Led by Meg Adler, MA, Religion: Tawonga Assistant Director of Jewish Life and Learning

Seven-Part Series | 75 minute sessions on Zoom

Tuesdays @ 7pm: March 2 | March 9 | March 16 | March 23 | March 30 | April 6 | April 13

Cost

Sliding scale: $72, $108, $154 (covers all meetings; email liz@tawonga.org for a discounted ticket price)

Geared toward

Anyone interested in unpacking the most influential book in the history of humanity. Open to all levels of experience, from first-timers studying Torah to experts!

Series Description

Genesis is the first book of the Bible – the most read book in the whole world! The stories in it are known far and wide and have influenced life, democracy, art… you name it! So … what’s really in this book?? Who wrote it, and how can we decipher and apply its complex lessons for today? In this course, we will explore the Book of Genesis through both Jewish and historical lenses and discover what this text can teach us as a community and individuals. (Series includes optional supplemental at home reading.)

Meeting 1: Creation Stories

Did you know there are two? What do they say about how the Torah is constructed?

Meeting 2: Primordial History

Noah’s arc is just one of the many flood stories of the ancient world.

Meeting 3: Abram and Sarai

Why Abram? Why Sarai? Circumcision?! Sodom and Gomorroah?! Lots to talk about in this class.

Meeting 4: Isaac and Rebekkah

Why did Abram almost kill his son, and who were Isaac and Rebekkah?

Meeting 5: Jacob and Esau and Leah and Rachel

Sibling rivalry, deception and romance. The Torah really has it all!

Meeting 6: The 13 Children of Israel

How did we become the tribes of Israel? It started with 13 children.

Meeting 7: Joseph and Egypt

Who was Joseph, why was he so special and how did the Israelites end up in Egypt?

About Meg

Meg is a former Tawonga camper, staff member and supervisor who currently serves as Tawonga's Assistant Director of Jewish Life and Learning. In 2018, Meg received a Masters of Religion from Yale Divinity School and in 2016, a certificate in Jewish Education for Adolescents and Emerging Adults through Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. She is also an alumna of UCLA (Go Bruins!), graduating with a BA in English, Creative Writing, Poetry.

Meg's approach to Jewish learning is interdisciplinary – it isn't rare for one of her classes to include New Yorker cartoons, a text from the Torah, and some historical account. For Meg, Torah study means looking for wisdom and connections to Jewish tradition in all fields and through multiple lenses. In particular, questions that get her out of bed are: What does it mean to be an observant Jewish person? What are better questions we can ask about God?

When she isn’t studying Torah or trying to create the best Jewish educational experiences, Meg loves to ride her bike, write poetry, cook for her friends and family, and draw with a pen on paper.