Join Pardes master educators and a cohort of curious learners for a 3-week series on messaging and meaning-making. Together, we’ll explore how tales get told in Jewish texts and traditions, journeying across genres to appreciate the nuances in our narratives.
At the end of each session, we’ll consider:
What’s our role in transmitting the tales of our tradition? Which Jewish stories do WE choose to tell?
1:00 PM Eastern / 10:00 AM Pacific
7:00 pm Israel / 5:00 PM GMT
With Ziva Hassenfeld
We will examine some of the most complex sibling dynamics in Bereishit (Genesis). We will look at sisters and brothers, engaging in a close reading of key Biblical texts to see how the content and form of the text offers insights into these dynamic and fraught sibling loves. We will also examine ourselves as readers. How do the same words get refracted differently depending on the lives we’ve lived and the paths we’ve walked?
1:00 PM Eastern / 10:00 AM Pacific
8:00 pm Israel* / 6:00 PM GMT*
With Gila Fine
Why are shrews always so violent? How did the ancient world view the difference between male and female bodies? And what possessed Yalta to smash four hundred bottles of her husband’s wine? Explore the storytelling genius of the Talmud, its unique poetics, literary style, and sometimes subversive messages, through the comedic tale of Yalta the shrew (Berakhot 51b).
* Israel and GMT times reflect the change in daylight savings time
1:00 PM Eastern / 10:00 AM Pacific
8:00 pm Israel / 6:00 PM GMT
With Levi Cooper
We will explore the roots of storytelling in Hasidic culture, and how it evolved over time from an aural experience in the days of the Ba’al Shem Tov (regarded as the founder of Hasidut) to one where people experience Hasidic ideas in print. How does the written word impact our capacity to be transformed by stories? What’s gained? What’s lost?
* Israel and GMT times reflect the change in daylight savings time
Each one-hour shiur (class) will be followed by an optional 15-minutes for reflection, questions, and answers.
This series is offered free of charge to participants. Space is limited.
Students and Young Professionals: Join Pardes in Jerusalem, January 7-9, 2023, for a Winter Break Learning Intensive on “Telling Our Stories.”
Lifelong Learners: Don’t miss an epic 50th anniversary Pardes Learning Seminar on “We Are the Stories We Tell,” taking place June 25-29, 2023 in Jerusalem. Register by October 31 and receive 20% off tuition.