Praise for the Lilac Minyan

8213d9_370efc02dc914c0ab0cb97745b8e1394This play changed my relationship to Judaism, to gender, and to What Really Matters. The irony and wit in The Lilac Minyan made me laugh aloud, and its tender insight into the human condition brought tears to my eyes. Debora Seidman is exceptionally literate–every line sang with clarity and intelligence–and also stunningly wise. Highly recommended!
Mirabai Starr, Author of GOD OF LOVE: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity & Islam

The deeply felt narrative of The Lilac Minyan offers a guiding light to show us what might happen when we speak our darkest, most painful truths and offer to ourselves the healing power of community– even if it is a community of unimaginably disparate elements. Seidman envisions a transformative journey through one of the darkest moments of our history– the Holocaust– taking the viewer on a journey through the dark and into the light.
Aralia Diana Rose at http://magdahliastudios.com/ ifacebook.com/MagdahliaStudios

When one can begin to embrace the entire range of human experience and filter it through the heart, healing begins. The Lilac Minyan brought to me a deeper “knowing” of what it is to be fully alive and helped me become willing to dive into the pain that ultimately leads to further opening of the heart. While traversing painful territory, the play left me with a feeling of redemption: redemption of species, redemption of self, redemption of God.
O. M. Healing Artist, New Mexico

“Without belaboring the point, The Lilac Minyan invites us to contemplate the Holocaust simultaneously from believable historic and contemporary perspectives – an exercise that is both perplexing and comforting. This is, indeed, powerful drama with moral and existential significance. Not to be missed.”
Peter Wengert, Louisville, CO and former Director, Taos Jewish Center

Lilac Minyan is a profound story of grief and loss, love and faith. It gives voice to a collective experience of God wrestling that is both uniquiely Jewish and not, as it is a relationship often encountered and grappled with when faced with loss and shattering. The play illumines questions around belonging, tradition and how the expression of faith and friendship can support ones heart while faced with grief and change. We witness through this story the full range of human emotion and are drawn into the experience of each character as they intimately share of their lives, their losses, their healing and hope.
Hannah Salander