Beit Midrash: Philip Roth & American Jewish Identity

5:00 – 6:30 PM IN THE LIBRARY

Join us *in person* at CRC for a rotating topical class that studies Jewish texts, in a Jewish way.

Every month has a different topic, and every session will combine chevruta-style learning in small groups, with a shiur (discussion) at the end. All are welcome!

Beit Midrash with Rabbi Randy: PHILIP ROTH AND AMERICAN JEWISH IDENTITY

WEDNESDAYS – JUNE 11 & 18

Love or hate his work (and there are plenty in both camps), Philip Roth (1933-2018) had a lot to say about what it means to be an American Jew (or a Jewish American) in our times. May will mark seven years since he passed away, and it felt like a good time to reprise this class that I first taught many years ago.

We will explore works from the sweep of Roth’s career, focusing exclusively on those books and passages from others that zoom in on the topic at hand. We will study from a packet of excerpts I have culled that stand on their own terms, so you do not need to read (or re-read) any of the books unless you want to. The excerpts range from Roth’s early short stories. which were excoriated by mainstream Jewish leaders, and early novels like Goodbye Columbus and Portnoy’s Complaint, on to complex later works such as Operation Shylock, American Pastoral, and I Married A Communist.

Finally, we will take a deep dive into 2004’s chilling The Plot Against America which will feel to some like it was taken from today’s headlines. With all of the rapid changes in the American Jewish world that have occurred since he died, does Roth still speak to (and for) us today? Let’s find out together!

For more information, contact rabbinicalassistant@centralreform.org.