The Noon Study Group will not meet on Friday, February 26 (Chag Sameach Purim)
On February 19, we concluded our discussion of the Book of Esther with a look at its closing chapters (7-10). In our previous sessions we looked at this text as a bawdy burlesque, a satire on bureaucracy, a testament to female intelligence and assertiveness, a call for standing up against injustice, and as an excuse to make merry. This week we examined the Book of Esther by considering the graphic violence of the concluding chapters, the demise of Haman, his family, and many others, and the halachic connection between Haman and the arch-villain Amalek.
The central question discussed on Friday was ”Are the darker chapters of Megillat Esther a justification for, or an incitement to, violence—to fight for our lives—a sanction for mass murder? Given its context–the maftir reading on the Shabbat before Purim (enjoining us to ”Remember Amalek”–and the haftarah for that Shabbat Zachor (revealing King Saul’s being deposed because of his failure to remember Amalek)–a paradigm for using violence to respond to any opponent? Can these chapters be read more metaphorically, or as warnings against the oppressed becoming oppressors? Responses were rich and we agreed that there is much more that can be explored in our search for answers.
Our group will resume on Friday, March 5, when we begin a new topic of study–
Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s Dancing in God’s Earthquake: The Coming Transformation of Religion
Consult this site next week for more information. Rabbi Waskow’s book can be ordered through a variety of Internet sources.
Our informal discussion group is held online every Friday from 12-1. All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu.
- 1Share
Just as healthy foods nourish us through the blood stream, so Jewish meditation nourishes our “soul stream.” Meditation can be transformative, taking us from the intellectual awareness of ourselves to a deeper spiritual practice that links us to Judaism in the most profound way. Each mitzvah, holy day and cycle of life has its own rhythm, nuance, taste and character. Jewish meditation is a practice of infusing their essence into our daily spiritual lives.
Ready to give it a try? Join us via Zoom (every Sunday from 2:30pm – 4pm. No previous meditation experience necessary. This opportunity is free and open to all. Please contact Linda Wolf at linda@networktype.com for the online meeting information.
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The Noon Study Group will not meet on Friday, February 26 (Chag Sameach Purim)
On February 19, we concluded our discussion of the Book of Esther with a look at its closing chapters (7-10). In our previous sessions we looked at this text as a bawdy burlesque, a satire on bureaucracy, a testament to female intelligence and assertiveness, a call for standing up against injustice, and as an excuse to make merry. This week we examined the Book of Esther by considering the graphic violence of the concluding chapters, the demise of Haman, his family, and many others, and the halachic connection between Haman and the arch-villain Amalek.
The central question discussed on Friday was ”Are the darker chapters of Megillat Esther a justification for, or an incitement to, violence—to fight for our lives—a sanction for mass murder? Given its context–the maftir reading on the Shabbat before Purim (enjoining us to ”Remember Amalek”–and the haftarah for that Shabbat Zachor (revealing King Saul’s being deposed because of his failure to remember Amalek)–a paradigm for using violence to respond to any opponent? Can these chapters be read more metaphorically, or as warnings against the oppressed becoming oppressors? Responses were rich and we agreed that there is much more that can be explored in our search for answers.
Our group will resume on Friday, March 5, when we begin a new topic of study–
Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s Dancing in God’s Earthquake: The Coming Transformation of Religion
Consult this site next week for more information. Rabbi Waskow’s book can be ordered through a variety of Internet sources.
Our informal discussion group is held online every Friday from 12-1. All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu.
- 1Share
Just as healthy foods nourish us through the blood stream, so Jewish meditation nourishes our “soul stream.” Meditation can be transformative, taking us from the intellectual awareness of ourselves to a deeper spiritual practice that links us to Judaism in the most profound way. Each mitzvah, holy day and cycle of life has its own rhythm, nuance, taste and character. Jewish meditation is a practice of infusing their essence into our daily spiritual lives.
Ready to give it a try? Join us via Zoom (every Sunday from 2:30pm – 4pm. No previous meditation experience necessary. This opportunity is free and open to all. Please contact Linda Wolf at linda@networktype.com for the online meeting information.
Eric Mendelsohn: Synagogue Architect with a Vision
Photojournalist and Author Michael Palmer will share Mendelsohn’s architectural and Jewish journey
Wednesday March 10th at 7pm on zoom
Co-hosted by CBHT and CBI. Come learn, explore and re-connect
(we’ll open the zoom up 6:45 and keep it open late to allow for some socializing).
Between the years 1946 and 1953, the American, German-Jewish architect Eric Mendelsohn built four synagogues in the Midwest. Mendelsohn’s synagogues were the crowning conclusion of his career through tumultuous times. In his book, Eric Mendelsohn’s Synagogues in America, photographer Michael Palmer records in detail these four Mendelsohn synagogues, located in Saint Paul, Saint Louis, Cleveland, and Grand Rapids. Palmer will employ his photographs as the foundation for a discussion about Mendelsohn, his Jewish identity, and his architectural mission. Palmer will also explain how the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 affected Mendelsohn’s plans and how Mendelsohn sought to create radically new architectural solutions for American houses of worship that uniquely met the functional, social, and spiritual demands of their respective, diverse Jewish communities.
MICHAEL CRAIG PALMER. Michael Palmer is a photographer whose work has explored the architectural legacy and relevance of the German Jewish exodus from Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. His first photo book documents previously ignored aspects of 1930s buildings in Tel Aviv’s historic “White City” district, a center for German and other central European refugees in the 1930s. Palmer’s most recent work focuses on the buildings of the noted German Jewish architect Eric Mendelsohn, including Mendelsohn’s breakthrough Einstein Tower near Berlin, synagogues in Saint Louis, Cleveland, Saint Paul and Grand Rapids, as well as his buildings in Israel. Michael began his photography career in 2015 with the Tel Aviv White City project. Previously, he had a career in pharmaceutical industry research and development.
The Noon Study Group will not meet on Friday, February 26 (Chag Sameach Purim)
On February 19, we concluded our discussion of the Book of Esther with a look at its closing chapters (7-10). In our previous sessions we looked at this text as a bawdy burlesque, a satire on bureaucracy, a testament to female intelligence and assertiveness, a call for standing up against injustice, and as an excuse to make merry. This week we examined the Book of Esther by considering the graphic violence of the concluding chapters, the demise of Haman, his family, and many others, and the halachic connection between Haman and the arch-villain Amalek.
The central question discussed on Friday was ”Are the darker chapters of Megillat Esther a justification for, or an incitement to, violence—to fight for our lives—a sanction for mass murder? Given its context–the maftir reading on the Shabbat before Purim (enjoining us to ”Remember Amalek”–and the haftarah for that Shabbat Zachor (revealing King Saul’s being deposed because of his failure to remember Amalek)–a paradigm for using violence to respond to any opponent? Can these chapters be read more metaphorically, or as warnings against the oppressed becoming oppressors? Responses were rich and we agreed that there is much more that can be explored in our search for answers.
Our group will resume on Friday, March 5, when we begin a new topic of study–
Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s Dancing in God’s Earthquake: The Coming Transformation of Religion
Consult this site next week for more information. Rabbi Waskow’s book can be ordered through a variety of Internet sources.
Our informal discussion group is held online every Friday from 12-1. All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu.
- 1Share
Just as healthy foods nourish us through the blood stream, so Jewish meditation nourishes our “soul stream.” Meditation can be transformative, taking us from the intellectual awareness of ourselves to a deeper spiritual practice that links us to Judaism in the most profound way. Each mitzvah, holy day and cycle of life has its own rhythm, nuance, taste and character. Jewish meditation is a practice of infusing their essence into our daily spiritual lives.
Ready to give it a try? Join us via Zoom (every Sunday from 2:30pm – 4pm. No previous meditation experience necessary. This opportunity is free and open to all. Please contact Linda Wolf at linda@networktype.com for the online meeting information.
The Noon Study Group will not meet on Friday, February 26 (Chag Sameach Purim)
On February 19, we concluded our discussion of the Book of Esther with a look at its closing chapters (7-10). In our previous sessions we looked at this text as a bawdy burlesque, a satire on bureaucracy, a testament to female intelligence and assertiveness, a call for standing up against injustice, and as an excuse to make merry. This week we examined the Book of Esther by considering the graphic violence of the concluding chapters, the demise of Haman, his family, and many others, and the halachic connection between Haman and the arch-villain Amalek.
The central question discussed on Friday was ”Are the darker chapters of Megillat Esther a justification for, or an incitement to, violence—to fight for our lives—a sanction for mass murder? Given its context–the maftir reading on the Shabbat before Purim (enjoining us to ”Remember Amalek”–and the haftarah for that Shabbat Zachor (revealing King Saul’s being deposed because of his failure to remember Amalek)–a paradigm for using violence to respond to any opponent? Can these chapters be read more metaphorically, or as warnings against the oppressed becoming oppressors? Responses were rich and we agreed that there is much more that can be explored in our search for answers.
Our group will resume on Friday, March 5, when we begin a new topic of study–
Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s Dancing in God’s Earthquake: The Coming Transformation of Religion
Consult this site next week for more information. Rabbi Waskow’s book can be ordered through a variety of Internet sources.
Our informal discussion group is held online every Friday from 12-1. All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu.
- 1Share
Just as healthy foods nourish us through the blood stream, so Jewish meditation nourishes our “soul stream.” Meditation can be transformative, taking us from the intellectual awareness of ourselves to a deeper spiritual practice that links us to Judaism in the most profound way. Each mitzvah, holy day and cycle of life has its own rhythm, nuance, taste and character. Jewish meditation is a practice of infusing their essence into our daily spiritual lives.
Ready to give it a try? Join us via Zoom (every Sunday from 2:30pm – 4pm. No previous meditation experience necessary. This opportunity is free and open to all. Please contact Linda Wolf at linda@networktype.com for the online meeting information.