitated workshops for Jewish Funds for Justice, Communities, Organized for Relational Power in Action, (the local Industrial Areas Foundation affiliate), and the National Religious Action Center.
She is one of the co-founders of Out in Our Faith (an interfaith LGBTQ network) and a leader in the Santa Cruz Tent of Abraham Project.
Rabbi Paula is the Sr. Rabbi at Temple Beth in Santa Cruz, CA
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Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, PhD, is an author, psychotherapist, and founding rabbi of Congregation Nevei Kodesh in Boulder, Colorado. Widely known for her groundbreaking work on Kabbalah, depth psychology, and the re-integration of the feminine wisdom tradition within Judaism, Rabbi Tirzah lectures and teaches nationally about spiritual and ancient wisdom practices that are honed to assist us at this critical time in world history.
Rabbi Firestone's publications include With Roots in Heaven: One Woman's Passionate Journey into the Heart of Her Faith (Plume,1999) and The Receiving: Reclaiming Jewish Women’s Wisdom (Harper San Francisco, 2003). Her latest work, combining research in depth psychology, neuroscience, and the field of collective traumatology, is highlighted in the award-winning book, Wounds Into Wisdom: Healing intergenerational Jewish Trauma (Monkfish, 2019). In it, Rabbi Firestone shares the remarkable life stories of people around the world who have healed from profound tragedy and trauma. The book provides directives for the transformation of all of our injuries—both personal and inherited— into moral wisdom, courage, and compassion.
Rabbi Firestone has been teaching ancestral healing practices in communities around the country, from San Quentin to our nation’s capital. She lives with her husband David in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. tirzahfirestone.com | @tirzahfire
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Sande Hart is a Mother, Grandmother and Sister and Founding President of S.A.R.A.H., (The Spiritual And Religious Alliance for Hope women's international organization.) She is a S.A.R.A.H. Red Tent Certified Facilitator Trainer, Founding Director and Past Lead of the Charter For Compassion Women and Girls sector, Certified Compassion Integrity Trainer of Life University, Past Chair of the United Religions Initiative North American region, Creator and Caretaker of SDG18.com and workshop facilitator.
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Constantly tugging at the root system of domination and patriarchy, Sande has co-created S.A.R.A.H. programs such as The Death Throes of Patriarchy and The Goddess Files. The General Congress of Women was designed to address the power of organizing in a sacred manner. Along with a dream team, a program infusing Sacred Action, Financial Wholeness, Identifying our Interdependence, Agreements for Care and Caregiving, and Circle Principles, we can help create Congresses of women all around the world who operate in a sustainable model that is as new as it is ancient.
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Sande is a disrupter of systems that do not work and has a lot of fun playing with as many collaborators as she can attract. Her Motto: When we play together, we trust one another. When we trust one another, we can be wildly creative. When we are wildly creative, we can move mountains with regenerative and resilient results.
Starhawk is an author, activist, permaculture designer and teacher, and a prominent voice in modern earth-based spirituality and ecofeminism. She is the author or co-author of thirteen books, including The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess and the ecotopian novel The Fifth Sacred Thing, and its sequel City of Refuge.
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Her most recent non-fiction book is The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups, on group dynamics, power, conflict and communications.
Starhawk founded Earth Activist Training, teaching permaculture design grounded in spirituality and with a focus on activism. She travels internationally, lecturing and teaching on earth-based spirituality, the tools of ritual, and the skills of activism.
Aliza Hava is an award-winning artist and songwriter who sings truth to power, evoking medicine for the soul. Her dynamic voice and driving rhythms, paired with a lifelong commitment to social change and spiritual growth, create a unique signature aesthetic. Her latest album, Natural State, features ten songs fusing folk, rock, pop, and R&B into thought-provoking, emotionally resonant themes spanning from personal transformation to love, heartbreak, and standing in one’s own true power. The songs are rootsy yet refined, bringing to life a glimmering mosaic of the moments and movements that have shaped her. Aliza’s songs have been included on compilations and soundtracks with musical luminaries such as Annie Lennox, Amanda Palmer, and Ani DiFranco, and she has shared bills with world-class artists such as Dr. John, Richie Havens, Michael Franti, and more. With an inherent message of peace and universal love, Aliza's music embodies the power of music to heal the mind, body, and soul while staying true to the ongoing practice of reclaiming our natural state. www.alizahava.com