Renowned author will discuss Judaism and the mysteries of life, death and the world beyond
Temple Beth Shalom, the Jewish Community of Topeka, is inviting the community to participate in its virtual scholar-in-residence series on Feb. 5 and 6. The event features Reb Simcha Raphael, founding director of the DA’AT Institute for Death Awareness, Advocacy and Training.
The Friday talk begins at 8 p.m., following shabbat services.
The topic is “Jacob’s Deathbed Finale: Guidelines from Genesis for Living and Dying,” where participants will investigate deathbed tales at the end of the Book of Genesis, which provide profound wisdom for dealing with end-of-life issues in our times. Participants will see how they can learn from Jacob and Joseph ways of dealing with the reality of death and mourning in this most challenging pandemic time.
The Saturday session begins at 10:30 a.m. The topic that day is “Exploring Jewish Views of the Afterlife: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.”
While many often assume Judaism does not have a belief in life after death, in fact there are extensive Jewish teachings on afterlife and postmortem survival. After examining images of afterlife in biblical and rabbinic texts, the discussion will enter the worlds of Kabbalah and Hasidism and discover what the Jewish mystics had to say about the journey of the soul after death. The intent is to also discover the practical connection between afterlife teachings and our contemporary Jewish death rituals.
All are welcome to join. Visit https://bit.ly/TBS-SIR-Eventbrite-2 for tickets, which are available for a donation for non-Temple members.
Raphael is the author of numerous publications including the groundbreaking “Jewish Views of the Afterlife,” and co-editor of the newly published “Jewish End-of-Life Care in a Virtual Age: Our Traditions Reimagined.” His website is www.daatinstitute.net.
