Jewish Community Center of Washington, DC

The Lesser Light: The Moon and the Months of the Jewish Calendar

Date:
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Time:
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Location:
Washington DCJCC
1529 16th St NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States

moonThe Moon is of crucial importance in Judaism. The Jewish months and holidays follow a lunar calendar and her monthly cycle is seen as a metaphor for the renewal of the Jewish people. Not to mention the world we live in would be radically different without our closest celestial neighbor.

The rabbis of the Talmud discuss the Moon at length in both legal and homiletical texts. We will examine some ancient Talmudic passages and their confluences with modern astronomy.


Astronomer and Jewish scholar Alan Gersch guides us through studies of this fascinating topic.
 

Instructor
Dr. Alan Gersch earned a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Maryland and a Master’s in Computer Science from Columbia University. He studied Judaics at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh and Yeshivat Har Etzion, and has taught Bible and Talmud in his community for over two decades. He is a Research Associate for the Digital Mishnah project of the UMD Jewish Studies Dept./MITH.

Questions? Contact Tami Wolf at (202) 777-3259 or tamiw@washingtondcjcc.org

This class is part of Jewish Explorations, our new series of Jewish learning opportunities!


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