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From Trembling to Thinking
July 29, 2021 at 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
One event on August 5, 2021 at 7:00 pm
One event on August 12, 2021 at 7:00 pm
A Three-Part Eshel Summer Beit Midrash Series:
From Trembling to Thinking
Thursdays: July 29, August 5 & 12
7:00 pm ET | 6:00 pm CT | 4:00 pm PT
Eshel will conduct a Summer Bet Midrash with Rabbi Ysoscher Katz as he marks the movement of his own thinking on LGBTQ issues.
1 Hour chavruta (Bring your chavruta or we’ll find one for you.)
1 Hour Shiur with Rabbi Katz
30-Minute Q&A
Session 1: Same-Sex Relationships: Thursday, July 29, 7:00 pm ET.
This foundational learning will address the key halakhic issues relating to both female and male homosexual relations. The central texts will be studied, analyzed, and discussed.
Session 2: Gender Torah: Thursday, August 5, 7:00 pm ET.
This session will address the complexities of gender in biblical and rabbinic sources and conclude with the halakhic insights that can help to expand our understanding of gender and its variability.
Session 3: God in Technicolor: Thursday, August 12, 7:00 pm ET.
Our study of homosexuality, gender, and non-binary identities leads to an inquiry about G-d and the limits of our understanding of God. This session will explore the theological implications of taking gender and sexuality seriously.
Register here for the Zoom login details:
Background to this Series
The 2001 documentary, Trembling Before G-d, began a public engagement on the overlap of queer and Orthodox identities. The film was a powerful acknowledgment of the existence of queer frum Jews, but it did not and could not embark on the work of integration. For that, more of us needed to exit the shadows of the closet. Our stories need to be told to wider audiences and the desire of some of us to remain “inside” the community (in various ways) needed to come to fruition.
It has been a time of experimentation as queer Jews have begun to vote with their feet to reconnect, challenging Orthodox communities in various ways to move incrementally toward inclusion.
Bio
Rabbi Ysoscher Katz is the chair of the Talmud Department at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. He received ordination in 1986 from Rabbi Yechezkel Roth, dayan of UTA Satmar. Rabbi Katz studied in Brisk and in Yeshivat Beit Yosef, Navaradok for over ten years. A graduate of the HaSha’ar Program for Jewish Educators, Rabbi Katz has taught at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls and SAR High School. He was a leading teacher of a daf yomi class in Boro Park for over eight years.
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