The Moral Obligation to Speak Out in the Face of Wrongdoing

A wonderful sugya in Bavli Shabbat (54b-55a) takes up the question of what to do when one sees people misbehaving, whether they are government officials or neighbors, whether they are breaking religious or civil law. Via anecdotes and midrashim, a very demanding moral principle emerges.

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER: Rabbi Judith Hauptman is the E. Billi Ivry Professor (emerita) of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She is the first woman to be awarded a PhD degree in Talmud. Her research focuses on two main areas, tracing the history of the text of the Talmud and teasing women’s history out of rabbinic texts. She is the author of three books and numerous articles. Her volume, Rereading the Rabbis, A Woman’s Voice (1998), has been called a founding work of the new Jewish feminism. She is a fellow of the prestigious American Academy for Jewish Research. In 2004, she established Ohel Ayalah, a free, walk-in High Holiday service for Jews in their 20s and 30s. Hundreds attend Ohel Ayalah’s holiday services and Passover seders each year. Rabbi Hauptman is a popular speaker, having taught at LimmudUK, the Global Day of Jewish Learning (NYC), and the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot of Downtown Jewish Life (NYC) for many years. She served as volunteer Jewish Chaplain at the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation for ten years, until it closed. Her articles on contemporary issues of Jewish interest appear frequently in the Jewish Week. She is currently at work on a book about short halakhic anecdotes in the Babylonian Talmud.

LM