Heilige Rebellion: feministische und queere Zugänge zur Halacha

In the organizer's words:

Judaism, so the common assumption, represents a life-affirming theology of sexuality, which - unlike Christianity - does not declare physical abstinence to be a spiritual ideal. Only recently have new approaches in feminist criticism, gender studies and queer theory challenged Judaism's attitudes towards heteronormative sexual identities: Scholars* are putting the basic gender-related assumptions within the Jewish intellectual tradition up for debate, just as they do in Jewish law and Jewish theology.

In her lecture, religious scholar Ronit Irshai explores the radical transformation of these principles, which not only influence the couple relationship and the family as a patriarchal institution, but also determine what sexuality means and what role it plays in Judaism. This is followed by a conversation with Rabbi Avigail Ben Dor Niv.

Ronit Irshai is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Gender Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem (for pluralistic Judaism), a member of the board of the Reckman Center at Bar-Ilan University (for women's rights) and a member of "Kolech", a religious-feminist forum. This year her book (with Tanya Zion-Waldoks) Holy Rebellion. Religious Feminism and the Transformation of Judaism and Women's Rights in Israel.

Rabbi Avigail Ben Dor Niv has a diverse background in science and the arts. After studying film, she worked in the Israeli television industry while earning her BA with honors in the Talmudic Department at Tel Aviv University. Her master's thesis was on Feminity and Disguises in Talmudic Legends. She was ordained as a rabbi at the Abraham Geiger College and is the rabbi of the Liberal Community in Basel. She lives with her family in Berlin and teaches religion at the Moses Mendelssohn Jewish High School in Berlin.

The event will take place at the W. M. Blumenthal Academy at Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1 in 10969 Berlin. The academy is located opposite the Jewish Museum Berlin.

Price information:

6 € admission, 3 € reduced ticket purchase via https://tickets.jmberlin.de/events/385/index.html?date=2024-09-19