This article tells of San Francisco artist Sophia Zohar and her decision to transfer the goth aesthetic to the sphere of Jewish interest. It writes about the reawakening of her interest in Judaism and her involvement in art and the social media, then says:
Zohar is about to go more public. Starting April 26, she’s teaching a class presented by the Torah Studio online learning platform. “Pirkei Avot for Goths,” which consists of six sessions between Passover and Shavuot — the traditional time to study the ancient text on ethics — is already full up. While Zohar teaches kids in Hebrew school, it’s her first time teaching adults.
She adds:
"I think with a lot of Pirkei Avot study, the impulse is to go very academic, so the subversive nature is really rooting it in emotion. But I could be wrong about that!"
Does Pirkei Avot have a "subversive nature" and, if so, what does it seek to subvert? These are refreshing and stimulating questions for the student of Avot and they are not as outlandish as one might at first imagine. Commentators such as the Maharal, Rabbi Moshe Almosnino and Maharam Shik have made some quite challenging statements about the teachings of Avot, a tractate that was not compiled for the sake of delivering a comfortable read to people who were at home with their own assumptions about life and their role in it.
If any readers have enrolled for this programme, Avot Today would be delighted to hear from them about what it's like and what they can learn from it.
