Rabbi Jon's Podcasts Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett

#purim #october7 #megillah
The Megillah (the biblical Book of Esther) is a story of anti-Semitism set in the Diaspora in a multiethnic empire where Jews were living in peace. How did the Jews of the story see themselves in biblical Persia, according to the biblical text? What were the various ways they responded to being a minority and to anti-Semitism, and how did that unfold? How in particular did Esther view herself, act, adjust in real time? How should we take the end of the Megillah, the forceful and violent Jewish response described there?
All of this hits us differently after October 7. Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett and Rabbi Dr. Karen G. Reiss Medwed walk through each part of the biblical story and reflect on how different parts resonate today and might answer some of the dilemmas we are facing. We recorded this conversation on March 17, 2024, a week before Purim, and much of it reflects the year and also the particular moment during this war.
To listen or view on YouTube:https://youtu.be/MNYk9UXV8Ek
To read the biblical book of Esther (the Megillah): https://www.sefaria.org/Esther.1?ven=Tanakh:_The_Holy_Scriptures,_published_by_JPS&lang=bi
To continue this conversation with us, e-mail rabbijon@tbanashua.org and/or RabbiReissMedwed@gmail.com, and feel free to comment as well.

#purim #october7 #megillahIntroducing Adar Conversations, a series about themes of the Jewish festival of Purim and the Megillah, the biblical story of Esther. I recorded this in March 2024, as we approach the first Purim after the atrocities of October 7 and as the war continues. How can we celebrate, and maybe more importantly what can this book and this time in the Jewish year offer us as an "Esther-Informed Spiritual Therapy"?
To read this talk: https://www.rabbijon.net/rabbijon/2024/03/conversations-toward-purim-esther-informed-spiritual-therapy-for-5784-and-beyond.html
To watch this on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XqZ42GLTIaQ
To view the Talmudic text I refer to: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/545387?lang=bi
To read the biblical book of Esther (the Megillah): https://www.sefaria.org/Esther.1?ven=Tanakh:_The_Holy_Scriptures,_published_by_JPS&lang=bi
To continue this conversation with me, e-mail rabbijon@tbanashua.org.

Panel discussion at Temple Beth Abraham with Rabbi Robin Nafshi (Temple Beth Jacob, Concord NH), Rabbi Leora Kling Perkins (Temple Emunah, Lexington MA), and Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett (Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua NH). Moderated by Sheryl Rich-Kern of Temple Beth Abraham.

This is about a ten-minute D'var Torah, exploring the dimension of God known through the Exodus, rather than the creation of the universe.

Learn why and how you can deepen your experience of Jewish prayer and services by thinking about the prayer texts.  Hear some opening thoughts on the meaning of the Shma.

Second part of the workshop.