This course is dedicated to the ilui neshamah (illumination of the soul) of Baruch Chayyim ben Yosef veChana (Benedict Romain).
Our six sessions will introduce the book of Ezekiel, exploring the historical context of the book, its structure, and its unique features. We will study key sections of the book, including the mysterious chariot vision from the first chapter (and its later reappearances), Ezekiel’s use of ‘street theatre’, his theory of sin and teshuvah (repentance), and the last eight chapters – notoriously difficult, but with a vision of God’s plan for the End of Days. Along the way we will investigate the book’s influence on later Jewish mysticism, its relationship with the Creation story, and its surprising links to Kaddish and Hatikva. No prior skills or experience needed.
This class will take place in-person in central Edinburgh.
Monday 10 July, 3.30 – 5.00pm
Tuesday 11 July, 3.30 – 5.00pm
Thursday 13 July, 3.30 – 5.00pm
Monday 17 July, 3.30 – 5.00pm
Tuesday 18 July, 3.30 – 5.00pm
Thursday 20 July, 3.30 – 5.00pm
Rabba Dr Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz received her doctorate from University College London. She has just finished two years as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester and has lectured at universities including Cambridge, Oxford, and Vassar College, New York. She has taught at the London School of Jewish Studies since 2005. In 2021 she received Orthodox rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Maharat, New York. Her first book, Challenge and Conformity: The Religious Lives of Orthodox Jewish Women, was published by the Littman LIbrary of Jewish Civilization in 2021.
