It was Shabbat and I spent most of the day doing things with Shir Hadash. This morning we attended Torah Study and Shir Shabbat, on Zoom as usual; we’re getting deep into the Joseph story which always leads to interesting discussions.
This afternoon, we were physically on campus for a Limmud (learning session) led by one of the candidates for the Senior Rabbi position. The candidate took us through the evolution of the Hanukkah story, looking at texts from I and II Maccabees, Josephus, and the Babylonian Talmud and discussing the similarities and differences. I hadn’t realized that the “miracle of the oil” wasn’t part of the original story – it was added in Talmudic days (about 500 CE). It was a very interesting session, followed by wine, snacks, and Havdalah.
And I got the first paper issue of my revised Economist subscription today – fortunately, it’s one without bonus sections so there’s a chance I’ll finish it before the next one arrives!