Understanding Torah with All the Tools at Our Disposal

FRIDAY, MARCH 7
6:15 PM Kabbalat Shabbat followed by Shabbat Dinner at B’nai Israel (Register below)
8:15 PM Learning Session – Seventy Faces: Pluralism as a Core Jewish Value
It seems that everywhere you go in the Jewish world you hear that communities and  organizations are “pluralistic.” But what does that really mean? Pluralism is not the same as non-denominationalism or post-denominationalism. We will study text and see how pluralism is deeply rooted in our sacred literature. We will then look at the role of pluralism in the contemporary Jewish community, and understand the complexity and utter beauty of living Jewish pluralism today.

SATURDAY, MARCH 8
9:00 AM Shabbat Morning Services with Sermon by Dr. Ora Horn Prouser
12:00 PM Lunch and Learn – From Haman to Hamas: Purim as a Lens on Antisemitism
We are living in difficult and confusing times in the Jewish community. Since October 7, 2023 we have been experiencing an alarming rise in antisemitism throughout the world. Events in both Israel and the United States have led us to struggle with the themes of our Jewish holidays. This is very clear this March as we will be celebrating Purim, and reading the Megillah, a book that lays out encounters with antisemitism in diaspora life. We will explore our struggle to celebrate Purim and to heed its mandates.
5:30 PM Seudah Shlishit & Learning Session – Esau’s Blessing: Approaching the Bible In Light of Disability Studies
Each time we view the Bible through a new lens, we add to our understanding of the text, we learn more about ourselves, and we widen the impact of the Bible on the Jewish community. In this session we will look at the biblical text through Disability Studies. We will see how viewing certain biblical personalities through this lens provides access to new dimensions of their characters and the texts in which we encounter them. We will then consider the character of God in the Bible and how God too can be more deeply appreciated through the perspective of Disability Studies.

DR. ORA HORN PROUSER, she/her, is the CEO and Academic Dean at The Academy for
Jewish Religion, a pluralistic rabbinical, cantorial and graduate school in Yonkers, New York.
She received her BA and PhD from The Jewish Theological Seminary, as well as a BA from
Columbia University. She has published widely on the Bible focusing on disability studies, gender issues and literary analysis. Her book, Esau’s Blessing: How the Bible Embraces Those with Special Needs was recognized as a 2012 National Jewish Book Council finalist and as a Gold winner in the 2016 Special Needs Book Awards. She is also the author of Under One Tent: Circus, Judaism, and Bible, and she co-edited Seder Interrupted: A Post October 7 Haggadah Supplement, and These Holy Days: A High Holy Days Supplement After October 7.

Our Scholar-in-Residence is made possible by the generosity of the Dollye and I. Wolford Berman Educational Initiative Grant.

Shabbat dinner reservations are due by Monday, March 3.
Early bird by February 26: $23/adult; $13/child (ages 3-12); under 2, free
After February 26: $28/adult; $18/child (ages 3-12); under 2, free

Register below.