Many stories are told about the Talmud's most famous heretic: Elisha ben Abuya. We will analyze some of these narratives, with an eye towards how Shabbat observance serves as a poignant symbol of communal inclusion. As we teeter on the edge of exclusion with Elisha ben Abuya, perhaps we will more fully recognize the lines demarcating our own communal norms... and consider the costs of crossing them.

Ora Weinbach teaches Tanakh at Maimonides High School and directs the Maimonides Fellowship Program. She previously served as Community Educator at the Young Israel of Brookline, The Jewish Center, and the Young Israel of Scarsdale. She also taught Limmudei Qodesh for seven years at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School, where she was the 9th Grade Dean. Ora was a Wexner Graduate Fellow, holds a Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity school, a BA in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University, and is a certified Sexuality Educator. Ora lives in Brookline with her husband Dr. Aaron Troy.