In partnership with Osher Marin JCC and Temple Sinai

It’s not what you think, it’s not what the Hagaddah tells us, it’s not what you remember from Sunday School or "The Ten Commandments." Profs. Ron Hendel and Robert Alter will provide an analysis of the Biblical text, both historical and literary, which will turn your Passover Seder upside down.

Shavuot celebrates Matan Torah - the giving of the Torah at Sinai. But what really happened there? Jewish tradition holds that every Jew throughout all time was present at Sinai. What do we "remember" from it? And what does archeology tell us about it: was there a mass gathering? a golden calf? tablets inscribed with ten commandments? Or did something even more earthshaking happen in the Sinai desert?

The holiday of Shavuot, which begins Thursday evening (May 25), celebrates the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Jewish tradition holds that every Jew throughout all time was present at Sinai. Do you “remember” it? What does archeology tell us? Was there a mass gathering at Mt. Sinai? A golden calf? Tablets inscribed with ten commandments? Join us for some answers… and more questions.

On Tu Be'Av (the fifteenth of Av), "the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? 'Young man, lift up your eyes and see—whom would you choose.'" (Talmud, Ta'anit). Learn about the holiday and dip into romantic love stories from the Bible and Midrash.