1-800-call-god

Hitbodedut: Your Direct Line to the Divine

WHEN / WHERE

UPCOMING: Jewish Community Center SF

INTERACTIVE EXHIBITION

September 10 - 29, 2026
Main Atrium
3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

ARTIST TALK: The Art of Sacred Conversation

Artist Samantha Grant & Rabbi Batshir Torchino
September 16, 2026, 6 - 730pm
3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

LABA LIVE @ THE MAGNES
2025 cohort of LABA Bay Artists
@ The Magnes Museum
2121 Alston Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
Sunday, November 16, 2025

FUTURE: support the
i and thou phone tour

Our goal is to get the I and Thou Phone in front of as many people as possible, so please contact us about partnerships, sponsorships, exhibition opportunities, and or foundations or individuals interested in supporting or exhibiting the work.

WHAT

Presented as an antidote to the noise and narcissism that defines the “I” Phone era, THE I AND THOU PHONE empowers users by providing a concrete tool with which to speak out loud, directly to the Divine, and thereby get in touch with their own still, small, inner voice.

Inspired by Martin Bubers seminal text “I and Thou,” THE I AND THOU PHONE is an interactive conceptual art installation that provides users with the opportunity to have a distraction free, private space to practice the Jewish meditation practice of hitbodedut before engaging in conscious conversation with others in the community through Makloket L’shem Shemayim, or Sacred Arguing.

The experience begins when participants enter a vintage phone booth, receive a curated prompt, and via the practice of phone-enabled hitbodedut (using the prompt as a starting point) are asked to reflect on their own priorities and clarify their own thinking before connecting with others in authentic, present dialogue. Through hitbodedut, users are encouraged to connect first with themselves and the divine, and then with others.

These “I and Thou” exchanges allow people to actually hear what others are saying when they speak, and to intentionally do our best to see the full humanity of our interlocuters, even when we disagree.

JOIN the conversation

What are the hard conversations you’ve been avoiding?

What should we be talking about?

Help up bring the I and Thou Phone across the US and beyond to facilitate mindful conversation and connection.