The Herbalism of a Local Lulav and Koishele

What does it mean to “take for yourselves” a lulav? In this class we will explore the possibility that the act of taking for ourselves is a commandment to be in intimate relationship with the land we live with. We will learn about local species of plants that we can harvest for each of the four species. We will explore the medicine of willow, the diasporic tree that connects us to so many of our Jewish ecosystems. I will demonstrate how you can weave a “koishele,” the woven holder that keeps the lulav in place, out of cattails so that nothing separates your hands from the lulav. Using the same technique, you can weave cattail baskets for all kinds of uses! . . . Mo Katz-Christy (they/them) is a queer Ashkenazi Jewish clinical herbalist and educator in Boston, MA on unceded Massachusett land. They approach herbalism by connecting folks to the knowledge they already have about their body and herbs through working with kitchen medicine, ancestral traditions, and mulberries falling on the sidewalk! Mo teaches herb classes and programs at over 50 different sites in New England. They work one-on-one with clients, in Somerville and virtually, to address the root imbalances that are causing dysregulation and to promote long-term healing, focusing on gut health. You can find out more about their work at mokatzchristy.com.