Radical Judaisms: Paths Not Taken

A Kabbalistic Communist, an Orthodox anarchist, a Chabad pacifist — these are some of the characters we’ll meet in “Radical Judaisms: Paths Not Taken.” Each of them sought, in their own way, to blend traditional Jewish text, ritual, and law with a commitment to a dramatically different world. The integrations they proposed may be hard to imagine today, but they were once possible, if perhaps unlikely, paths the Jewish people might have taken. Each week, we’ll look at how one of these thinkers (re)interpreted a Jewish holiday in order to see the ways in which they wove together tradition and utopia, Talmud and revolution, halacha and humanism. What light do their proposals shed on the political choices and compromises Jewish communities have made in the past century? Are there elements of their visions that might still be possible to actualize? What new paths for Judaism will we forge?

Program: Open Circle Jewish Learning Texts and Tradition
Instructor: Aron Wander
Day and Time: Sundays, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Eastern
Dates: 2/25, 3/3, 3/10, 3/17, 3/31, 2024
Location: Online via Zoom
Fee: $200 Scholarships available

This is a Hebrew College class co-sponsored by Temple Israel of Boston.