Joseph Shain

The book of Jonah and its relationship to Yom Kippur.

The book of Jonah is enigmatic in many ways: The book begins with Jonah fleeing G-d, but Jonah’s motives are not disclosed. Jonah’s prayer in the belly of whale is a song of praise(!) not a request for salvation. And finally, it use unclear if the people of Ninveh repented, as indicated at the end of chapter 3, or not – as implied by the closing words of the book. This class will analyze this biblical story based on these questions.

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Joseph Shain studied in yeshiva in both Jerusalem and NY. He currently teaches at Paideia folkhögskola, with a focus on Talmud.