Join us once again for a powerful evening of connection over text and an amplification of women’s Torah perspectives. HerTorah is a program offered in partnership with SVIVAH and Maharat.
Featuring Nechama Goldman Barash:
Shame on You: The Ethics of Public Shaming to Out Immoral Behavior
A look at the Jewish prohibitions against talebearing and evil speech contrasted with the commandment “to rebuke” in an attempt to understand if social media can be used to publicly expose corruption and protect vulnerable populations or, will the concern for the severe sin of public shaming neutralize any such possibility.
Developing a Modern Jewish Sexual Ethic
A conversation with Nechama Goldman Barash and Maharat Ruth Friedman. What does Judaism say about sexual morality? Let’s acknowledge some of the unprecedented challenges facing this generation. Across denominations, there is a call to use Jewish practice, ritual and ethics when developing and maintaining intimacy. The sources give a fascinating insight into the struggle religion has to sanctify the sexual and how Judaism persisted nonetheless in developing a positive ethic that can help guide us today.
And Aliza Sperling:
Simple Words: Wonder
Nechama Goldman Barash made aliyah over 20 years ago after graduating from Stern College. She studied in Matan’s Advanced Talmud Institute and holds a master’s degree in Talmud from Bar-Ilan University. She is a graduate of Nishmat’s Yoetzet Halacha program and is a certified sex educator through Yahel and the Eden Center. She also studied in Matan’s advanced halakha program, Hilkhata. Nechama teaches contemporary halakha and Talmud at Matan and Pardes, as well as Talmud and Women & Halakha in Torah V’Avodah (TVA), a Matan gap year program. She is an active member of Beit Hillel and participates in interfaith dialogue through Roots, based in Gush Etzion, close to where she lives with her family. She is currently working on a book focused on matters of gender and halakha.
Maharat Ruth Friedman is a member of the inaugural class of Yeshivat Maharat, the first institution to ordain Orthodox women as spiritual leaders and halakhic (legal) authorities. She and her husband Yoni moved to DC in 2013 to begin her position as Maharat at Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue, where Maharat Friedman’s responsibilities include overseeing the conversion program, supervising the operation of the community mikvah, directing adult education, providing pastoral counseling, teaching in the community, and more. She is a proud member of both the Chicago and Washington Boards of Rabbis, and sits on the Executive Committee of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, of which she is also a member. Maharat Ruth is also a founding member of the Beltway VAAD. She and Yoni are the proud parents of their sons Ezra and Joebear, and their rambunctious dog, Cocoa.
*Refreshments will be served. We welcome women 12+
Need a ride? Bring a friend and SVIVAH will sponsor your Uber/Lyft.
Sponsorships & Dedications are most gratefully welcomed. Reach out to connect@svivah.org
HerTorah gathers together a diverse community of Jewish women
to connect over our shared heritage, explore our collective wisdom, and elevate
our communal experience
in learning with and
from one another.
The Aviv Foundation