Reasonable Defiance and Disturbing Obedience in Genesis

The Fall, Original Sin and the Mind of God

Lectures by Rabbi Maurice Harris

In two sessions, we’ll explore Jewish teachings and interpretations of two of the most foundational stories in Genesis: the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son, Isaac, upon an altar.

Using online slides, Rabbi Maurice Harris will present several examples of rabbinic midrash that have shaped traditional Jewish understandings of these stories, and he will introduce some of the interpretive methods that characterize midrash in the process. During discussion, he will ask about and seek to understand classical Christian interpretations of these texts, in the spirit of mutual spiritual appreciation and inquiry.

Wednesday, December 1st
Wednesday, December 8th
7pm on Zoom
Link in the Wednesday Email

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Rabbi Maurice Harris works at Reconstructing Judaism, the central organization of the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism, in Wyncote, PA. Maurice previously served as Associate Rabbi and Head of School at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, Oregon.

He is the author of three books: Moses: A Stranger Among Us (2012); Leviticus: You Have No Idea (2013); and The Forgotten Sage: Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and the Birth of Judaism as We Know It (2019), all from Cascade Books.