with Alyssa Henning, Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at Luther College

The rabbinic story of “the Oven of Akhnai,” which appears in the Babylonian Talmud (part of Judaism’s “Oral Torah”), describes a heated argument between Rabbi Eliezer and his colleagues over whether a clay oven is ritually pure. The text raises questions about authority in the interpretation of Jewish law, but also raises important questions about what we owe to the people with whom we disagree.

Karen Esterl, service leader, Beth Wahlberg, greeter