David Benkof

Chiasms: Unlocking the Bible’s Dazzling Literary Structure

See Jewish texts afresh by learning to find chiasms, a little-known but powerful Biblical structure even your rabbi may not know. How is the Tower of Babel story written like a tower? What’s dazzling about “Ahavat Olam?” Do the Bible’s structures suggest the Torah has one author, or many? Plenty of practice, and you’ll leave with a new skill!

Contemporary Jewish Broadway

Three of the best recent Broadway shows – the Tony-winning Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, and the Israeli-set musical The Band’s Visit have major Jewish themes and connections. Learn about these awesome shows and listen to some of their most tuneful, stirring numbers. And warm up your voices, because we’re going to sing!

Jewish Visual Artists

Learn to recognize – and analyze – the work of Jewish visual artists. We’ll look at painters (Roy Lichtenstein, Ben Shahn, Marc Chagall); sculptors (Judy Chicago, George Segal, Yaakov Agam) and photographers (Roman Vishniac, Annie Liebowitz, Diane Arbus). Participants will identify their own insights into seminal works by these creative geniuses.

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David Benkof is a Jerusalem-based teacher whose Limmud sessions (worldwide) engage learners with Jewish cultural products (fiction, poetry, musicals, films, paintings). Other hats: Jewish historian, essayist, polyglot (English, French, Hebrew, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, in that order), political analyst, theater enthusiast, trivia buff. He is excited to participate in Limmud Stockholm, as this is his first time in Scandinavia.