91抖阴

Alexander, Was He Great?
Rabbinic Criticism of Rome through Alexander Narratives

Aug 15, 2022 By 91抖阴 | Public Event video | Video Lecture

The rabbis of late antiquity did not write books of theology or political treatises. Rather, they composed stories that would draw the heart and guide the mind to communicate those ideas and practices they deemed essential to Jewish continuity and growth after the destruction of the Second Temple. To accomplish this the sages often redesigned existing literature from the surrounding culture. In 鈥淎lexander, was he great?鈥� Ben Levy explores the ways that the rabbis of late antiquity lampooned stories of Alexander appearing in the popular Greek Alexander Romance to criticize Roman imperialism and creatively resist their rule.

What Six Short Stories in the Babylonian Talmud Tell Us About Jewish Law and Life

Aug 1, 2022 By Judith Hauptman | Public Event video | Video Lecture

By reading six very short stories in the Babylonian Talmud, we discover that not just rabbinic pronouncements established Jewish law, but so did reports of rabbinic performance of the law. We will see Rabbis complying with, and sometime rebelling against, earlier stated rules. As we read these texts, we will tease out details of everyday life and relations between the sexes. Whether these anecdotes actually took place or not makes no difference. They are an invaluable source for understanding how the Rabbis viewed and modified transmitted traditions.

A Jewish Doctor in Medieval Spain and His Demon:
The Book of Delight by Joseph Ibn Zabara

Jul 25, 2022 By Raymond Scheindlin | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Joseph, the protagonist of this proto-novel, at the urging of a mysterious companion, undertakes a journey that takes him to the land of the demons. We will read and discuss some of the stories that the travelers tell each other along the way and will attempt to unravel who the mysterious companion actually is.

91抖阴 High Holiday Webinars 2022

Join 91抖阴 in preparing for this 5783 High Holiday season with two meaningful and enriching sessions.

Passion and Violence:
The Sacrifice of Isaac as a Philosophical Story

Jul 18, 2022 By Miriam Feldmann Kaye | Public Event video | Video Lecture

The Sacrifice of Isaac is a paradigmatic episode in Jewish philosophy, ethics, and interpretation. But new ideas in modern and postmodern philosophy call us to re-read this narrative, and change the ways we have often read the story. We will re-tell this story according to an 鈥渙ld-new鈥� method, amalgamating historical and emblematic ways of viewing the story, but also bringing new ideas to the fore, especially around the ideas of passion and holiness in Jewish thought. Dr. Miriam Feldman Kaye proposes important suggestions for reading the Sacrifice of Isaac in our contemporary world.

How Jewish Storytelling Shapes the Religious Imagination

Jul 11, 2022 By Mychal Springer | Public Event video | Video Lecture

When we tell the story of coming out of Egypt, it is not a story of then and there; it is a story of here and now. We ourselves came out of Egypt. The eternal immediacy of the telling invites us to understand our lives inside the timelessness of Jewish experience. We will explore the drama of living in this story enriched by narrative theory that helps us understand the redemptive role that sacred stories can play in our lives.

Stories and Storytelling

Join 91抖阴 scholars to explore a selection of storiesdrawn from across ancient, rabbinic, medieval, and modern Jewish literature. We will consider the power of shared stories, the unique ways in which they transmit values, norms, culture, and information, and how they can bring Jews together across time and space.

Watering the Soul in Times of Faith and Doubt

May 16, 2022 By Mychal Springer | Public Event video | Video Lecture

together鈥攊s central to a life of faith and often plunges people into doubt. We will make space for the 鈥渨atering of the soul,鈥� both metaphorically and through exploration of the connection between resurrection and water鈥攊n the form of rain and dew.