Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? One who learns from everyone, as is said,
“Because everyone has been my teacher, I have gained understanding.” —(mAvot 4:1)
Rabbi Hanina said: From my teachers I learned much, from my colleagues still more,
but from my students most of all. –(BT Ta’anit 7a)
This is a list of the various classes and workshops I have taught. For more information about my teaching and for student endorsements, please read here
Megillat Esther – Modes of Resistance and Ridicule (Feb 20, 2020)
Ruach HaYam teaching presented by Penina Weinberg at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – 6:45pm – 9:30pm. [Images: Esther in Persian attire proudly sitting on throne, Mordechai in front writing, Ahasuerus behind, by Arthur Szyk, 1950. Queen Vashti refusing to appear before Ahasuerus. 15th century manuscript illumination] (Scroll to end for logistics) The book of Esther has it all: heroic women, man of valor, ridicule of authority, harsh treatment of our enemies, eunuchs serving as messengers, advisors, guards, assassins, and soldiers. See Peter Toscano https://petersontoscano.com/eunuch-inclusive-esther-queer-theology-101/ (no longer available here) But no name of God appears. As we…
Exodus: non-binary identity and living (or not) one’s destiny (Jan 16, 2020)
Ruach HaYam teaching presented by Penina Weinberg at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – 6:45pm – 9:30pm. [Miriam dancing at the crossing of the Red Sea. Chludov Psalter. 9th century.] (Scroll to end for logistics) RSVP Join us as we begin the book of Exodus, for a study of Shemot, both Torah portion and book. We will see how binary labels miss the complexity of life. Moses is Israelite, Egyptian, Midianite. A killer and a prophet who fights his destiny. The midwives are Israelite and Egyptian. Israelite slaves have almost lost their identities. Ziporah is magician, nemesis,…
Judith – Warrior, Priestess, Savior, Femme Fatale? (Aug 22, Sept 19, 2019)
Ruach HaYam teaching presented by Penina Weinberg at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – 6:45pm. Part one: Aug 22. Part two: Sept 19, 2019. RSVP (Scroll to end for logistics) [Artwork Judith before Holofernes, Hamburg Miscellany, Meinz (?), ca. 1428–1434. Hamburg, Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek, Cod. Hebr. 37, fol. 80v, detail (© Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek, Hamburg). Everyone has heard of Judith. Isn’t she the woman who separated Holofernes from his head? And something or other about Hanukkah? Join us at Ruach HaYam *** (a queer Havurah based in Cambridge, MA) for a two session study of the book of Judith….
Navigating the Harsh Passages of Torah (July 18, 2019)
Ruach HaYam teaching presented by Penina Weinberg at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – July 18, 2019. 6:45pm. RSVP (Scroll to end for logistics) [Banner John Martin, The Deluge, 1834. At Yale Center for British Art.] In this class with Ruach HaYam *** (a queer Havurah based in Cambridge, MA) we will wrestle with finding meaning in some of the harsh passages of Torah. All of us know of such passages, which shock and discomfort us in their violence and inhumanity. As queer readers of the Hebrew Bible, how do we understand them? And in struggling to…
Trans Experience in Hebrew Bible – from Joy Ladin’s Book (May 23, 2019)
Ruach HaYam Teaching presented by Penina Weinberg at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – May 23, 2019. 6:45pm. (Scroll to end for logistics) Join us at Ruach HaYam, an independent queer havurah, for a discussion about Joy Ladin’s book, The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective. In her book, Joy writes that “The covenant with Abraham is founded on Abraham, Sarah, and Jacob’s embrace of trans experience: their willingness to live outside the gender roles they were born to and become the kinds of people they were not supposed to be….
Samson and Delilah – the REAL Story (February 21, 2019)
Ruach HaYam Teaching presented by Penina Weinberg at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – February 21, 2019. 6:45pm. (Scroll to end for logistics) Join us at Ruach HaYam, an independent queer havurah, for a close study of the saga of Samson and Delilah, including Samson’s “miraculous” birth, the riddle of the lion and much more (Judges 13-16), led by Penina Weinberg with a special presentation by Mimi Yasgur on using theater to understand the text. As with the Song of Deborah, we will study stereotypical gender roles, non-normative gender roles, and how power is wielded. Also we’ll…
Song of Deborah: Motherhood, Manhood, and War (January 17, 2019)
Ruach HaYam Teaching presented by Penina Weinberg at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – January 17, 2019. (Scroll to end for logistics) Join us at Ruach HaYam, an independent queer havurah, for a close reading of the Song of Deborah (Judges 4-5). We will study stereotypical gender roles, non-normative gender roles, and how power is wielded. We also consider the nature of war. The Song of Deborah is as old as the very ancient Song of the Sea (Ex 15:1-19) and Song of Miriam (Ex. 15:20-21), with which it is paired as haftarah. The text presents an…
Job: Divine and Human Response to Suffering (December 20, 2018)
Ruach HaYam Teaching at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – December 20, 2018. (Scroll to end for logistics) Banner: Color illumination from Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, c.776 – 825 Septuagint of Job with commentaries (Vat. Gr. 749, f. 25r): Satan, Job and his wife. Job in the center, struck with boils and threatened by a three headed monster. On the right, Job’s wife mourns. In our previous study session on Korah, we questioned how one might understand a divine being who can threaten to annihilate an entire community. We discussed what Abraham Joshua Heshel teaches about “harsh passages”…
Korah: Rebel With (out?) a Cause (September 27, 2018)
Ruach HaYam Teaching at Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA – September 27, 2018. (Scroll to end for logistics) Banner: “The Punishment of Korah and the Stoning of Moses and Aaron” by Sandro Botticelli, 1481-82. Fresco in Sistine Chapel. (Wikimedia Commons) Penina Weinberg leads this study of Parashat Korah, Numbers 16.1-18.32. (note, we usually meet on 3rd Thursdays; this is 4th due to Yom Kippur) Korah dares to question the authority of Moses, whom Korah claims is raising himself above the congregation of YHWH. Does Korah have a point, or is he a rebel with a wish for…
Caleb: Ruach Acheret (“Different Spirit”) and Sacred Norms (July 19, 2018)
This study, led by Penina Weinberg, is about having a different spirit and struggling with(in) the strictures of sacred norms. We will read and study Parashat Sh’lach (Numbers 13.1 – 15:41) Continue reading