Ruptures are a necessary part of creation. That’s how the universe, our species, and we as individuals came into existence. Some ruptures merely destroy. Others promote new life. There is an art to making ruptures that create new ways forward. View the study sheet here. Watch the recording here.
An infection of a lack of faith, discipline and respect sweeps across the Israelite nation. A rebellion is ignited. Hundreds are swallowed up by it, and a devastating plague kills even more. The Torah portion in which all of this happens carries the name of the rebels’ leader, Korach. Yet, Jewish tradition is too wise to ascribe a nation’s failure to a single human being: “Some are guilty, but all are responsible” (Abraham Joshua Heschel).
As Trish Roberts-Miller, Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin, has written, “Demagoguery isn’t something a cunning individual does to the ignorant masses. It’s a way people think about their options.”
There is a way to amplify differences of opinion that opens up social fissures from which the toxicity of death and division seeps. And there is a way to give voice to them that creates an openness to new and inspiring ways forward. Join us here at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) Thursday June 10 as we explore vital ruptures.
