Rabbi Yoel Kahn: The World of Midrash (In Person Only)

in partnership with Congregation Beth El, Berkeley

A midrash is “a story about a story in the Torah” (or the Tanakh). One of the oldest forms of Jewish commentary, midrash moves beyond the “literal” of any passage to imaginative and creative interpretations. While midrash often “fills in the blanks” in a narrative or offers the “backstory” to the text, it also is a path for the ancient commentators to complicate, nuance or even question the Biblical story. In this series, we will encounter a variety of classic midrashic texts, as taught by the Rabbis, as well as exploring how these texts in turn are woven into Kabbalah, poetry and modern Jewish commentaries – including a session on the great modern midrashic interpreter, Avivah Zornberg.

Mondays, March 18, 25 & April 1, 8  @ 7-8:30 pm, in-person only