Lecture Topics
Lecture Topics
Bring Rabbi Gold into your community with the following stimulating talks.
HOW DID GOD CREATE THE UNIVERSE? – We will look at four very different ways to understand the first verse in Genesis, corresponding to the four Rabbinic approaches to Biblical interpretation. Each interpretation will lead into a different understanding of how the universe came into being. Which is closest to our modern scientific understanding?
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE UNIVERSE WAS CREATED? Where did your soul come from? Did it exist before you were born? If so, will it exist after you die? Join us on this journey through Biblical sources, Greek philosophy, Jewish mysticism, and contemporary science to answer one of life’s most perplexing questions.
DOES GOD BELONG IN THE BEDROOM? – Based on Rabbi Gold’s classic book, from a God’s eye point of view, to be human is not simply to be good but to be holy. Together we will build a ladder of holiness regarding sexual behavior. Where do non-marital sex, marital sex, and homosexuality fit on that ladder?
DO YOU HAVE TO LOVE YOUR FAMILY? – The Bible commands us to love God, love our neighbor, love the stranger, but nowhere are we commanded to love our family. What do we owe our parents, our siblings, our spouse, our children? What can we do to strengthen family life?
THE TEN JOURNEYS OF LIFE – Rabbi Gold’s inspirational self-help book on life decisions has been extremely well-received. An ancient tradition teaches that God tested our father Abraham with ten trials, ten journeys he had to travel. Each of us must travel these same ten journeys as we go through life. With Abraham as our mentor, we will learn the art of being human.
IS GOD TOO BUSY TO GIVE ME A BABY? – Rabbi Gold’s first book And Hannah Wept has become a classic in the Jewish community, giving a religious perspective on infertility and adoption. What can we learn from our Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs regarding infertility? What about contemporary medical techniques? Is adoption an option?