This year, 2008-2009/5769, we will continue to use the book Reading the Women of the Bible by Tikva Frymer-Kensky, a National Jewish Book Award winner and the Koret Jewish Book Award winner. Basing our discussions on the book was quite successful last year. Frymer-Kensky analyzes the stories of individual women, obscure and familiar, and their socio-political backgrounds and groups them into several types--Victors, Victims, Virgins, and Voice--whose actions or reactions furthered the course of biblical history and have resonance for us even now.
Listed below are the dates for the year. Topics will be announced. If anyone would like to facilitate the discussion on a certain date or select a specific woman of the Bible, please email Carol with her choice. Please do the reading for each month so that we can have a good discussion.
We hope you'll join us as we celebrate Rosh Chodesh Kislev on Monday, December 1, at 7:30 pm at Estelle Mann's home. RSVP to her, gramastell@aol.com. Louise Mayo will facilitate a discussion on Rahab. The readings will be on pages 34-44.
Rosh Chodesh program dates, 2008-2009/5769 (all Mondays at 7:30 pm):
Rosh Chodesh
Calendar Date
Theme (page references are to Frymer-Kensky's Reading the Women of the Bible)
Cheshvan
November 3, 2008
Introduction; summary; Saviors of the Exodus (pages xxii-xxiv, 333-355, and 24-33)
Kislev
December 1, 2008
Rahab (pp. 34-44)
Tevet
January 5, 2009
The Shunammite (pp. 64-73)
Sh'vat
February 2, 2009
Concubine and Chaos (pp.118-138)
Adar
March 2, 2009
Cozbi (pp. 215-224)
Nisan
April 6, 2009
Hagar (pp. 225-237)
Iyar
May 4, 2009
The Moabite (pp. 257-263)
Sivan
June 1, 2009
Tamar (pp. 264-277)
Tammuz
June 29, 2009
Outsider Women (pp. 283-291)
Av
July 27, 2009
Women’s Voices: Deadly Daughters (pp. 99-101)
Kings to the Rescue (pp. 139-142)
Power and Person (pp. 170-174)
To the Barricades (pp. 199-208)
The Royal Way (pp. 278-282)
Woman As Voice (pp. 327-330)
Elul
no meeting (Rosh Hashana)
For more information about the Rosh Chodesh Group, please contact Carol Woolford, cw2g@andrew.cmu.edu.
Rosh Chodesh Candlelighting, text by Marcia Falk, music by Linda Hirschhorn (this is a file you can download and play to learn the song)
