We’re getting together to study some Talmud for Chanukkah!
Save the dates! (December 9 & 12)
Our Chanukkah Session will take place on Wednesday, December 9 at 7:30pm EST. This session is open to everyone and will be moderated by Rabbi Lucia Pizarro. Email pizarro.lucia [at] gmail.com to register (with “Chanukkah Talmud study” in the subject line).
We will also have a group for women, queer, trans, and/or non-binary people, on Saturday, December 12 at 8:30pm EST. This session will be moderated by freygl gertsovski (fae/faer pronouns), member of IJV and IfNotNow Toronto. Email freygl.gertsovski [at] gmail.com to register (with “Chanukkah Talmud study” in the subject line).
Participation is open to IJV members and non-members alike. If you aren’t yet a member, we highly encourage you to become a member or make a donation to help cover our expenses:
https://www.ijvcanada.org/join-ijv/
This year Chanukkah will begin in the evening of Thursday, December 10, and end in the evening of Friday, December 18. Let’s find out what the Talmud says about this holiday. Is it really a minor holiday?
The Talmud originated as oral discussion and still has the form of an elaborate conversation carried on over centuries. Its standard way of citing an opinion is “Rabbi X says . . . ”; later generations of rabbinic disciples listened to Rabbi X, and answered back. And this process continues until today.
Continuing this oral tradition, the Talmud is traditionally studied in pairs, reading every word of the text out loud, never going on to the next phrase until the pair have exhausted the meaning of the one under discussion. This mode of study, called in Aramaic chevruta (“fellowship”), turns text study into dialogue.
We will attempt to replicate this form of study online!
Come prepared to read the text with a randomly assigned chevruta during our Zoom meeting (through random Zoom break out rooms).
At the end of the study period, we will come together to share our findings.
Eager to start studying? We’ll be looking at the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 21b-23b. After you register for the session, we will send you the selected excerpt from the tractate.
About the IJV Online Chavurah
IJV’s Online Chavurah is a non-Zionist space where we can build connections with like-minded people. All viewpoints are valuable, and we encourage participants to share their own unique thoughts and experiences. This is not a group meant to debate differences in opinion but to share and support each other’s learning.
IJV’s Online Chavurah does not presuppose any theology nor any particular knowledge about anything other than one’s own life. It uses a group format to explore Jewish text, liturgy and theology, providing time for participants to discover new meaning in old writings