Yom Limmud 2018

Have you ever felt the allure of the esoteric? Or perhaps you feel that intellectual rigour is lacking from religion? In this session, Haroon Moghul and Raphael Dascalu present their perspectives on the relationship between rationalism and mysticism in Islamic and Jewish traditions, and engage in a lively dialogue about the roles that these orientations can play in our own lives.

What do Judaism and postcolonial theory have to say to one another? In this session, we'll consider the disturbing history of Jewish texts, particularly the Bible, in colonial expansion; the political aims of postcolonial movements; and the unexpected ways that classical Jewish texts can contribute to postcolonial philosophies and practices.

Super-thin semi-naked models plastered on billboards, religious women covered head to toe, female politicians labelled too dowdy or too sexy — contemporary messaging about women’s bodies and sexuality is contradictory and complex, and all the more so in the Jewish world, where the value and laws of modesty often dominate the conversation. What do religious dress codes mean for women’s self-image? Does ‘covering up’ avoid objectification of women or perhaps worsen it? How can we navigate these issues to raise body-confident and healthy children? Grapple with these issues alongside our panel of experts and educators.

Between 1933 and 1945 German publishing houses produced a large body of scholarly literature that sought to vilify and discredit the Talmud. Often sordid or scatological, this material bequeathed to the German-speaking public a disreputable array of supposedly kosher beliefs and opinions. In this session we will explore — referring to specific examples of Nazi compositions — the ways in which German scholars deliberately ‘doctored’ the text and the ways they decontextualized it.

The Jewish Bible is literarily complex, poetic, profound — and frequently violent. This session explores some of the Bible's most famously bloody passages and their significance for readers past and present. How have classical interpreters and modern philosophers tried to understand, re-interpret, or ignore the deeply troubling character of some biblical passages? And what virtues, if any, could there be in having a frequently violent Bible?

WORKSHOP | Midrash explores a variety of images in order to explain our texts. Midrashim are descriptors, historical snapshots, and social/cultural commentary. We will explore midrash through the end of a paintbrush — mixing, shading and creating our way through one piece of text (it’s a surprise) with a collaborative and visual approach.

Jewish writing connects us to over two thousand years of thought and action in the world. Think the Bible, Rambam, Emma Lazarus, Etgar Keret, Spinoza, Anne Frank, Gloria Steinem. Your panellists will explore their favourites texts, ranging from biblical to contemporary, and how these words have transformed their lives and shaped their identities. You will come away with a new, inspiring reading list.