Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/92638201858
Zoom password: Same as usual for our Zoom events. If you don’t already know it, please email Shira at shira@bethjacobsynagogue.ca.
Talmud study is back! We were considering starting a new chapter, but there is still so much juicy learning in Avodah Zarah that would be a shame to miss out on. This is a great time to join the class if you’ve been curious. No prior experience or language knowledge required.
For more information, feel free to email Rabbi Hillel at r.hillel@bethjacobsynagogue.ca.
Avodah Zarah (Hebrew for ‘foreign worship’, i.e. ‘idolatry’) is a tractate of the Talmud mainly containing discussions on laws for Jews living among, and peacefully interacting with Gentiles, especially idolaters. While Judaism is famously non-proselytising and very live-and-let-live, it is also sometimes viscerally opposed to polytheism and worshipping physical objects.
This tractate deals with a fine balance: how do we remain authentic to our tradition while being respectful of others? How do we accept others rights to worship differently, without actively encouraging practices we believe to be inherently wrong? These discussions were pertinent 1500-2000 years ago when the Talmudic sages lived among Zoroastrians and Greco-Roman pagans, and are equally relevant to us today, albeit in a somewhat different way.