Mondays, October 20, October 27, and November 3 | 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Animals: Undercover Agents of our Texts

When Rabbi Benay Lappe quotes Rabbi Lisa Edwards, who imagines, "if donkeys read Torah, all the donkey stories would jump out at them... Every time they'd see a donkey they'd go, 'There's me! There I am again!'" Rabbi Lappe shares this anecdote as an expansive reading of Torah, to conclude that if we look for ourselves in the text, we will find ourselves.

Though our classical texts are chock full of animals, they are overshadowed by the trials and tribulations of our ancestors. In this class, I would like to take Rabbi Edward's quote literally; if we looked for the donkey stories in our texts, what might we learn? How do animals shape the narratives of our texts? What might they reveal to us about our ancient social, economic, religious, and cultural worlds? What might they teach us about being human?

Join me to explore the role of animals as undercover agents of our texts.