SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE SHABBAT & FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER MAY 17 - 18 CBAJ is excited to invite you to join us for our Spring scholar-in-residence Shabbat with Dr. Sara Ronis.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS & TALKS Friday 7:00 PM CBAJ Friday night services 8:00-9:00 PM Shabbat dinner (by pre-registration only) 9:00-9:45 PM The Demons in the Details: What are All Those Demons Doing in the Talmud? The Babylonian Talmud is filled with stories about demons, and laws that regulate how humans and demons should interact. But what are all those demons even doing in the Talmud? Together we'll examine how demons are constructed in the Talmud, and explore medieval and modern resistances to the presence of demons in Judaism.
Saturday 9:00 AM Shabbat morning services 11:30-11:50 AM Living in the Center and On the Margins: The Complex World of Rabbinic Babylonia [CW: Infertility] The Babylonian rabbis who wrote the Talmud lived in a multireligious and multiethnic society in the Sasanian Empire. But how did they think about that society? And how did others think about them?
12:00-1:00 PM Simcha Kiddush Luncheon - open to all.
1:00-1:45 pm (approx.) Fetal Positions: The Talmudic Approach(es) to Personhood Just like modern American politicians, the rabbis of late antique Babylonia thought a lot about fetuses. But the Babylonian rabbis in Sasanian Babylonia explored not whether the fetus is considered a person, but more crucially, what kind(s) of person it is. Together, we'll explore some of the different ways that the Talmud answers this question in different legal contexts, and draw some surprising conclusions about how the Talmud thinks about fetal personhood.
6:50-7:50 PM Talmud Class (presented by Dr. Ronis) Yalta in the Talmud One of the few named women in the Talmud, Yalta was the wife of Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak and a powerhouse in her own right, known for her brilliance, power, and strong personality. Join us to learn more about Yalta's remarkable life as conveyed through Talmudic texts.
7:50 PM Mincha Followed by Seudah Shlishit 8:55 PM Maariv
For those new to CBAJ, once a month, the Kiddush will be specially prepared by our Simcha Kiddush Committee & co-sponsored (at any level you'd like) by members of our community celebrating a special occasion that month.
Please email office@cbaj.org if you are interested in joining the Simcha Kiddush Committee
Congregation Beth Abraham-Jacob 380 Whitehall Rd Albany, NY 12208
