Rabbi Matthew Ponak is offering a four-part online lecture series on August 12, 19, 26 and September 2, 2021 all from 6-7:30 pm PT
It is a myth that Judaism “has always been this way.”
Still, many Jews today carry guilt for not being more “religious,” or hold orthodoxy or ritually observant life as the true ideal. In these four lectures you will learn how and why Jews have always made choices about how they want to live, regardless of what religious customs they inherited. Learning the ancient tradition of religious innovation can put your mind at ease and give you the confidence to live life authentically.
Lecture 1 - How To Make a Pig Kosher
With two interpretive tools, our ancestors made the impure pure and turned whole bodies of law upside down. Learn the tried, tested, and true methods of making new ideas sound old which allowed for thousands of years of organic cultural transformation. You’ll even learn how to make a pig kosher!
Lecture 2 - The Bar Mitzvah Industry: The Secret History of Jewish Initiation Rites
Our early ancestors did not chant the Torah at the age of thirteen. The earliest mentions of the Bar Mitzvah don’t mention an age or any ceremony at all. Learn how and why the Bar Mitzvah Ceremony (and later the Bat Mitzvah Ceremony) were invented in recent history. With this knowledge you can feel free to train your children as you see fit.
Lecture 3 - Intermarriage - Following in the Footsteps of Moses
Is intermarriage a modern phenomenon and thus a betrayal of our predecessors? Definitely not! Learn the ancient Israelite custom of pairing up with someone outside the tribe. Even Moses did it! Why did this practice later become taboo? And why do most Jews never learn this growing up?
Lecture 4 - Spiritual Innovations: How to be a Jewish Lineage Holder
It is a myth that we come from a long line of traditionalists. Actually, the great majority of Jewish thinkers, prophets, rabbis, and philosophers that we celebrate today were rebels. With this in mind, what does it mean to walk in the footsteps of our greatest ancestors in today’s world?
The Kosher Pig lecture series is an online event and tickets are now available. Click here and reserve your spot now! https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-kosher-pig-lecture-series-30-for-all-four-lectures-tickets-163423392767
Rabbi Matthew Ponak is a teacher, guide, and musician. He is a co-founder of Mekorah Institute, an online spiritual innovation platform that offers classes, one-on-one somatic spiritual guidance, and refreshing new perspectives on religion and spirituality.
