PHILADELPHIA: Monday, September 29th from 6:30 – 8:30 PM 0 MAAS Building, 1325 N Randolph St, Philadelphia, PA

Responsibility and Repentance in the Face of Genocide: A Jewish Currents Text Study

by Jewish Currents

Throughout the Yom Kippur liturgy, participants recite together the vidui, or confession. The lines are spoken in the first-person plural, enumerating a list of collective wrongs: “We have abused, we have betrayed, we have been cruel, we have destroyed.” They go on: “We have killed. We have lied . . . we have robbed and stolen . . . we have been both violent and weak.” The collective ownership of communal crimes is always challenging and powerful; over the last two years these words are especially devastating.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza (though the true death toll is likely much higher) and displaced millions in a campaign of destruction that nearly every leading human rights organization in the world has declared a genocide. Many of us have protested to stop this war, but those of us who are American citizens have also paid for the bombs that have been dropped on Gaza. In the face of such horror, what might it mean to take collective responsibility? And is repentance even possible for crimes that cannot be repaired? What does atonement mean when the crime is genocide?

This High Holiday season, join Jewish Currents to explore these painful questions. At workshops in Washington, DC; Brooklyn; Philadelphia; Chicago; Boston; and virtually, educators will bring ancient and modern Jewish texts to bear on this difficult season of reflection and recommitment.

All in-person workshops will include a light meal and are free for Jewish Currents members (join today!). For non-members, tickets are a suggested donation of $18. Space for each event is limited, so we encourage you to register today. (Priority registration for the virtual workshop will be given to those who do not reside in a city with a live event, or cannot attend in-person for accessibility reasons.)

Philadelphia: Monday, September 29th from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at MAAS, with Laynie Soloman. (Tickets Jewish Currents)

UPCOMING

Virtual: Tuesday, September 30th from 8:00 to 9:30 PM ET on Zoom, with Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein.

Boston: Sunday, October 5th from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Boston Workers Circle, with Rabbi Aron Wander.

Read more about the series on our event page: Responsibility and Repentance in the Face of Genocide: A Jewish Currents Text Study.