Who were the “Matriarchs” who started the Jewish family tree? Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel are the The Matriarchs whose names were traditionally repeated over and over again in our Jewish prayers. There were also other women in the same families who created the next generations. Right from the beginning our Jewish mothers were in complex families that included varieties of spirituality, ethnicity, family status, tensions, love and commitment. What did they each have to face? How did they respond to the choices they had? What can we discover from their lives that will help us in ours? What questions are we left with? We will bring open minds, imagination and curiosity to an inclusive exploration of the founding female generations of our own story.
Session 1 - Matriarchs in the Very First Jewish Family
What did Family mean to Sarah’s generation? How did she deal with issues of fidelity, fertility, and spirituality? Did you know that there is actually one theory that says Sarah was a priestess in her own right of the old Goddess-oriented Mesopotamian religion before she went on the journey with Abraham to “a land you do not know?” Have you ever had to make choices about leaving identities behind, partnership crossroads, building a family and finding God in all of that? We will explore the all-too-human model of our First Founding Mother, Sarah.
Assignment: CLASS ONE TEXTS and QUESTIONS
Extra references and further questions:
Sarah’s story is in the Book of Genesis, including:
Chapters 11:30 and 17:15 - 18:16 What is the promise of Sarai getting the name Sarah?
Chapter 21 1-20 As Sarah’s family expands how does she deal with jealousy about Hagar and Ishmael?
Chapter 23 1-2 What do you think about the end of Sarah’s life, just after the Binding of Isaac, at age 127?
The second and third sessions will be on May 19 and June 2 at the same time. You can attend any or all of the 3.
All sessions will be on Zoom. The Zoom link will automatically be sent to all members. Guests are welcome and must register to receive the Zoom link.
A donation of $18. is suggested for guests who are not members oF Leyv Ha-Ir.
Questions? Contact us at 215.629.1995 or info@leyvhair.org.
