Limmud Toronto 2020

This session will explore the nature of the temporary precarity in our lives and the ongoing precarity of some of our neighbours. We will study the texts of some early chapters in the Torah where our ancestors had to live through their own challenging situations. Both Parshat Toldot and Parshat Va’yeitzei (the Parshiyot surrounding current scheduled date for Limmud Toronto 2020) deal with persons in precarious positions. In Parshat Toldot, we encountered a mother in pregnancy distress, a son who was famished, a refugee subject to the whims of the local population, a father whose eyesight impaired his ability to concretize his legacy and a brother escaping fratricide. In Parshat Va’yeitzei we encounter a spiritual seeker, a migrant worker, a bride in a forced marriage, sister wives, a barren wife and a man about to lose his children and grandchildren. We will identify what guidance we can extract from these parshiyot on how we can address current precarity.