ShavuotLIVE Torah of Wordplay in honor of Reb Arthur z"l

On the cusp of Shavuot, we are glad to uplift ShavuotLIVE, Judaism Unbound’s 7th annual 24-hour festival of digital learning and unlearning, starting this Friday at 6pm ET.

Of course, we love the work that Judaism Unbound does generally and have partnered with them over the years, with both Arthur and Nate teaching at ShavuotLIVE and being featured on their podcast, amongst other collaborations. This year we’re especially excited about the kickoff session for the festival, taught by Shalom Center board member and Judaism Unbound Senior Jewish Educator, Lex Rofeberg, which will serve as a tribute to Reb Arthur.

In Lex’s own words:

It’s not uncommon to say that words matter. But what if words ARE matter? Most of our contemporary societies offer us the notion that words are symbols that convey meaning. The words “apple” and “grape” are not the same as the actual fruits “apple” and “grape” that we might taste. So if I argued “whenever we grapple with an argument, we are channeling the essence of grapes and apples, because ‘grapple’ is a portmanteau of ‘grape’ and ‘apple,’” people would think I’m being kitschy – at best – or speaking utter gibberish at worst.

Jewish communities – across the denominational spectrum, in widely different eras and geographic contexts – have operated with the framework that Hebrew words are matter. Come explore what this means, and what might happen when we expand that understanding beyond Hebrew, to English and all other human languages? This session will incorporate and honor the memory of Arthur Waskow z”l, as we la-a-soak into some of his torah.

We hope you will join the more than 650 folks from all around the world who have already registered for ShavuotLIVE, and make it a special point to be there for the kickoff session, The Torah of Wordplay, in honor of our beloved Arthur.