Dr. SIMCHA RAPHAEL
SARATOGA SPRINGS–Saratoga Jewish Community Arts will present a Shabbaton on the theme, “Ancestral Journeys: End-of-Life Wisdom in Torah and Midrash,” with Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Dr. Simcha Raphael, Feb. 10–11. The programs will be held in four locations.
The weekend begins on Saturday, Feb 10, at 9:30 a.m. at Shaara TFille Synagogue, Saratoga Springs following Shabbat services. Raphael’s initial lecture will be “Jacob’s Deathbed Finale: Family Drama and Wisdom for the End-of-Life Journey.” The rabbi will be the featured lecturer later that day at a light dinner hosted by Skidmore College Jewish Student Life and Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs to be held in the Falstaff building at 5:30 p.m. His topic will be “Do Jews Believe in Heaven and Hell: Exploring Afterlife in Jewish Tradition.”
“Carrying Joseph’s Bones: Sinai Procession as a Funeral Ritual,” an examination of secrets of sacred burial is slated for Feb. 11, 10 a.m. with Congregation Beth El of Bennington, Vt.
Raphael’s concluding lecture on Feb. 11, “Abraham’s Calling: From Bereaved Refugee to Man of Destiny” is slated for 2 p.m. with Congregation Beth Shalom, Clifton Park.
Raphael is founding director of the DA’AT Institute for Death Awareness, Advocacy and Training. He is the author of various publications on the role of death within Judaism. He is author of Jewish Views of the Afterlife. Ordained as a rabbinic pastor by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Raphael works as a psychotherapist and spiritual director in Philadelphia.
Information may be obtained from [email protected] or by calling 518-594-8730. Registration is required and may be made with the various venues for the talks
