cellio | Wednesday summary

I'm short on time right now, so I'll summarize what we covered now and fill in details later. (Those of you who know these references should of course feel free to discuss here.)

Wednesday morning:

Study with a partner (and not just on your own) is essential, and it's a core value of this school.
II Samuel chapter 21 is the rather disturbing story of how the Gibbeonites get revenge for a wrong done to them by Saul. (King David ends up handing over sons of Saul knowing they will be killed.) Yevamot 78b-79a discusses this in some detail. It's fascinating, and I'll come back to it later.
We looked at a modern text on the obligations of Israel to its Arab citizens that hearkens back to the original situation the Gibbeonites were in.
We looked at another modern text (by a rabbi who is an adviser of President Bush) applying this same talmudic passage to war and responses to terror. Looking at this and the previous in sharp contrast was interesting.
Another theme: halacha is a centuries-long process of seeking ("halacha" from "walk"); it is not just a static handbook.
We had some time so we started looking at the story of Serach bat Asher (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael on Beshelach)

Wednesday afternoon: guest lecture from Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, dean of the rabbinic school, titled "Leadership in Response to Diversity and Change".

Two fundamental questions of leadership: "why me?" and "who knows?".
Torah passage where Moshe asks God to appoint a leader after him (Pinchas): enumerates some criteria.
Bamidbar Rabbah elaborates on "lord of the spirits".
Midrash Tanchuma on Pinchas is about diversity in others (including those being led).
Leadership is not inherited here; it's a meritocracy (unlike priesthood). Meritocracy can be better for supporting change; inheritance can be better for maintaining the status quo.
Themes of connecting with individuals versus serving groups. (Oh boy do I see that tension in my congregational experiences!)
Leader as midwife.