Witches, Wives, and Whores:
(In)famous Women of the Bible

Four women of the Bible—Avishag, Jezebel, Rahav, and the Witch of Endor—have come down to us with reputations ranging from scandalous to sinister. But are those reputations deserved? In this two-session course, Rabbi Elyse Goldstein re-examines how these notorious women of scripture have traditionally been perceived and challenges familiar stereotypes to reveal their intelligence, agency, courage, and resistance. Through close readings of their stories and lively discussion, we will consider what the biblical texts actually say, how later generations have interpreted them, and what these complicated women might have to say to us today.

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Session 1 — Avishag and Jezebel: After a brief introduction to Rabbi Goldstein's approach to reading biblical texts, we will meet two women whose stories have acquired very different meanings over time. Jezebel is infamous in popular culture—but was she really so bad? Avishag appears at the end of King David's life in a story involving aging, power, sex, and succession. What do their stories actually tell us?

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Session 2 — Rahav and the Witch of Endor: One is traditionally described as a prostitute who helps Israelite spies; the other is a powerful woman whom King Saul consults even though doing so is forbidden. Are they merely familiar archetypes—or women exercising courage and power in circumstances that leave them few choices?

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Rabbi Dr. Elyse Goldstein is the founding rabbi and rabbi emerita of City Shul, a Reform congregation in downtown Toronto. Ordained in 1983, she became the only female rabbi in Canada at that time. She is a speaker, teacher, social justice advocate, and recipient of the Covenant Award for Exceptional Jewish Educators. Her first book, ReVisions: Seeing Torah through a Feminist Lens, won a Canadian Jewish Book Award. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University, earned a master's degree from Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, and received a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, in 2008. In 2013, The Forward named her one of America's 50 most influential rabbis.

PRICE:

$400 MXN