Prayer and Spirituality
Rabbinic Literature
The Days of Awe and Fear
Is there a place for fear in our lives?
Educator: Rabbi Avi Strausberg
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Course Details
Sessions
4
Recommended for
Everyone
Description
The days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are filled with awe and anxiety. As we cultivate a stance of trembling before God, fearful of God’s awesome power and what the year may bring, we are challenged to reflect on the place of fear in our lives.
In this four-part course, through the study of texts from Tanakh, Talmud, Mussar, and Hasidut, we'll explore the questions: how is cultivating a posture of fear in our lives helpful? How might it be harmful? Is it possible to strike a balance?
Sample Materials
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Educator
Rabbi Avi Strausberg is the Director of National Learning Initiatives at Hadar, and is based in Washington, DC. Previously, she served as the Director of Congregational Learning of Temple of Aaron in St. Paul, Minnesota. Avi studied at Hadar as a year fellow, and served on our summer faculty in 2014. She received her rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College in Boston and is a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She also holds a Masters in Jewish Education. While pursuing her studies, Avi was honored to serve as a rabbinic intern at Kehillath Israel and Temple Sinai. She has taught students of different ages and backgrounds at Kehillath Israel, Temple Sinai, Makor, and Hadar. Additionally, Avi has worked as a chaplain intern at Hebrew Senior Life and organized an anti-trafficking campaign as a rabbinic fellow at T’ruah. Energized by engaging creatively with Jewish text, she has written several theatre pieces inspired by the Torah and maintains a Daf Yomi haiku blog in which she writes daily Talmudic haikus. Avi is most grateful for her wife, Chana, and two children, Ori and Niv.
