The beit midrash is not only a place of learning; it is also a place where relationships are formed, tested, and transformed. Through powerful rabbinic stories—from the tragic rupture between Rabbi Yochanan and Resh Lakish to Honi HaMe’agel’s devastating experience of loneliness—we will explore the human need for recognition, belonging, and connection. Together we will consider how the beit midrash can be a place of profound intimacy or painful exclusion, and what these stories teach us about building relationships and communities grounded in healthy boundaries, intentionality, empathy, and care.

Please arrive 10-15 minutes early to pour a tea, grab some cake and settle in for a 7:30pm start.

About the Guest Speaker:

Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash has studied at the Matan Institute’s Advanced Talmud and halakha programs, Bar-Ilan University and Nishmat’s Yoetzet Halacha program. Nechama is a certified bridal teacher and a sex educator through Yahel and the Eden Center.

Nechama teaches contemporary halakha and Talmud at Matan and Pardes, as well as Talmud and women and halakha in Torah V’Avodah (TVA)