Colorado Sunset, JHD
As Hanukkah approaches, I will be teaching some online classes and invite you to join in!
Tikkun Olam Through the Ages
With Rabbi Julie Danan
A free mini-course (donations welcome). Hosted by Ruach HaMidbar, Arizona
Sundays, Dec 6, 13 and 20 – starting at 5 p.m. EASTERN time (90 minutes each)
The session on December 13 will focus on Tikkun Olam in Kabbalah and the connection to Hanukkah
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Entering the Darkness – The Night Before Hanukkah
With Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan
Hosted by Havurah Synagogue, Ashland, Oregon
Join us on Wednesday, December 9 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Sliding scale contributions: $5-$18. All welcome. Go HERE to learn more.
Music by Rabbi David Zaslow
The night AFTER this class starts the festival of light. To fully appreciate the light, first enter the darkness. We will explore the theme of darkness in Jewish tradition, then learn about a Midrashic and Kabbalistic tradition of a hidden light that may be hiding in plain sight and especially apparent at Hanukkah. Get ready to experience darkness, light, and to light up the night. Bring a single candle or oil lamp and something to light it with.
Hi, I received an email that you will be teaching at Spirit of the Desert. I used to live in Phoenix, and am friends with Rabbi Sarah Leah, but I made aliyah 9 years ago. I now live in Jerusalem. It was curious to read that you described Tikkun Olam as “social justice”. Those of us in Jerusalem see Tikkun Olam more as a personal journey of healing, performance of mitzvot, and working on midot. Is that also a part of your vision? Maybe the different cultures that we live in have an effect on our perceptions and priorities…
Shalom, Hannah! Thank you so much for writing. We will get into that very subject in the third class in the series. Many American Jews do equate Tikkun Olam with both social justice and good deeds. There is more depth to the topic when we see how it developed over the centuries and how multi-dimensional it can be. Interestingly, Religious Zionist thinkers like Rav Avraham Yitzhak Kook and Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag were influential in highlighting the social justice aspects of Tikkun Olam that brought it into modern popularity. If the class time isn’t good for you, it’s being recorded. Also, here is some in depth exploration of the topic by a colleague of mine that might interest you: https://neohasid.org/torah/TO/ .