Elul Offerings – Moses: Provocations from a Disabled Prophet

Join us for a Zoom offering from Rabbi Julia Watts Belser on Moses

Moses: Provocations from a Disabled Prophet

When God sends Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery, the prophet famously says no. Why? Moses describes himself as “slow of speech and slow of tongue.” While some commentators treat Moses’ speech disability as a spiritual impediment, this workshop brings Moses’ story into conversation with the life experiences and activism of contemporary disability communities. We’ll grapple with spiritual and political questions about access and equity, invisibility and silence, as well as practices for transforming social inequality and shame to illuminate the provocative power of spiritual leadership that centers disability wisdom.

Julia Watts Belser (she/her) is a rabbi, scholar, and spiritual teacher who works at the intersections of disability studies, queer feminist Jewish ethics, and environmental justice. She is a professor of Jewish Studies at Georgetown University, Senior Research Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, and core faculty in Georgetown’s Disability Studies Program. A longtime advocate for disability and gender justice, she currently directs an initiative on Disability and Climate Change. Her latest book, Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole (Beacon Press, 2023), won a National Jewish Book Award.

This teaching will be on Zoom. 

When: Sunday, September 22nd, 10:45am-12:15pm

Where: On Zoom