OneTable, welcome your new Philadelphia Field Manager: Emma Chasen!
Emma Chasen is joining OneTable as the Philadelphia Field Manager after six years in the cannabis industry where she worked as an entrepreneurial consultant, advocate, and creator of science-based educational offerings for the cannabis community. Originally from Long Island, NY Emma attended Brown University in Providence, RI where she received an undergraduate Biology degree with a focus in Medicinal Plant Research and Ethnobotany.
Emma has always been passionate about exploring folk traditions and ritualistic practices that inspire heart-to-heart connections amongst communities. She is so excited to infuse that passion into her new role as Philadelphia Field Manager at OneTable. Currently, Emma lives in Philadelphia with her fiancé and cat Henry Winkler aka Winx, where she spends her free time cooking Italian feasts, baking sourdough bread, reading fiction novels, and hiking in nature.
What does Shabbat dinner mean to you?
Shabbat dinner is my opportunity to pause and reflect. Release whatever I need to from the previous week and set intentions for the coming week. It is my time to unplug and be present in heart-to-heart connection with my community.
What one food are you bringing to a deserted island?
Fresh baked sourdough focaccia.
What’re you most looking forward to doing in your new role?
Connecting with the communities here in Philly over delicious food.
What’s your favorite ritual and why?
I grew up practicing many Native American rituals. One in particular was a monthly full moon ritual. Every month all of the women in my community would gather on the full moon to express gratitude, set intention, and release whatever was needed to the fire. One of my favorite parts of the ritual involves shouting, singing, calling up to the ancestors to invite them into the sacred circle. When I began practicing shabbat, I found a mystic tradition where before the dinner begins, you open the window and invite the shekhinah (shabbat bride/divine feminine) into the home. I pulled from the practices I learned through Native American ritual and combined them with the mystic Jewish tradition of calling in the shekhinah to create my own tradition – now before shabbat dinner, we all scream, call out, sing to our ancestors and the shekhinah so they may all join us at the shabbat table.
Create your own OneTable Shabbat dinner plans this week!
