Almost everyone has heard of Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther), but not everyone knows that there are five “megillot” (scrolls) in the Tanach (the Hebrew Bible).

And those who know even a bissel Yiddish (a little Yiddish) know that the phrase “the gantze megillah” means, literally “the whole scroll”, but figuratively-  “the whole story”: (an allusion, perhaps, to having to sit through a complete and overly long reading of Megillat Esther in order to hear “the entire story” in all its details.)

We will be delving into all five, as part of Shabbat services over the next few months.

October 28th: Introduction to the book of ECCLESIASTES. Known as KOHELET in Hebrew, this book (one of the 5 megillot) falls into the genre of “wisdom literature” – or what we would call philosophical speculation. Heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, it often sounds like 20th century existential angst – with lines like: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity”, and “There is nothing new under the sun”. Led by: Mark Matchen.

January 27: This second session is an introduction to Eicha (Lamentations), led by Rabbi Rena Arshinoff. This book is a series of dirges about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. It also contained some important theological lessons.

March 10: Come learn about the Scroll of Esther. Is it history or fantasy? Is it serious or a farce? When might it have happened? When was it written? Why is it included in the Bible?  Led by Sydney Nestel

April 7, 2018 – Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs): Everything you always wanted to know and were too embarrassed to ask. What is an erotic set of love poems doing in the Bible? Who wrote it? Why it is read in the synagogue during Passover? Led by Julie Forman-Kay

May 26, 2018 – The Scroll of Ruth: At first glance, the story of Ruth is a simple and well known narrative with a happy ending. On closer examination, fascinating parallels and troubling issues emerge that prompt our main question, "Why was the Scroll of Ruth written?” Led by Baruch Sienna

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