June 27 Jerusalem
“Wounds of a Lover are Faithful” (Proverbs 27:6): Israeli Poets Reckon with their Identities and Challenges - Rachel Korazim
Rachel Korazim presented three Israeli poets who she values for their clear-eyed critiques of Israel’s government and policies. Like biblical prophets, they challenged official narratives about war, victory, and suffering.
Natan Alterman exposed the moral failures he saw in the young state’s treatment of Moroccan Jewish immigrants. Chanoch Levin sought to deflate some of the euphoria he witnessed after the Six-Day War, and warned against normalizing endless military engagement. Dan Almagor drew upon ancient Hebrew texts to affirm the worth of each person, including the enemy. Rachel celebrated the crucial role their poetry has played in keeping Israel’s conscience alive by bringing the shadow to light.
She was accompanied by a beautiful young singer, Inbal, whose haunting voice infused the poems with tenderness and poignancy.
A Jew gets lost in the desert…A serious Talmudic rumination about the meaning of Shabbat - Elana Stein Hain
Elana explored what Shabbat means when a person is cut off from the Jewish calendar, such as being lost or taken captive. The Talmud asks whether such a person should count six days and then observe Shabbat, observe Shabbat first and then count six days, or vary the counting in the hope of eventually aligning with the actual communal Shabbat.
The discussion was not only legal, but also invited us to reflect on what makes Shabbat meaningful. We appreciated how Shabbat is both personal and communal, and valued the space it creates between ordinary and sacred time, work and rest, creation and cessation.
Even when Shabbat cannot be observed perfectly, the effort to mark it still has spiritual value. Through the rabbis’ imagined cases, Elana helped us consider ways we create sacred time, stay connected to community, and adapt tradition with intention when life circumstances change.
