Don’t do magic, the Torah seems to tell us, but isn’t it all mumbo jumbo? Exploring the real power of our Judaism in fragile contradistinction to magic through some Torah and Talmud.
with Rabbi Benji

We will see what we can learn from the one of the Torah’s main prohibitions on sorcery (Deuteronomy ch. 18) and explore a couple magically muddling Talmudic short stories (in the last chapter of Yoma) in which our Rabbis play with the fine lines between superstition, healing and Judaism.

“Orpah kissed her mother-in-law farewell. But Ruth clung to her.”  
(Ruth 1:14)
with Rabbi Kamila

This session offers a close reading of the stories of Ruth and Orpah in the Book of Ruth, alongside traditional and modern midrashim. Together, we’ll challenge the familiar portrayals of Ruth as heroine and Orpah as anti-heroine — women whose choices shaped the destinies of David and Goliath. What might have unfolded in the nights they parted from Naomi? And how do their experiences as widowed, foreign women reshape the way we approach our own Jewish identity today?

"So you think you’ve got problems”
with Jonathan Karas

“Is reading Torah in the 21st century really ‘problematic’?”

Taking a starting point from some ancient commentators, we will consider and discuss whether it is Torah that causes problems or whether the problem lies with us. 

Jacob’s Curious Incidents of the Angels in the Night-Time
with Rabbi Markus

Of dreams and divine beings 

We will explore two significant night-time moments in Jacob’s life. In Gen. 28 Jacob sees angels on a stairway to the sky, and in Gen. 32 he has to wrestle with a mysterious person at a river. 

What does the Torah say, and how do our rabbinical commentators find meaning and spiritual guidance in those stories?

To Be a Jew at Midnight
with Naomi Soetendorp

Midnight has a specific resonance for Jews. A lot happens in the midnight hour. As our Tikkun Leil traverses the midnight hour we’ll explore classic and contemporary texts to  reflect on the spiritual and emotional work especially open to us at this time.

Mystical Midnights: Tikkun Chatzot
with Yael Roberts
We are familiar with Tikkun Leil, the all-night learning of Shavuot — but what about Tikkun Chatzot? This ancient Jewish prayer practice, performed at midnight, invites us into a space of mourning: for the destruction of the Ancient Temple, and for the ongoing exile of the Divine Presence (Shechinah). In this session, we will explore mystical teachings from the Zohar and engage in practical prayer. Together, we will reflect on how the pain of loss and exile continues to resonate in our time — and how midnight might become a moment not only of mourning, but of transformation and redemption.