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The Mendelson Family Scholar Series : Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer
November 17 @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Join us as we welcome Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer for a Shabbat morning Sermon in the Smith Sanctuary, Shabbat Afternoon shiur and Sunday morning Breakfast at 10am in the Gewirz Beit Am.
Shabbat Sermon: “When You Go Out to War: Ethics of War for the Jewish People”
This week’s Torah portion introduces a set of dated and problematic rules for the Israelites in how they are to conduct themselves at war. For most of Jewish history, ‘ethics of war’ was a theoretical conversation: lacking an army, Jewish tradition thought about such questions but was never tested. The transformation brought about by the State of Israel created an urgency and responsibility for us to develop a “Torah” of warfare; and this set of moral responsibility is tested daily by Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. What does it mean for the Jewish people to develop and learn this Torah? And how does a Torah of war inform our self-understanding as a people?
Shabbat Afternoon Shiur, 1pm, after Kiddush: “Ahavat Yisrael: What Does Jewish Peoplehood Demand?”
Jewish peoplehood invites us into a conversation on rights and responsibilities – what we owe to one another and what we are entitled to demand from one another. Some behaviors, like standing in solidarity or the obligation to redeem captives, are straightforward; other expectations, like the idea that we are responsible to love each other, are more complicated! We will explore the strange and controversial history of this Jewish idea, and consider its ramifications for today’s divided Jewish people.
Sunday Morning Breakfast, 10am, Post Minyan Conversation: “On Liberal Zionism, Between Loyalty and Imagination”
CLICK TO REGISTER, All Are Welcome!
Liberal Zionism – the belief that a Jewish state is the best mechanism to advance liberal values – is squeezed by growing skepticism from the left and the right, part of a larger question about the future of liberalism in polarized societies. We will consider the path forward for this idea and what responsibilities we bear to advance a better future in Israel for all its citizens and inhabitants.