Judaism is About Love — Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life - Class 9

Recently, a book with this title hit the bookstores. In the book its author, Rabbi Shai Held (a Conservative rabbi) tells us that, for too long, Judaism has been mistakenly characterized as a legalistic, judgmental faith tradition. In response Rav Held proceeds to draw upon a rich compendium of sources representing 3000 years of Jewish learning and living to teach us that, beyond a shadow of doubt, love is the dominant foundational Jewish principle. Judaism is, indeed, about love. We will read the book over the course of ten weeks (it is a substantial tome) and meet weekly to discuss Held’s analysis and study selected primary sources from which he draws his Torah. The ninth discussion in this series centered on Chapter 15 of Rabbi Held's book, in particular the meaning of loving a loving God. It took place via Zoom on August 21, 2024Special Guest: Rabbi Emeritus Joel Rembaum.