We are looking forward to learning from Dr David Arnow as he spends shabbat with KI! The Wildman Scholar in Residence shabbat consists of a 45 minute talk with Q&A Friday night after a community shabbat dinner, a d'var Torah on Saturday morning during services and another 45 minute talk with time for questions on Saturday after services and kiddush lunch. This scholar in residence shabbat is generously supported by the Dorothy & Carl Wildman Lecture Series at Knesset Israel.

If you are interested in attending the Friday night dinner please register HERE

 Friday Night: The Passover Haggadah, Moses, and the Human Role in Redemption 

In Lekh Lekha, the Torah portion in which Abraham receives his call to “Go forth,” he also learns that his “descendants will be enslaved and oppressed in Egypt for four hundred years…and in the end they shall go free with great wealth.” Indeed, midrashic sources assert that God informed Abraham of his descendants’ future enslavement and redemption on the eve of the fifteenth of Nisan, the date which would later become the first night of Passover. This program will focus on why the Passover Haggadah minimizes Moses’ role in the redemption from Egypt and what we can learn from this text about the human role in the redemptive process then and now. 

Shabbat Morning D'var Torah: Going Forth in Hope

When God calls Abraham to “Go forth” both parties are looking for a new beginning. Abraham’s life has become stuck at a crossroads. And after the abysmal state of human affairs that precipitated the flood and the arrogance that inspired the tower of Babel, God’s idea of creating a world that is “very good” doesn’t seem to be working out very well. In the relationship between God and Abraham that begins to develop in Lekh Lekha we can learn a great deal about what it looks like to persevere in the hope for a better future. 

Saturday afternoon: Abraham and Sarah: Living in Hope

Although Abraham and Sarah are rightly regarded as models of faith, they should also be studied as exemplars of hope. This session will explore what we can learn from them about hope and the role it plays in the stories of Va-Yera, the following week’s Torah portion: Sodom and Gomorah, the birth of Isaac, the banishment of Hagar, and the binding of Isaac. 

All the above events are free of charge. (please note there is a charge for the Community shabbat dinner on Friday night, you can register here. If you would like to come to the lecture and not attend dinner that is fine as well).

David Arnow, Ph.D. is a psychologist and a scholar of the festival of Passover. He is the author Creating Lively Passover Seders: A Sourcebook of Tales, Texts & Activities, co-editor of My People's Passover Haggadah, a contributing scholar to Exodus Conversations ~ How the Story of the Exodus Speaks to Jews, Christians, and Muslims: An Interfaith Commentary and Passover Haggadah, co-author of Leadership in the Bible: A Practical Guide for Today and most recently author of Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism.