The Five Megillot: Text, History, and Interpretation with Dr. Daniel Picus
Starting Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 1:30 pm in the Beit Midrash
In this series of classes, we’ll explore five often under-studied books of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Five Scrolls, or the Five Megillot—Esther, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes. In Jewish tradition, each of these books is associated with a specific holiday, and we’ll study them at the appropriate time of year.
Alongside close reading of the texts themselves, we’ll examine their historical context, composition, and early reception, and consider how and why these works came to be read on particular holy days—and what that might mean for us as readers today.
For more information or to register, click here. This class is free.
In spring 2025, we were collecting ballots for voting in the 2025 World Zionist Congress election, which occurs every five years. The results were just certified this week.