This lecture was held at Pardes as part of the Tisha B’Av program 2015.
Although Israel is often seen as a society divided along the lines of religiosity and secularism, a close look will show how even the most secular of writers are rooted in classical texts and create their own language of secular prayer. The session will examine a variety of expressions of the relationship with G-d, based on secular, biblical and prayer references in modern Israeli poetry. We will review works by Zeev, Admiel Kosman, Yehuda Amichai, Rivka Miriam and Koby Oz as we move from rebellion and denial through painful dialogue to acceptance through creativity.
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Rachel is an adjunct faculty member at Pardes. She is a freelance Jewish education consultant specializing in curriculum development for Israel and Holocaust education. Until 2008 she had been the Academic Director of Distance Learning programs at the JAFO Department of Education. Born in Israel, she had served in the I.D.F. as an officer in the central training base for women and was later, a member of the I.D.F. delegation to Niger (West Africa). She is a graduate of Haifa University with a Ph.D. in Jewish education. Rachel had a vast experience in Jewish education both in Israel and the Diaspora. As one of the founders and directors of a special program for soldiers from a disadvantaged background, she was responsible for creating the educational framework and training teachers for the implementation of the program. Click here to read more.
