And I Am a Stranger: Becoming Ruth, with special guest Dr. Avivah Zornberg - SOLD OUT!

World-Renowned Torah scholar and Professor of English Literature Dr. Avivah Zornberg joins us from Israel for a richly textured exploration of biblical narratives, modern midrash and the biblical unconscious.

In preparation for Shavuot, when we traditionally read the book of Ruth, we’ll journey into her enigmatic character. Ruth is a stranger in more senses than one. Who is this unknown woman who is destined to become mother of royalty? What is the process by which she finds her way into a foreign and unwelcoming culture and religious tradition? How does destiny come about?

$10 in advance; $15 at the door

Free for Students w/ ID

Dr. Avivah Zornberg was born in London and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, where her father was a Rabbi and the head of the Rabbinical Court. She studied with him from childhood; he was her most important teacher of Torah. She holds a BA and PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University. After teaching English Literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she turned to teaching Torah. For the past thirty years, she has taught Torah in Jerusalem at Matan, Yakar, Pardes and the Jerusalem College for Adults. Dr. Zornberg also holds a Visiting Lectureship at the London School of Jewish Studies. She travels widely, lecturing in Jewish, academic and psychoanalytic settings.

Dr. Zornberg is the author of five books, some of which will be available for purchase at the event: Moses: A Human Life, The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious, The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis, The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus, and Bewilderments: Reflections on the Book of Numbers.

Co-sponsored by Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto, City Shul, Congregation Shir Libeynu, Danforth Jewish Circle, First Narayever Congregation, Kiever Synagogue, Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism, and Miles Nadal JCC.

Partners: Annex Shul.

Generously supported by an anonymous donor.