In the year 5787, Congregation Shalom class will wrestle with difficult questions through a Jewish lens
The best learning happens when individuals are engaged in debate, said Brian Avner, director of congregational learning at Congregation Shalom.
“There’s a text from the Talmud that I really love,” Avner said. “Eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim chayim.” The quote translates to “both these and these are the words of a living God.” In other words, it says that when two voices are engaged in conversation or debate, the voice of God can be heard.
Beginning this October, God’s voice may be heard at Congregation Shalom, where Thorny Topics, a new monthly class series, will be held. Thorny Topics will kick off the synagogue’s year-long adult education curriculum and is open to all interested community members, not just congregants.
Avner created the series, inspired by several conversations he had with the synagogue’s members. “They were interested in having conversations about challenging issues present in the news that are either specific to Judaism or can be addressed and discussed through a Jewish lens,” he said.
Avner doesn’t expect these conversations to necessarily result in consensus.
“As we go into these difficult conversations, we remind ourselves that the goal is the discussion itself,” Avner said. “We don’t need to come to an answer at the end of it. The conversation is where the learning and growth happens.”
The topic of the first session is “Cancel Culture, Accountability, and Teshuva: A Jewish Conversation,” and will be taught by Avner himself. Other temple educators and clergy will teach future class sessions.
Avner is particularly interested in exploring potential nuanced alternatives to cancel culture, he said. “How do we find a balance when we agree with someone, or at least want to agree with someone, but some of their values don’t align with us?”
For example, many celebrities and activists stand for important issues or have created meaningful art but express anti-Israel sentiments that alienate parts of the Jewish community, Avner said. A timely example of this is the controversy surrounding Ed Sheeran’s current tour. Macklemore, the rapper who was a tour opener for Sheeran, provoked outrage for saying “Free Palestine” and playing his song “Hind’s Hall” on stage while displaying scenes from Gaza and photos of student encampments in the background. Macklemore was dropped from the tour after complaints from Jewish organizations, though Sheeran has stated the removal was the promoter’s decision, not his own.
“I want to explore what we’re supposed to do now,” Avner said. Do we just stop listening to an artist? If someone says the wrong thing, or if they do something terrible, do they have a path back? And do they always deserve to find a way back?
Because Thorny Topics was created with a discussion-based format in mind, Avner can’t fully predict where it might lead. “The beauty of this kind of education is that we as facilitators can bring in texts and begin the discussion, but we can’t control its direction once it gets going,” he admitted.
“In a perfect world, this conversation will continue in the parking lot as people are getting to their cars, and over coffee or at dinner later in the week,” Avner said. “The class might only last a short time, but hopefully the topics, conversations, and connections that people make will continue.”
