Mesorah Blogcast

Tune in on Nov. 27-29 at https://www.replyall.me/jofas-cast/mesorah/
The term Mesorah, or tradition, is regularly used within Orthodoxy to both include and exclude. Halakhic and hashkafic positions that might seem insufficiently grounded in texts may be deemed acceptable because they are “part of the mesorah”; positions that reasonably interpret texts may be rejected because they are “not part of the mesorah”. While “the mesorah” seems like an inherently exclusionary term, Orthodoxy also recognizes the legitimacy of multiple mesorot, and the right of those who bear even a minority mesorah to maintain their distinctive ways.
The concept of mesorah resembles the concept of “canon” in the humanities; and the Orthodox mesorah is prima facie even more subject than Western culture to the critique that it excludes the thoughts and experiences of women, LGBTQ people, and others. Because the Judaism conveyed through mesorah is so powerful however, both intellectually and experientially, serious Jews increasingly seek to participate in rather than repudiate that tradition, while at the same time maintaining their identities and voices as members of communities they see as marginalized by the masoretic past. Some of them focus on the Masoretic future, while others seek to create a “usable past”, a mesorah (re)constructed rather than transmitted.
This online panel is meant to explore the extent to which those efforts can and should succeed. There are no predetermined outcomes. Each participant is taking a risk by entering the dialogue; there is a chance that things precious to them will be appropriated or devalued by their interlocutors in painful ways. But there is also a chance that the conversation will increase mutual understanding in ways that will enable mesorah/bearers to be inclusive of more Jews, and more Jews to be open to identifying with mesorah. JOFA sponsors it in that hope.

Panelists:
Rabbi Aryeh Klapper
Rabbi Aviva Richman
Rabbi Noah Gradofsky
Leah Vincent