Last year, inspired by the National Council of Jewish Women, the Social Action Committee hosted a reproductive rights shabbat.  We are inviting you to the second annual event on Friday February 10, 2023 at 5:00 PM, Zoom link to follow.  

This year’s guest speaker will be Judith Arcana, a local poet, teacher and activist.  Judith Arcana is a Jane, a member of the Chicago underground service that helped thousands of women and girls get safe illegal abortions before the US Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade in January of 1973.

She's a skilled performer/presenter who has worked with audiences in the US, Britain and Canada, often visiting campus and community groups to talk about reproductive justice and perform her powerful writing. Judith appears in some documentary films, including the 1995 Jane: An Abortion Service (dir. Kate Kirtz/Nell Lundy), the 2014 She's Beautiful When She's Angry (dir. Mary Dore), the 2019 OUR BODIES OUR DOCTORS (dir. Jan Haaken), and 2022’s THE JANES, created by the producer/director team Daniel Arcana, Emma Pildes and Tia Lessin.

A longtime teacher of literature, writing and women’s studies, Judith has a PhD in Literature, an MA in Women's Studies, an Urban Preceptorship in Preventive Medicine and a BA in English. She’s taught in high schools, colleges, libraries, living rooms, a state prison and a county jail. 

Now more than ever, we need to listen to the voices of those who lived through the pre Roe era. We encourage you to join us to experience this remarkable woman.

Note: This special event takes the place of this month’s Second Friday Short and Sweet Shabbat
.