Talmud Page: The Hill We Climb

Dear Friends,

I don't know about you, but I was blown away by Amanda Gorman's poem at President Biden and Vice President Harris' inauguration this week. I found her words mesmerizing and they brought to mind so many associations with American and also Jewish culture.

One of my favorite notions in Judaism is the idea of ongoing dialogue throughout history. The Talmud, the pre-eminent Rabbinic text, contains a central quote in the middle of each page and commentaries from different times in history surrounding it. Some contemporary Jewish educators have begun creating modern Talmud pages, to respond to new writings through the lens of Jewish tradition. I first saw this done maybe 15 years ago with Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech.

I've created modern Talmud pages at different times, and Amanda Gorman's poem inspired me to put together another one. I would love to hear your reaction to the poem and to the quotes around it.

L'Shalom,

Rabbi Debbie Cohen