Calendar Study Series

Feminist Inspiration for Living on the Jewish Cycle

The Bea Zucker Calendar Study Series presents feminist inspiration for living on the Jewish cycle in both English and Spanish, with units by Dr. Bonna Devora Haberman z”l and Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy.

The ICJW Bea Zucker Calendar Study Series invites you to engage with the meaning and relevance of the entire annual cycle of Jewish festivals. Each unit guides study for individuals, learning partners or groups. The series is comprehensive—we explore the major holidays as well as less well-known ones, fasts and the commemorative dates on the Israeli calendar. We specially include women’s observances such as Rosh Hodesh. We focus on the intersection of an ancient and evolving Jewish calendar with contemporary issues, our lives and choices.

These units contextualize the holidays, discuss their roots, raise questions for consideration, offer internet links for further inquiry, reflect about our methods, and summarize the issues raised. We also consider relevant food traditions, symbols, images, texts and observances associated with the festivals, including the readings from the biblical scrolls from a refreshing feminist perspective.

One of the unique aspects of the ICJW Bea Zucker Calendar Study Series is its commitment to supporting current feminist initiatives and field work. With the intention to contribute cultural analysis and insight from Jewish tradition, units relate to such areas as human trafficking, women’s health, discrimination against girls and women, equal pay, as well as related broad human concerns, such as the environment, interfaith, and political ideas. Classic Jewish sources and festivals are meaningful to current society and activism.

This series empowers people to observe a Jewish lifestyle with passionate commitment to feminist social justice and action.