Hope & Havoc – Messianism

In honour of Pride and in our final session before the Summer break, we look at LGBT+ life and law in Judaism

In a follow up to last week's episode, we review laws of marriage (Kiddushin), explore some aspects of sexuality in Jewish practice (Onah, Niddah), and consider the laws of divorce (Gittin)

We look at Jewish laws, custom and practices around dating, engagement, sex and marriage

In our 40th episode (!) we deal with the thorny questions of the Messiah (who it is and why) and Messianism

A rapid-fire tour of the Jewish conceptions of death, dying, burial and mourning.

A brief and incomplete survey of modern Israel, from the first Zionist Congress (1897) until the 39th, coming up later this year.

A slightly out-of-the-box look at the magic of the number 7 – from the Menorah to the Omer to Shemittah, Shabbat and more, join us to explore this most sacred of numerals.

All things Pesach: what it is, how we observe it, its history, procedures, practices and frustrations. From Kitniyot to the Haggadah, from Ḥaroset to Ḥazeret

Following up on our last session, we look at the project of Jewish theology and the personalities of Jewish theologians from the Renaissance period until today

We consider the discipline of Jewish theology and philosophy and look at several of the main thinkers in this tradition, from Philo to Maimonides