Judaism: Born Divided? Launching our New Year Long Course - Below the Bible Belt - Part 2

I’m fasting today.. not to lose weight ahead of the new year - well, a little.. but because of the weight of memory.

Did you know that today,The Tenth of Tevet is an unusual fast day on the Jewish calendar - marked for over 2,500 years - with recently added and quite tragic reasons?

It’s a raw day that reminds us of some of some of the greatest tragedies and internal conflicts in Jewish history, and we fast to remind ourselves, mind and body - how we got here, and how we can heal.

This auspicious day, during these difficult days in the world - is also a perfect opportunity to invite you to join me on a year long online course exploring the long lost legacy of Jewish schism and how an ancient and forgotten civil war that shaped the creation of the Bible — still impacts the deep divisions within the Jewish people, and beyond - today.

Join me in January 2026 for 12 months of deep discovery in my new course:

Judaism: born divided? How the origin story of our forgotten feud can help direct us from discord and schism to diversity and pluralism.

Curious? Me too!

This course is based on the three and a half years long blog that I just wrapped up this past summer - Below the Bible Belt.

Together with many of you I read through all 929 chapters of the Hebrew Bible to dig up the dirt… and while we slowly made our way through each chapter - the world erupted with war and growing gaps between us.

What stood out for me was how the battlegrounds of our hidden history continue to shape who we are today -religious vs. secular, tribal or universal, liberal vs. literal, zionist or diasporist — all our identities were forged by the forgotten feud between the two kingdoms that shaped Jewish history - North and South, Judah vs. Israel.

For centuries these two rival kingdoms debated key questions of religious, cultural and political priorities - and only one of them - the more conservative and orthodox - was the one that got to write the Bible - and only hand us a partial legacy of our complex and rich histories.

We will spend a year exploring these fascinating stories and bigger than life personalities, blending biblical scholarship with historical research and archeological evidence, political theory and even poetry —

The purpose is to learn how we got here, how we can better honor our distinctly different ideologies -and somehow still find ways to co-create cultures the co-exist despite deep divides, get over generational old traumas and imagine a future in which we flourish with moral clarity, responsibility, justice, and peace.

Knowledge is power and power is change — learning these lessons from our history will be, I hope, helpful to our paths of repair.

Each month, beginning on January 18, I’ll invite you to join me for an interactive livestream session, often with expert guests, to take on this fascinating history and its implications. In addition to the monthly video sessions I’ll be posting essays, reflections, and suggested links for reading, watching, listening and learning more about the secrets of our ancient rival kingdoms.

Most of the content will be delivered through my just-updated Substack page and also with content delivered on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

No experienced Jewish knowledge is necessary - just curiosity. You can join the whole year or just a session or two.. this course is everybody-friendly.

I invite you to Please upgrade to PAID subscription - it’s quite affordable - is critical to help me make it through this project and to make sure you get all the content - right in your mailbox. Free subscribers can still get most of the content.

If you are already a Paid Subscriber - please note that the prices have been adjusted slightly. Your membership will renew within a year of your original date of joining - and you can choose if/how to renew with these new prices and perks. Thank you for the support that enables me to do this work and others to join at reduced rates.

Check out these links with all the information, calendar and subscription options.

* Welcome to Below the Bible Belt - Part 2

* Already a subscriber? Please upgrade to PAID subscription at a level that works for you - for the full experience.

* If you are a Lab/Shul partner - you get a special perk with 50% off monthly/annual subscription.

And why IS today so special and perfect for this launch?

Well. The different stories that explain why we fast are exactly about what this course is all about.

According to traditions already mentioned in the Bible, today is the day in which the Babylonian army began the siege on Jerusalem in the 6th Century BCE - a year later the Kingdom of Judah would be over, Solomon’s temple destroyed, the House of David forever fall, and the exile years beginning. This day chronicles the end of 400 years of one of the most critical chapters in our history.

But there is another reason for today’s fast — according to other traditions - this is the day in the 3rd Century BCE on which the Bible was translated from Hebrew into Greek. While many Greek speaking Jews and the rest of the world including the king who commissioned it were delighted - some of the rabbis considered this a tragedy that would take our tribal and local uniqueness into dangerous global dimensions. They wanted to keep the walls high, not build bridges, and added this reason to the sad day —

Walls or bridges - that debate is still a heated one today.

And there is even one more reason — some say that on this day Ezra the Scribe - one of the most important people in our history who likely is responsible for making the Bible what it is, with creativity but also with more strict ethnic boundaries that still echo now - died and is mourned.

And there’s still another layer - and this one is personal.

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the Israeli Rabbinate declared today to be the day of mourning and the recital of Kaddish for the millions of victims who died during this terrible time - but for whom there is no death date or place of burial.

That includes my father’s mother, Chaya Lau, of blessed memory, who was brutally killed in a concentration camp, in her 40’s, and today we light a candle in her memory, recite the kaddish which concludes with a prayer for peace.

It’s the digging through the layers which is what helps understand who we are and how we got here.

So whether it’s the start of the Babylonian exile and the diasporic existence, our cultural wars over access and language, the death of the salesman of scripture, or millions of innocent victims in ongoing hate-fueled feuds — today invites us to reflect on how we got here, who we are and what kind of people, nation and legacy do we want to be.

All this will be explored throughout the year — so join me - Judaism: Born Divided? Below the Bible Belt - Part 2.

SAVE THE DATE!

The first livestream session will be broadcast LIVE from NYC on January 18th at 2pm ET - honoring the legacies of prophets who spoke truth to power in the Bible - and in our recent history: From Micah and Hulda to MLK Jr. and Heschel—

And this first session is FREE so you can check it out for yourself and decide if you want to devote a year to exploring how history shapes our present and how we can become better ancestors for a future of responsible repair.

Info and link to this session coming soon!

Welcome to Judaism: Born Divided? Excited to explore with you - all year long.

Wishing us all much better days, and a happy hopeful new year - everywhere.

שלום سلام Peace

See you Below the Bible Belt!