Expanding the Field: A DIY Rosh Hashanah Companion (Print)

*Shipping Fall 2025*

By Eden Pearlstein, Aya Baron, Sarah Chandler, Scott Osman, and Ayse Birsel
Illustrated by Jessica Tamar Deutsch
Published by Ayin Press

Expanding the Field is an immersive, hands-on guide to Rosh Hashanah for anyone seeking a deeper, more personal encounter with the Jewish New Year. Blending traditional ritual with creative reinterpretation, this zine-format companion invites you to engage body, spirit, and imagination through a range of DIY practices—hitbodedut (personal prayer), tashlich, simanim, shofar, and more.

The zine features a Rosh Hashanah workbook for spiritual reflection, journaling, and intention-setting, guided by the mystical structure of the Four Worlds. With poetic writing, ritual guidance, and evocative artwork, Expanding the Field helps readers co-create their own page in the Book of Life.

Whether you’re gathering with community or creating a solo ceremony, this guide opens space for transformation—at once rooted in tradition and wide open to your lived experience.

Perfect for: spiritual seekers, independent Jews, educators, artists, and anyone crafting their own way into the Jewish High Holidays.

About the Contributors

Eden Pearlstein is an interdisciplinary language artist and cofounder of Ayin Press. He is the author of Nothing Is for Everyone: Poems, editor of Selah: A Báyò Akómoláfé Reader, and co-author/editor of the chapbooks In/Flux: on influence, inspiration, transmission, and transformation; Taste and See: A Psychedelic Pesach Companion; and Indwelling: An Earth-Based Sukkot Companion.

Rabbi Aya Baron (she/her) creates and offers earth-based Jewish programs, educational consultation, and life-cycle ritual support. Ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, she also holds a B.A. in Contemplative Education from Brown University and an M.A. in Jewish studies focusing on feminist and folkloric interpretations of rabbinic literature from the Graduate Theological Union. Aya lives on Lenni Lenape land in Philadelphia and collaborates with Shamir Collective to create earth-based Jewish practice guides.

Sarah Chandler, aka Kohenet Shamirah Bechirah (she/her), is a Brooklyn-based Jewish educator, ritualist, activist, healer, and poet. She teaches, writes, and consults on issues related to Kabbalistic dreamwork, earth-based spiritual practices, mindfulness, and farming. As the CEO of Shamir Collective, she coaches high-profile and emergent artists, musicians, and authors to weave portals for the next stage of creativity. As founder of Shtibel Shechinah, she uplifts the earth-based origins of Jewish spiritual practices, co-creating ritual guides and weaving gatherings throughout the seasons.

Scott Osman is the CEO of 100 Coaches Agency, matching the world’s best coaches with value-creating leaders across industries. Co-author of Becoming Coachable, he has spent his career developing leaders and building high-performing teams. He has a unique gift for seeing and reflecting the fullness of others to advance human flourishing and unlock potential at every level.

Ayse (Eye-Shay) Birsel is one of the world’s leading industrial designers whose work touches millions of lives daily—from office systems to everyday products. She teaches the same creative process, Deconstruction:Reconstruction, that she uses to design world-class products to individuals, teams, and enterprises. Recognized as the #1 Coach for Life Design, she’s the author of Design the Life You Love. Remember, our life is our biggest project.

Jessica Tamar Deutsch is a Brooklyn-based visual artist. Her work plays at the border of experimentation and tradition.

Book Details
Softcover zine | 32 pages | Full-color | Illustrated