Dirshuni: A Taste of Israeli Women’s Midrash

Rabbi Avi Killip

Tamar Biala, editor of the modern midrashic work, Dirshuni, has written breathtakingly beautiful midrashim that function as commentaries on the Torah, Israeli society, feminism, and so much more. This series will explore three of her midrashim. You can join for any or all. No Hebrew background is needed. We will be studying in English translation. LINK

Session 1: The Kiss of Death: Reflection on Miriam 

This session will explore Tamar Biala’s midrash about the death of Miriam. The midrash invites us to explore themes of isolation, illness, death, and holiness. Let’s read this midrash together and unpack what it has to offer us in this moment.

Session 2: From the Flood to the Rainbow

When Destruction leads us into Covenant The first crisis and covenant are inextricably linked. Through studying a Midrash from Tamar Biala, we will examine the biblical flood narrative to discover multiple models of coping after catastrophe, and how disaster changes our relationship to God.

Session 3: For Love is as Fierce as Death: Modern Women’s Midrash as a Tool for Reading our Most Difficult Texts 

The #metoo movement offered an unprecedented wave of written and oral testimony from women about their painful experiences of sexual assault and harassment. We cannot deny that our Torah also contains many similarly troubling and hurtful narratives. How should we approach these hard moments in our canon? Can midrash serve as a tool to engage with our harshest texts? In this class, we will study a modern midrash from the book Dirshuni that offers one approach to hearing, and maybe even healing from our most difficult texts. Together, we will ask how this approach may offer us guidance as we bear witness to so much pain in our world.

Rabbi Avi Killip is the Executive Vice President at Hadar. A graduate of Hebrew College Rabbinical School, Avi also holds Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from Brandeis University. She was a Wexner Graduate Fellow and a Schusterman Fellowship. Avi teaches as part of Hadar’s Faculty and is host of the Responsa Radio podcast. Avi lives in Riverdale, NY with her husband and three young children.

There is no fee, but please RSVP for planning purposes. This event is held virtually on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event. For more information, contact Program Director Ilene Tatro at itatro@cbisd.org.

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, CA, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)