Dr. Ruth Calderon in Conversation with Rabbi Leon Morris: Secular Talmud – A Contradiction in Terms?

Introduction

Pardes was honored to welcome Dr. Ruth Calderon for an insightful evening on Secular Talmud: A Contradiction in Terms? Rabbi Leon Morris posed a number of thought-provoking questions during the evening’s discussion which included:

Can the Halakha have meaning for contemporary Israeli secular Jews? Can the entire vocabulary of Jewish life be reclaimed and reshaped?
Saul Lieberman: “When I pray I talk to God. When I study, God talks to me.” Do you find God in these texts?
What is the purpose or “end” of Torah study ?
What would an Israeli Jewish society marinated in classic Jewish texts look like to you?
Reflect on the issue of who “owns” Judaism in Israel in light of 30 years of Jewish renewal and reclaiming of the Jewish bookshelf.

Leon Morris

Rabbi Leon Morris is President of Pardes and the first Pardes alumnus to lead the institution, having studied in both the Year (‘94-’95) and Summer (‘93, ‘94) Programs. Ordained by Hebrew Union College in 1997, Leon previously served as rabbi of Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor, founding director of the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in Manhattan, and Vice President for Israel Programs at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Leon has taught at Orthodox, Conservative and Reform institutions and has worked extensively with the Jewish community of India since serving there as a Jewish Service Corps volunteer in 1990. A regular contributor to the Jewish, Israeli and American press, he is also an editor of the Reform High Holy Day machzor Mishkan HaNefesh.

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