מָה־אָהַבְתִּי תוֹרָתֶךָ
How I love your Torah (Ps. 119:97)
For four decades, Rabbi Roly Matalon has helped nurture a deep and expansive love of Torah at BJ—affirming learning as a spiritual practice that shapes how we live, pray, and show up in the world.
In celebration of Roly’s 40 years of service, we are excited to present a seven-week learning series featuring beloved teachers, colleagues, and friends who have walked alongside him on the path of Torah. Together, they offer teachings that reflect the depth, curiosity, and spiritual seriousness that have animated Roly’s rabbinate and shaped Torah learning at BJ.
This week, we will welcome Dr. Nathaniel Berman to teach a session titled, Exploring the Divine Palaces, Gathering the Human Melodies: Teachings Inspired by a Hevruta-ship with Roly Matalon.
Nathaniel Berman is the Rahel Varnhagen Professor (Emeritus) at Brown University and Visiting Professor History and Law at Columbia University. He is the author of Divine and Demonic in the Poetic Mythology of the Zohar: the ‘Other Side’ of Kabbalah (Brill 2018) and Passion and Ambivalence: Colonialism, Nationalism, and International Law (Brill 2011). His forthcoming book is Anger, Evil, and Death: Shattering and Healing through Kabbalistic Myth (Bloomsbury Academic). Above all, Nathaniel has had the pleasure and honor of studying the Zohar, Rav Nachman, and other mind-expanding works with Roly for more than a decade.
Across the series, distinguished teachers and friends of Roly – including Rabbi Joy Levitt,Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein, Rabbi Jan Uhrbach, Rabbi Irwin Kula, Rabbi Michael Paley,and Rabbi Arthur Green – offer Torah in celebration of Roly’s 40 years of service and the vibrant culture of learning he has helped cultivate at BJ.
The series culminates on Tikkun Leil Shavuot, when our community gathers for a night of learning dedicated to Roly’s 40 years of service, featuring Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, followed by learning with the BJ rabbis and rabbinic fellows.
