Feb

8 2017

Women & Jewish Law with Rabbi Mara Nathan

12:00PM - 2:00PM  

SoL Center 300 Bushnell Ave.

Contact Temple Beth-El
210-733-9135
temple@beth-elsa.org
http://www.beth-elsa.org/

Women and Jewish Law — The Tension Between Tradition and Modernity  - The role of women in the public arena of religion has changed dramatically since the mid-twentieth century. Across the faith traditions, women have been ordained as faith leaders—rabbis and ministers—and have assumed essential and public roles in congregational leadership. Even in the most traditional arenas women have increasingly been recognized and raised up as spiritual leaders in their communities. How do these developments of the last generation or so reflect on the traditions of our faith? The Jewish Law (Halacha), while often characterized as intractable, is far more fluid and flexible than it might first appear. In this course we will examine the nuances of Jewish Law as they pertain to women’s role in public Jewish life and how legal principles intersect with common practice, folk belief, and the popular culture of any given moment in time.
Session I (Feb. 8) — Introduction to the principles of Obligation  and Exemption in Jewish Law