All Revelation Begins With Heartbreak

Really loving both human beings and Torah means that sometimes we're afraid, angry, or even heartbroken by what the Torah seems to mean. The most ready-at-hand "solutions"—rejecting the Torah, questioning ourselves, and apologetics—are unappealing, but is there an alternative? Together we'll consider a direction courageously traveled by Moses Maimonides and Judith Plaskow that sees revelatory potential in these moments of heartbreak. Our learning will conclude with reflections on where we stand, as individuals and as a learning community, in relation to this narrative.

The Dr. Eddie Scharfman Memorial Lecture 2019 was given by beloved former Hadar faculty member, Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, now of Yale University.