Recent Archived Course:
EGO, IMPULSE, AND FLAWED LEADERSHIP: THE CASE OF SAMSON
The biblical story of Samson features extraordinary examples of flawed leadership starring a high-powered demagogue who resists efforts from all sides to control his impulses. What theological message could possibly be encoded in such scandalous episodes as blatant violation of sacred vows, liaisons with ladies of the night, and violent outbursts featuring a roaring lion, an uprooted city gate, and the jawbone of an ass? And what do these stories tell us about ourselves? We will bring fresh eyes to a close reading of the story of Samson in order to uncover the interplay of Divine will and human perversity in this troubling tale of seduction, destruction, murder, and other mayhem.
A VIRTUAL CLASS
10-Feb-2025 - Lecture 1 of 2
12-Feb-2025 - Lecture 2 of 2
THE CASE OF AARON: HIGH PRIEST OR HIGH CRIMES? HOW TO SERVE AN IRRATIONAL GOD
While Moses is at the peak of Sinai receiving the ten Commandments from God, his brother Aaron accedes to the people's request to create an image of molten gold. This act of idolatry merits the death penalty, yet Aaron is soon inaugurated as Israel's first high priest. On that very day, two of Aaron's sons are snuffed out in the midst of dedicating the Tabernacle and the priesthood to God's service. The reason for their deaths is a mystery, and their father is forbidden to mourn. These two episodes offer a case study about the nature of leadership, about the slippery slope between righteousness and apostasy, and about how to live a sacred life when the God we worship appears to be irrational and unpredictable.
Presented at OLLI - Osner Lifelong Learning Institute at American University, Washington, DC,FEB 2024
12-Feb-2024 - Lecture 1 of 2Featured Lecture:
Animal Perceptions: Talking Animals in the Tanakh
As much as science is bringing us fresh and sometimes surprising insights about animals in the present day, all our inquiry is, at the root, heavily inspired by the stories we have told about animals over millennia, and how they have influenced the popular imagination. The Bible generally sees animals as part of the natural world that humans are exhorted to tend to, but there are a couple of unusual cases where the laws of what is today’s fantasy or science fiction intervene – and the animals speak.
Most famous in the Hebrew Bible are a certain duplicitous snake, and a noble donkey who transmits a message from the Divine. What is the literary significance of these episodes? What do they have in common, and what impact may they have had on how we view and treat our nonhuman “others”?
Part of the series Sinai and Synapses, presented at Kol Ami Northern Virginia Reconstructionist Jewish Community, NOV 2023
Genesis / Bereshit
Exodus / Sh'mot
Leviticus / Vayikra
Numbers / Bemidbar
Deuteronomy / Devarim
Holidays
EGO, IMPULSE, BAD JUDGMENT, FLAWED LEADERSHIP: THE CASE OF SAMSON
Yom Kippur 2024 / 5785This course was presented as part of the Yom Kippur teaching at Congregation Tehillah of Riverdale, NY.
Text Wrestlers: The Former Prophets
Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
THE AGONY OF THE LATTER PROPHETS
Spring 2022
The powerful words of the latter prophets resonate in our liturgy and in our speech even two thousand years after they lived. But behind the poetry of exhortation and divine warning are human beings who are chosen by God with no chance to opt out, men who endure loneliness, despair, derision, and illness, all in service to the God of Israel. In this course we will look at pivotal events in the lives of Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel that mark them for life. Come and discover the risks and travails of being chosen as a prophet of God.
28-Feb-2022 - Lecture 1 of 6This course was presented at the The Skirball Academy at the Streicker Center of Temple Emanuel. It is also a part of the Skirball Courses section of the Digital Library.
Text Wrestlers: The Latter Prophets
Introduction to the Latter Prophets:
Amos
Hosea
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Presented at Congregation Tehillah of Riverdale, NY
Reverse a Curse, Approach a Blessing - Feb. 2021 / 5781
RASH VOWS AND DIRE CONSEQUENCES IN THE BOOK OF JUDGES
2020
When someone makes a vow out of desperation or recklessness in the Hebrew Bible the outcome is almost always unexpected and often devastating. In this three-session course we will look at three episodes from the book of Judges in which ill-advised vows are made, or broken, with disastrous outcomes.
If viewing the sessions, it is helpful to have a complete Bible available, JPS preferred.
THE BOOK OF JUDGES INTERVIEW
Discussing the Book of Judges in an interview with Rabbi Leon Morris of the Skirball Academy at the Streicker Center of Temple Emanuel.