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  A wilderness trip is a wonderful escape from the trials and tribulations of daily life, and a great way to have fun. It is a chance to travel to the unknown and unexpected, to test one's limits, to feel the wild and the real. For most people, this is more than enough. But there is also a spiritual opportunity anytime we journey into the natural world. Most people readily experience awe and wonder in nature but rarely pause to ask: where does awe come from and how can the wonder I feel in nature pervade all of my life? The beauty, the stillness and the immediacy of the wild afford a unique environment to find God and deepen one's experience of the divine. Immersed in sacred wilderness, we discover the sacred in ourselves.  
 

 
 

 

Desert Torah
at the
University of Judaism

Wednesday Evenings
January 18 - March 1
7:30 to 9:00

Does it make a difference to read Torah in the place where the events occurred? So much of the formative history of the Jewish people took place in the desert, yet classical Jewish commentators and modern Bible scholars wrote in Europe or North America. Rabbi and Israeli desert guide Mike Comins brings his experience of walking the Sinai and Negev deserts, with Bible in hand, to the UJ classroom. He offers unique interpretations of Torah and then brings the desert perspective to bear on the compelling questions of Jewish spiritual living.

Topics include:

  • Revealing the God of Being – The Desert of Moses
  • Hearing the Still, Small Voice – The Desert of Elijah
  • Reclaiming the Wild Man Within – The Desert of Jacob and Esau
  • Justice, Suffering and the Natural World – The Desert of Job
  • Death and Rebirth – The Desert of the Generation of Wandering
  • Awe – The Desert of the Psalmist
  • Prayer – The Desert of David
  • Love and Commitment – The Desert of Hosea and the Song of Songs
  • Chaos, Demons and Danger – The Desert of Isaiah
  • Gratitude – The Desert of Miriam

Lecture presentations follow the close reading of Biblical texts with class participation encouraged. Optional desert trip with Rabbi Comins may be planned by the group!

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