Shortly after this issue of The Scroll reaches you I will hold the first of thirteen bi-weekly mid-day sessions devoted to portions of the Torah and the other books of the Tanach1 that we read on Shabbat. At our first session we
will discuss the format of the sessions, that is, whether some or all of the participants will be expected to read/prepare for each session, the balance between my remarks and discussion, what questions you’d like to have on our agenda, what approach you'd like me to take and so forth. I will also introduce you to the hidden story of the Flood imbedded in the text of Parshat Noach. That will give those of you who have never seen Source Criticism before a taste of it and of my teaching style.
I do not intend to follow our synagogue Torah reading calendar, but rather to pick out what I conceive to be the more interesting parshiyot (Torah portions) and haftorot (prophetic portions).2 In succeeding weeks I plan to explore, among other topics, the Akeydah (the binding of Isaac) and its connections to Passover and Christian beliefs about Jesus and to read the first few chapters of Genesis closely with you. After that, we will turn to some of the haftorot, see how they relate to the weekly Torah portion and discuss their
more interesting themes and the Biblical books from which they are extracted. No previous Bible study is required, but I hope you will freely contribute whatever
you have learned in the past and whatever strikes your eye as we progress. I am hoping that a few of you will be highly enough motivated
to read different, pre-assigned commentaries and tell us about them. I hope this course will be fun and that the conversation will be spirited enough so that I can eat my lunch, too. One of the issues we need to decide is whether we will meet after or for lunch. Please bring lunch to the first session, however. Eating together is a Jewish custom of long standing.
I'm looking forward to these sessions. I hope you are, too.
Next Month in This Space I intend to analyze and comment upon the decision of the International Court of Justice finding Israel's Security Barrier illegal. It's a dismaying document that I think Jews who care about Israel may want to
understand.
Rabbi George B. Driesen
1[To]rah, [Ne]vim, [K]etuvim, an acronym denoting the three sections of
the Jewish Bible.
2 You may correctly infer from this announcement that I will also attempt to help you learn some basic Biblical Studies vocabulary as we progress.