Soul Candles: Ancestral Practice and Candle Crafting

Join LGBTQ+ at the J for a candle-making workshop that explores participatory ritual, tradition, and ancestral connection.

Facilitated by artist Sof Kreidstein, this creative workshop is focused on the old Ashkenazi custom of making soul candles out of beeswax. This centuries-old practice, called feldmestn (Yiddish) was carried out by women in Eastern Europe who would measure the graves of their ancestors with wick thread, making candles as a connective channel between the dead and the living.

During the workshop, guests will learn all about this ancestral practice, and will be invited to engage in open discussion about themes related to ancestral connection. All participants will come away with a hand-made beeswax candle incorporating a wick imbued with intention, as well as a candleholder made from a found object. Guests are encouraged to bring a stone for their candleholder, but we will have extras provided. Capacity is limited, so sign up early to avoid disappointment.

About Sof

Sof Kreidstein is an interdisciplinary artist and facilitator, who creates/transforms through object making, installation art, performance, poetry, digital media, and socially engaged projects. Their multifaceted practice is guided by interconnections in nature, queer ritual, Jewish mysticism and folklore, neurodivergent intuition, and intergenerationality. Sof is based in Tkaronto, and lived in Kjipuktuk during and following their time at NSCAD (BFA 2022).

As a facilitator and organizer, they are the Program Director of Machane Lev, and have been an educator at Shoresh Canada and Makom. Sof’s work is centred around queer and trans Jewish community and youth, and cultivating accessible spaces for creative expression. Sof is driven to nurture growth through connection, care, and curiosity.