Category Archives: Ruach HaYam Learning

Majesty Thrown to the Dogs: Queen Jezebel and the Assault on Transgender Womanhood (July 7, 2016)

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Ruach HaYam Workshop at Congregation Eitz Chayim, Cambridge, MA
May 26, 2016.  Study starts promptly at 7:15 pm. However we open the doors at 6:45 for schmoozing. Feel free to bring your own veggie snack for the early part.

Ruach HaYam study sessions are open to any learning background and friendly to beginners. For those arriving by car, parking is allowed within 2 blocks on event nights.
We are proud to have the co-sponsorship of Keshet for this event!

This study will be co-led by Mischa Haider and Penina Weinberg. They have recently begun collaborating on articles drawing wisdom from ancient Hebrew texts and applying it to understanding and undermining the assault on transgender womanhood today. In this study, we will look closely at the story of Queen Jezebel in 1 and 2 Kings. As a Phoenician princess, she was educated in religion and governance, and well able to sustain 400 prophets and run the kingdom. Yet she was out of place in the Israelite kingdom, scorned for her prowess, feared, and ultimately thrown to the dogs. In seeking to understand the forces which drove the King of Israel to destroy her, we seek to understand two things about the modern assault on transgender womanhood. What are the forces that drive this assault, and how can we honor and foreground the majestic souls of our modern day Queen Jezebels?

Mischa Haider is a transgender activist and mother. She is an applied physicist at Harvard University who studies applications of mathematical and physical models to social networks. She has written in the Advocate and Tikkun, and her research has been published in Applied Physics Letters. She also has a blog on the Huffington Post and is on the Board of Trustees of Lambda Literary.

Penina Weinberg is an independent Hebrew bible scholar whose study and teaching focus on the intersection of power, politics and gender in the Hebrew Bible. She has run workshops for Nehirim and Keshet and has been teaching Hebrew bible for 10 years. She has written in Tikkun, founded the group Ruach HaYam and is president emerita and chair of various committees in her synagogue. Penina is a mother and grandmother.

Read Mischa and Penina’s article here: http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2016/05/13/unrighteous-anger-queen-vashti-and-the-erasure-of-transgender-women/

Accessibility information: MBTA accessible, all gender/accessible bathrooms, entry ramp.

R Yochanan: The Impact of Identity on Torah Learning (May 26, 2016)

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Ruach HaYam Workshop at Congregation Eitz Chayim, Cambridge, MA
May 26, 2016.  Study starts promptly at 7:15 pm. However we open the doors at 6:45 for schmoozing. Feel free to bring your own veggie snack for the early part.

We have a treat coming up! Our friend and wonderful teacher, Jonah P will be facilitating our next study. We will learn about Rabbi Yochanan, a recurring character in the Talmud, who is renowned not only for his Torah, but also for his great beauty and his deep love for his hevruta. He’s also famous for being the central character in one of the Talmud’s most homoerotic tales. In this session, we’ll examine this and a few other tales in which Rabbi Yochanan stars, get acquainted with this fascinating figure, and explore how his identity impacts his Torah learning.

This will be a text learning session which is open to any learning background and friendly to beginners (English translations provided for everything).

About the facilitator: Jonah P. has been reveling in the intersection of queer/trans and Judaism since becoming active in the Boston Jewish community in 2011. He recently completed a year of learning at Yeshivat Hadar.

Picture credit: http://www.kolhamevaser.com/2014/11/reflections-on-havruta-learning/

Accessibility information: MBTA accessible, all gender/accessible bathrooms, entry ramp.

Vashti and Esther in Images

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Purim is a time when we remember to think about Esther and perhaps learn to think about Vashti.   I present here a small picture gallery.  Images have the power to convey ideas very quickly.

I hope you will enjoy this visual tour and that this will stimulate thoughts about Esther, Vashti, gender politics, the meaning of Purim, and your own identity.

The first image is by Gustav Dore and can be found in digital format in the Pitts Theology Library at Emory University.  Notice Vashti’s power, independence and command.  She is recognizably a woman, but on her own terms.

Queen Vashti Refuses to Obey the Command of Ahasvuerus

Queen Vashti Refuses to Obey the Command of Ahasvuerus

Now we have Dore’s Esther, version one.  Here we see Esther in similar command, accusing Haman before the King Ahasvuerus.  Notice how Esther dominates both King and subject.  Like Vashti she is a woman on her own terms.

Esther Accusing Haman

Esther Accusing Haman

Dore has another view of Esther.   I believe in this case he is illustrating a verse from the Greek version.   Note how Esther has lost her power and how King Ahasvuerus dominates.  In her aspect as woman she is now subject of male gaze, vulnerable, not in command.

Esther Faints

Esther Faints

And finally, one more modern illustration from Athalya Brenner’s book, A Feminist Companion to Esther, Judith and Susanna.   The illustration is by Leonard Baskin and is discussed on the page.  This version of command is strikingly different in quality.  Brenner calls it “pillar-like.”   It seems to lose characteristics of gender altogether.  Even more so, seems to lose characteristics of being human.

 

 

 

 

Batsheva – In her own Voice (April 28, 2016)

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Ruach HaYam Workshop at Congregation Eitz Chayim, Cambridge, MA
Join us for an interactive study of Batsheva, in her own Voice. Study will be led by Penina Weinberg. 6:45 pm for schmooze. Bring veggie snacks if you wish.
Study will begin promptly at 7:15pm.
Congregation Eitz Chayim 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA
April 28, 2016
Batsheva’s story begins with a bath on a roof-top, where her life is overpowered by King David’s (2 Samuel 11-12).  But at the end of King David’s life, Batsheva, as Queen Mother, holds the keys to the kingly succession and sits at the right hand of Solomon (1 Kings 1-2).  We will do a close reading of the biblical text, looking for Batsheva’s own voice, and for a trajectory of transition.
After a close reading of the biblical text, we will read Joy Ladin’s poem “Batsheva’s Version.”  The poem was written prior to Joy’s transition to living her life as a woman.  In her notes on the poem, Joy writes “I wrote ‘Batsheva’s Version’ as a tentative but conscious step towards gender transition…. Batsheva, trapped, angry, obsessively focused on the man whose life has swallowed hers, and passive-aggressively delighting in his destruction, is a kind of self-portrait.”   Using this poem, as well as the biblical text, we will discuss what it means to be trapped and what it might take to transition.  This is a universal question.

Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob and Esau: A Queer Look at Family, Love, Jealousy and Gender in the Hebrew Bible (February 25, 2016)

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Ruach HaYam Workshop at Congregation Eitz Chayim, Cambridge, MA
Join us for an interactive study of Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob and Esau. Study will be led by Penina Weinberg. 6:45 pm for schmooze. Bring veggie snacks if you wish.
Study will begin promptly at 7:15pm.
Congregation Eitz Chayim 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA
February 25, 2016
RSVP here
 

We’ll do a close reading of the story of Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Esau. We’ll follow through on what we learned from Song of Songs 8:6

For love is as strong as death [“The love which Isaac bore to Esau” –from Song of Songs Rabbah]

Jealousy as harsh as Sheol [“The Jealousy which Esau bore against Jacob” –from Song of Songs Rabbah]We will study the way in which Rebecca may be seen to inherit the mantles of both Abraham and Sarah, and to occupy a gender space both male and female. We will consider whether Jacob can be read as transgender and/or as a person whose true voice is never heard.

Penina Weinberg has been teaching Hebrew Bible for over 10 years and is determined for people to claim and own the text for themselves. She holds a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College. 

And the Fire Flashed all Around: Introduction to Song of Songs (January 28, 2016)

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Ruach HaYam Workshop at Congregation Eitz Chayim, Cambridge, MA
Join us for an interactive text study of the Song of Songs. Study will be led by Penina Weinberg. 6:45 pm for shmooze. Bring veggie snacks if you wish.
Study will begin promptly at 7:15pm.
Congregation Eitz Chayim 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA
January 28, 2016
RSVP here
 
“And the fire flashed all around.”
>> What does flashing fire have to do with Song of Songs? <<
 
“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
>> How did this sensual love poem find its way into the Hebrew Bible? <<
 
“For love is fierce as death…a blazing flame”
>> On a cold winter’s night, you do not want to miss this opportunity to ignite the fires of your souls with Song of Songs. <<
Join us as we discover Song of Songs through text study, discussion, pictures, and music. Like Ben Azzai, we will link up the words of the Torah with the Writings, until the fire flashes all around. Sunglasses are recommended. Knowledge of Hebrew and prior text study experience are not required.
Penina Weinberg has been teaching Hebrew Bible for over 10 years and is determined for people to claim and own the text for themselves. She holds a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College. 

THE SOUL OF DAVID (December 17 2015)

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Ruach HaYam workshop at Congregation Eitz Chayim

Join Ruach HaYam for an interactive text study of the soul of David. Study will be led by Penina Weinberg on December 17, 2015 at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA. Join us at 6:45 pm for shmooze. Bring veggie snacks if you wish. Study will begin promptly at 7:15pm.    Parking is allowed within a three block radius on event nights.

According to the Book of Samuel, “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” (1 Sam 18:1). Our study will ask the question, who did David love and what was the nature of that love? We will study David’s speech upon the death of Jonathan (2 Samuel Chapter 2) along side David’s speech upon the death of his first son by Bathsheba (2 Samuel Chapter 12). We will consider the love which Michal expressed for David (1 Samuel Chapter 18) and, time permitting, the relationship between David and Bathsheba.
 Study is geared for learners at all levels. You will be guided through a careful look at many Hebrew words but neither a knowledge of Hebrew nor prior text study experience is required.

Penina Weinberg has been teaching Hebrew Bible for over 10 years and is determined for people to claim and own the text for themselves. She holds a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College. 

MOTHERHOOD, MANHOOD AND WAR: A QUEER LOOK AT GENDER AND POWER IN THE SONG OF DEBORAH (November 12, 2015)

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Ruach HaYam Workshop at Congregation Eitz Chayim, Cambridge, MA

A close reading of Deborah, Jael, Sisera’s mother, Sisera, and Barak to see what we can learn about stereotypical gender roles, non-normative gender roles, and how power is wielded. We also consider the nature of war.