The Amen Effect with R’ Sharon Brous

There are a number of parallels between the creation of the world and the splitting of Yam Suf, casting this dramatic moment of the Exodus as a kind of “recreation story.”  Which makes the appearance of a provocative midrash about an Israelite woman picking fruit from a tree and feeding it to another that much more fascinating… and I’d like to suggest, subversive.  What exactly happened in the Garden of Eden, and what message does it hold for the generation crossing the sea? Click here to access the text study sheet.

Prepare to embrace the bold vision of Passover (that we are all heading toward freedom, that pharaohs crumble and fall) requires focus. Let’s affirm the twin pillars of the Hebrew Bible (chesed/lovingkindness and tzedek/justice) to gird ourselves for the battle ahead!

In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture and alienation, what will it take to mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society? Join Rabbi Brous in a series of text studies that explore the Jewish sources that form the core ideas behind her new book, The Amen Effect.

Ours is not the first generation in which telling this story, reiterating these foundational ideas, is risky. Dangerous, even. And perhaps that is the greatest reason of all to tell this story truthfully.