The Secular Humanist Jewish Circle will sponsor a lecture, “Torah as Mythology,” by Rabbi Miri Fleming, Ph.D., on Saturday, May 19, from 2-4:30 p.m. at the Dusenberry-River Library, 5605 E. River Road (at Craycroft).
Fleming will address the question of what the Torah, or five books of Moses, is to the Jewish people and why it is regarded by some as the word of God, others as history and others as “just an old book.” She will review why some Jews still read and study the Torah from beginning to end every year and how a book written so many years ago can be relevant in 2012.
Before coming to Tucson in 1985, Fleming, who is originally from Argentina, lived in Israel, where she attended elementary school through college. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in education from the University of Arizona. After a career as a teacher and school administrator, she received ordination from Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi through the Jewish Renewal ALEPH Rabbinical program in 2009.
A brief oneg will follow the lecture. Participants are asked to bring a snack to share and a non-perishable food donation for the Community Food Bank. To RSVP contact Susan Rubin at 577-7718 or srubinaz@ comcast.net or Becky Schulman at 296-3762 or schulmb@aol.com.
