The Mishnah is a 2nd century text that acts as the rabbinic “Reddit room,” where rabbis spoke, argued, told stories, made bold claims, and remembered what had come before. Mishnah Brachot asks questions of how prayer functions as a spiritual technology for connecting to ourselves, our community, and the Divine. Join us as we delve into this rich, bizarre, and gorgeous text alongside Hasidic commentaries, contemporary poetry and reflections, and — most importantly — our own insights from our lived experiences! No previous text study, Hebrew, or prayer experience necessary — just open minds and hearts.
During this first course, we aim to learn the first half of Mishnah Brakhot through studying the text itself, creative translations, commentaries, poetry, and more. A second course is planned for later in 5784, and in the second course we aim to learn the second half of Mishnah Brakhot.
Registration for the full five-session course is $36 for CBI members and $50 for non-members. Registration for individual sessions are $10 each. Scholarships are available — please contact Rabbi Rachel Barenblat at [email protected] for more information. Register online at bit.ly/CBI-Mishnah-5784.
Emily Rogal is a former midwestern emo kid turned aspiring healer and educator. She graduated from The New School in 2017 with a degree in Religious Studies, where she focused on the mikveh as a site of contemporary feminist ritual intervention and care, before pursuing a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. She has experience working in the music industry, hospital chaplaincy, domestic violence and sexual assault counseling, and is a trained birth and postpartum doula, mikveh guide, and a Jewish educator invested in cultivating spaces which center reflection, resilience, joy, justice, and just the right amount of angst. She spends the majority of her free time drinking oat milk lattes, hunting down weird midrashim (which is basically rabbi fanfiction in her book), reading and writing fantasy, and finding her perpetually lost water bottle.
