In this year’s study sessions, we will learn about the biblical prophet Jeremiah, the pre-Maccabean sage Ben Sira and the great scholar and codifier Maimonides. By digging deeply into texts we will discover the contexts or influences on the lives of these important personalities in Jewish history and we will learn who they were and what they believed beyond what the rabbis told us they said and taught. Perhaps they had more to tell us as Humanistic Jews than was originally thought. We will then end with a session on the varying feminist prophets, sages and influencers from ancient to modern times by frequently reading against the grain. Come and enjoy this deep dive into Jewish texts from all ages and learn how they impacted your own lives.
Session 3: Tuesday Feb. 13 — The Real Maimonides ~ Pietist or Atheist?
Maimonides was one of the greatest and productive minds that ever lived. He said that “Expounding a single principle of religion is dearer to me than anything else that I might teach.” But was Maimonides’s ‘religion’ an homage to God or to knowledge, truth and ethics? By studying some of his great Halakhic/legal work and his philosophical “Guide to the Perplexed,” let us attempt to discover who Maimonides the man was and what he really believed. Can Humanistic Jews accept Maimonides’s own principles of discovering truths via reason, empirical evidence through our senses and reliable authority? Join Rabbi Goldfinger in digging for the truth.
SAVE THE DATE:
Session 4: Tuesday Mar. 12 — The Real Jewish Feminists ~ Prophets, Sages or Influencers?
Via Zoom
Copyright © 2026 Oraynu. All rights reserved. Website designed by Addicott Web. | Privacy Policy