Jewish zine intends to build community

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/05/2021 (1950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The word simcha in Hebrew means joy and is used in Judaism to denote any happy occasion or celebratory event like a wedding, a bar or bat mitzvah, or the successful start of a new initiative.

The launch of a new zine, conceived and created by four young friends, artists and community activists, definitely counts as a simcha. The fact that the zine is also called SIMCHA enhances the joyfulness of the occasion.

SIMCHA is a submission-based print zine that publishes writing and art created by and for Jewish people in Canada who do not necessarily feel represented by conventional Judaism.

“We hope that our zine has the power to reach and represent people who aren’t necessarily in the mainstream, either in identity, form, or content,” explains Sophie Hershfield, an English and philosophy graduate of the University of Winnipeg who, at 22, is the youngest of the zine’s creative team. “Our zine combines lots of forms and features creators who are queer, who maybe have a more complicated relationship with Judaism, or a complicated relationship with how Judaism is represented.”

While SIMCHA’s graphic designer Liesje Rolia is from Ottawa, the zine’s two other co-editors, Adi Farage and Erin Meagan Schwartz, like Hershfield, grew up in Winnipeg’s Jewish community — although their experiences and comfort levels within that community differed. Hershfield says she felt totally embraced and inspired by the community, but Schwartz admits to never quite feeling like she belonged.

In spite of or because of that, Schwartz, like her co-editors, has nurtured a deep interest in and commitment to community building, identity politics, political activism, creative expression, and Judaism.

“I am excited to reflect the truth of so many people on the pages of our zine whether it be through short fiction, photography, poetry and more,” says Schwartz, a women and gender’s studies graduate and an improv actor and coach. “I hope that the zine finds its way to people who, like me, feel on the outskirts of their local Jewish community or feel disconnected from their Jewish identity.”

“The idea of creating something uniquely Jewish, joyful, and a bit silly was really exciting,” adds Farage, who is a social work student. “It filled a need both as a personal outlet of creative expression and as a way to build community in an accessible way.”

Not all of the zine’s content focuses on Jewish issues, the editors emphasize, but Judaism definitely inspires and is at the core of the publication.

The inaugural issue, for example — although hot off the presses — was inspired by the High Holidays. It is entitled Beginnings and explores fresh starts, origins and first steps through such topics as family, food and immigration.

“I hope SIMCHA is able to reach anyone who wants to explore their Jewish identity, connect with other Jewish people, or is curious and looking to expand their understanding of what it means to be Jewish in a diverse and modern world,” Farage says.

While the creative team hopes to eventually publish four times a year, it is only producing two issues in 2021. The theme of and publication date of the second issue has not been announced yet, but its publication, by its very name and nature, undoubtedly will be another jubilant simcha for its editors, contributors and readers.

swchisvin@gmail.com

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